NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - It may be the end of an era for super-sized offerings as more consumers show a preference for controlled portion sizes, according to a report in the Washington Post Tuesday.

Portion has become a buzzword among food manufacturers, which have been repackaging popular snack foods in smaller sizes, according to the report.

"We're really trying to push retailers to focus on portion size and to help consumers better understand what is a portion size," Mary Kay O'Connor, director of education for the International Deli, Dairy and Bakery Association, told the paper.

"What some people have considered to be a muffin serving was like 800 calories."

Caribou Coffee Co. and Panera Bread Co. are set to roll out baked goods that are about 20 percent smaller than current offerings.

Tom Gumpel, Panera's director of research and development, told the paper that he is moving beyond the days of "cinnamon buns the size of a Frisbee."

"Everything's been so super-sized, but the portions we're looking at, with the quality they carry, are really the appropriate size," he said.

"We're not doing six-ounce muffins any more," Michael J. Coles, chief executive of Caribou Coffee, told the paper. "People don't want that, I think because it's an overcommitment."

At Giant, mini baked goods never used to sell much because shoppers wanted everything big, Ben Klautz, bake shop marketing manager for Giant Food LLC, told the paper.

"Now they're willing to pay a little more for something that's a little healthier, a little smaller," Klautz said in the Post report. "The small stuff sells really well."

The super-sizing phenomenon has been driven by profit. A fast-food restaurant can charge 25 cents more for a larger portion of french fries though the food itself costs just pennies more, the paper reported, so most of that added 25 cents is pure profit. The same is true of muffins and other baked goods.

"The wholesale cost on a large danish might be a dollar, and on a smaller one, 65 to 70 cents," Mike McCloud, owner of Uptown Bakers, a local wholesale bakery, told the paper. "The labor drives most of the cost of it. The ingredient cost difference is very, very small."

For many large-scale wholesale buyers, that lost profit makes a big difference. But consumers are demanding smaller sizes, even if it costs more per bite, the paper said.

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