Caramel Twixed Off

Lately the chocolate candy market is seeing more and more low calorie, low fat options. This includes promoting an existing recipe like 3 Musketeers as lower fat when compared to other candy bars, launching snack packs or even producing a whole new formula with less sugar. Today, we’re going to break down Mars’ Caramel Twix and the different size offerings.

On tap: Twix caramel fun size, Twix caramel 100 calorie, Twix caramel full size.

Comparing the nutritional information of all 3 shows that the ingredients are identical, so we’ve got that out of the way. Here are the basics based on one bar serving size:

Calorie Countdown

Fun Size: 80 calories, 35 from fat, 2.25 inches

100 Calorie size- 100 calories, 45 from fat, 3 inches long (20 more calories you can enjoy another 3/4 on an inch- 33%)

Full size- 140 calories, 65 calories from fat, 4.25 inches long (40 more calories and you can have another 1.25 inches- 41%)

Bang for the Buck

Fun Size: $2.50 per bag, 20 pieces, .12cents per unit, 5 cents per inch

100 Calories size: $2.79 per box, 7 pieces, .39cents per unit, 13 cents per inch

Full size: .59 cents per package, 2 pieces, .29 cents per unit, 7 cents per inch

What does all this mean? It means that the while the 100 Calorie package may look convenient and attractive for the conscious chocolate consumer, it’s a really raw deal cost wise. If you’re concerned about portion control, go for the Fun Size and ration it out for several weeks or share around the office. I notice that the full size bars vary in price range from .59 up to .99 cents per two bar package, so obviously if you got the .99 price the calculations change. Still at .49 per unit, 11.5 cents per inch- it’s a better deal than the 100 Calorie packs!

Keep this in mind though, if you eat two Fun Sizes, you would have consumed less by eating one Full size bar!