单身族越来越多，制造业为之改变

单身生活越来越普遍。美国人口调查局的数据显示，2018年单身族占美国家庭数量的28%，是1960年单人家庭占比的两倍以上，当时核心家庭的比重达到了最高点。

近几年，房地产、装修和珠宝首饰公司一直在向这个日益壮大的单身群体推销产品。包装消费品行业也是如此。

举例来说，宝洁旗下的卫生纸品牌恰敏（Charmin）就在利用上述趋势推广自己新上市的“Forever Roll”长卷厕纸，有直径8.7英寸（约22.1厘米）和12英寸（约30.5厘米）两种型号。其思路是释放储物空间——这种想法正好迎合了单身族的需要，因为他们在人口稠密的城区尤其集中。

其他面向单身族的产品以尽量减少食品浪费为目标。面包品牌Arnold开始销售10片装“Simply Small”面包片，面对那些无法忍受去扔发霉面包片或者把面包冻起来以后再用的消费者。其他实例还包括Jimmy Dean Simple Scrambles的杯装早餐和Betty Crocker Mug Treats的可微波加热甜点。

市场研究机构英敏特公司的高级趋势分析师戴安娜·凯尔特说，这些产品的共同点是千禧一代展示出了“不愿意给任何东西打包票”的态度，“也许他们不知道自己是会出去吃饭，还是会自己做饭。”他们不受自己的日程约束，柜子或储藏室里的东西也无法限制他们。我们还看到，零售商开始提供服装租赁服务，化妆品品牌也推出了类似试用款的小包装。

随之而来的问题是单人包装产品造成的包装材料浪费迅速增加。现在，怎样让必需品的包装既有益于个人财富和我们的地球，又跟得上那种随心所欲的生活节奏成了各个品牌面临的新挑战。（财富中文网）

本文另一版本登载于《财富》杂志2019年7月刊，标题为《小面包片和长卷厕纸》。

译者：Charlie

审校：夏林

Living alone is increasingly common. In 2018, 28% of U.S. households were home to just one person, according to the Census Bureau. That’s more than double the proportion of single-person residences in 1960, when the nuclear family peaked.

For several years now, businesses in the real estate, home improvement, and jewelry sectors have been marketing to this growing solo demo. Enter the consumer packaged-goods industry.

Procter & Gamble’s Charmin brand, for example, is capitalizing on this paradigm shift with its newly marketed long-lasting Forever Roll of toilet paper—available in 8.7- or 12-inch diameter. The idea is to free up storage space, a concept that caters to single dwellers because they’re especially concentrated in dense urban areas.

Other products for singles aim to minimize food waste. Bread brand Arnold now sells 10-slice Simply Small loaves for consumers who can’t bear to throw away moldy slices—or freeze bread for later use. Other examples: Jimmy Dean Simple Scrambles breakfast cups and Betty Crocker Mug Treats microwaveable desserts for one.

A common thread here is the idea that millennials exhibit “a lack of wanting to commit to anything in general,” says Mintel senior trend analyst Diana Kelter. “Maybe they don’t know whether they’re going to go out to eat or end up cooking.” They aren’t tied down to what’s on their calendars, or in their cabinets and closets. See also: retailers offering clothing rentals and beauty brands embracing trial sizes.

One problem: Packaging waste from individually wrapped products quickly mounts. Now brands face a new challenge: how to bundle essentials in a way that’s good for pocketbooks, the planet, and spontaneous schedules.

A version of this article appears in the July 2019 issue of Fortune with the headline “Small Loaves and Forever Rolls.”