A snack bar in Porto Alegre, Brazil, has introduced smaller sandwiches designed for customers looking to reduce carbohydrates without giving up protein. BoxFim Xis named the products Ozemburger and Monjalada, drawing inspiration from the growing popularity of weight-loss medications, according to owner and manager Lóris Manjabosco Tombini.
Tombini said conversations with his sister, an endocrinologist, had already brought the subject into his daily life. The idea for the products and their names came to him in a dream, he said, and he wrote them down before presenting the concept to his two business partners.
The sandwiches contain about half the carbohydrates of the regular versions, while maintaining or increasing the protein. The Ozemburger, for example, includes an egg that is not part of the snack bar’s cheeseburger recipe.
The products are not only attracting people who use weight-loss medications. Tombini said customers who have undergone bariatric surgery were among the first to choose the smaller portions, and some regular customers have also switched. He said customers often appreciate having more filling and less bread.
Demand has risen since the launch, Tombini said. The snack bar’s first order of the smaller buns was for 40 units; by the second week, it had ordered 60. The buns weigh half as much as the standard ones but cost the business the same amount, he said, while the price to customers is about 10% different.
BoxFim Xis is considering offering more of its existing flavors in the smaller format and testing new options for what it calls its “Menu das Canetas.”
Sources: G1.