Whenever it was time to visit Hogsmeade, Hogwarts students inevitably went to Honeydukes, where all manner of novel sweets filled the shelves.
Since Astoria began working with Honeydukes, the Malfoy family's assortment of candies had grown again. Unlike the sweets Narcissa made herself, Astoria's offerings were more professional, to the point that even Lucius Malfoy could not help keeping a couple of Bloody Lollipops in his pocket.
He gave one of the lollipops to Severus and ate the other himself. As he sucked on the candy and looked at the water, which seemed icy at a glance, it was hard to imagine that it was currently summer.
"Guess what," Lucius said, as though inspiration had struck him. "If they changed the formula, the product would no longer sell well."
"What?" Severus asked in a foul mood.
"Processed food companies," Lucius said indifferently. "Customers are fickle. Today they worry about too much sugar, tomorrow they worry about fat, but after wandering around, they still buy whatever they want and eat whatever they want. Customers simply will not buy food that tastes bad."
With that, Lucius put the lollipop into his mouth.
"You're talking to me about the Danone acquisition?" Severus asked incredulously.
"Food companies provide low-sugar, low-fat, low-calorie food. It is the customers themselves who choose not to buy it. Can that be blamed on the food companies? I know those people. They will not give up enormous profits or alter the formulas of their high-selling products just to soothe their customers' feelings. Since they are unwilling to change, why should we?"
Severus did not answer. He put the Bloody Lollipop into his mouth.
"If people are worried about obesity, then develop weight-loss drugs. Do you know what the best-selling medicine is now?"
Severus still did not want to acknowledge him.