towards the middle of 2014, heineken usa rolled out 8.5 fl. oz slim can packs for its flagship beer, citing tripledigit sales growth in this package size in prior years. at the end of february this year, heineken usa announces it is doubling its investment in the slimcan segment in 2015.even traditionalists like perrier are making the most of slimcans&39 advantages. these were released in the uk in october last year.cocacola&rsquos little 2 slimcans launched in australia in august, and in november the slimcan options were expanded into a rainbowcoloured range for core coke pink, purple, blue, green and orange. &ldquosales of small can offerings grew more than 350 last year 2014, delivering incremental volume and profit to retailers across all channels,&rdquo stated jonathan simpson, director of commercial marketing for heineken usa, in a statement.slim cans currently account for about 15 of all available can formats in europe right now. energy drinks account for the largest share at around 70. but brands like nexba, perrier, schweppes, appletiser, bud light, bundaberg ginger beer, pepsi and arizona iced teas are enthusiastic uptakers.&ldquoalthough slim cans have been around for several years now, they are still viewed as a fresh and modern alternative to the standard can,&rdquo said thomas haensch, vice president sales, marketing and innovations at ball packaging europe.what&rsquos going onslim is in for several reasons.1. slim cans help people to lower their intake and keep guilt in check. they make people feel better about drinking soft drinks and beer, in particular, because people can applaud themselves for drinking less notably sugar, alcohol and calories.according to the international food information council foundation&39s 2014 food & health survey, 81 of us consumers were either "somewhat likely" or "very likely" to eat smaller portions to manage weight compared to 60 who expressed support for substituting lower calorie foods for full calorie alternatives.2. the shape of slim cans is slim. that the visual message is &ldquoweight control&rdquo can&rsquot be overlooked3. slim cans define the functional drink category. they began their boom as the can of choice for energy drinks. new brands, especially natural soft drinks, iced teas and other drinks with health and wellbeing benefits, are packaging in slim cans, which also helps manage the dosage of key nutrients.4. slim cans fit onthego needs. they are lighter and easier to carry and there&rsquos less chance of product waste.5. slim cans offer a way out of profit decline for soft drink and beer manufacturers.let&rsquos use cocacola as an example. in november, north america president sandy douglas stated that more focus on lifting "price per occasion" and less on simply growing volume could unlock future revenue growth. the "price per occasion" of a 12 fl. oz can of cocacola, she stated, was us31 cents in 2014. the &ldquoprice per occasion&rdquo 7.5 fl. oz minican was us 40 cents over the same period. the slimcan gave cocacola 5.3 cents per fluid ounce versus around 2.5 cents per fluid ounce for the 12 fl. oz can.6. celebrating or rewarding oneself with little treats is common behaviour. this insight was, in fact, the underpinning of coke&rsquos little can advertising campaign by ogilvy & mather in germany. the ad agency placed cute waisthigh minikiosks decked out with tiny cocacola vending machines in five german cities in 2014. the machines sold minicans of coke while the manned kiosks celebrated everything small by selling miniature versions of other products. the tiny kiosks were hugely successful, selling an average of 380 minicans of coke a day, which was nearly triple the turnover of a typical coke vending machine. 
