The amazing shrinking package

[Duke87 1,070]

If you live in the US, you've likely in the past few years purchased 1.5 quarts of ice cream instead of half a gallon (2 quarts), as pretty much every major ice cream maker has changed their practice accordingly.

 

But plenty of other products have received similar treatment. Traditionally, when faced with inflation or other increasing costs, you'd just raise your prices. But the 21st century method of dealing with this issue is more creative: instead of raising the price, make the package smaller... but act like you didn't just make the package smaller and hope no one will notice.

 

The latest product subject to this treatment: Budweiser. How'd you like to buy an 11.3 ounce can of beer instead of a 12 ounce can of beer? And by the way, it costs the same.

 

More examples.

[Easy Bakes 253]

but they raise the price  and reduce the size.

 

a case of beer is now 18 cans.

[metarvo 710]

It's the same thing with soft drinks, too.  Once upon a time, a 20-ounce Coca-Cola was $0.99.  Then, you had a 16-ounce Coke for the same price.  Next was 14-ounce, and now it's down to a 12-ounce Coke for $0.99.  The larger sizes aren't gone, though.  The 20-ounce is on the shelves for $1.79.  Candy and most other snack food items have followed similar pricing patterns.

[Mr Saturn64 742]

Seems like marketing tools.

2 things make the world go around: money, and the gravitational pull of the sun.

[nos.17 5,112]

...And why do you think cereal boxes are narrower and wine (and juice) bottles have the indentations in the bottoms.

 

We can also add those packages that offer 25% less fat -- because there's 25% less product!!

[Bdub01 201]

Lets not forget potato chips...

[LexusInfernus 908]

Hehe, if you're in the UK, you should check out Poundland and those other 1 pound stores. They are famous for selling smaller packets. Also a good one is to sell a smaller packet, but just print on the box something like 'now with 1 extra for free!'. Put it in the shelves of your store and rake in the cash  

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

Such cynicism.  Most of it true.  Wine bottles have a dent in the bottom to facilitate shipping.  A bottle of wine is 750 ml. and that is a standard that won't change.

[metarvo 710]

Hehe, if you're in the UK, you should check out Poundland and those other 1 pound stores. They are famous for selling smaller packets.

 

That reminds me of the dollar stores we have here on this side of the pond.  These places do the same thing your pound stores do.  They sell smaller packets than you can get anywhere else, and the packages keep getting smaller.  This one dollar store near me sold 8-packs of small candy bars for $1 for years, but now they've gone to 6-packs for the same $1.

[Larks2242 251]

I'm not old enough yet to buy beer, but I have realized that I remember things being more heavy when going to the store.

 

Although there is also generic brands that seem to have more now then the original brands and cost less.

 

I don't really get how that works, how can Winne-Dixie soda and bread be so much cheaper then the name brands? 

 

Also I've always wondered how companies get away with ripping off major brands like for example if you go to Food Lion they got a Dr. Perky and Dr. K (How unoriginal) at Kroger. 

 

I'm surprised Dr. Pepper isn't suing every supermarket in the country.

 

Edit: Appears there is a whole data base for Dr. Pepper ripoffs

[FreewayofFlight 41]

I'm not old enough yet to buy beer, but I have realized that I remember things being more heavy when going to the store.

 

Although there is also generic brands that seem to have more now then the original brands and cost less.

 

I don't really get how that works, how can Winne-Dixie soda and bread be so much cheaper then the name brands? 

 

Also I've always wondered how companies get away with ripping off major brands like for example if you go to Food Lion they got a Dr. Perky and Dr. K (How unoriginal) at Kroger. 

 

I'm surprised Dr. Pepper isn't suing every supermarket in the country.

 

Edit: Appears there is a whole data base for Dr. Pepper ripoffs

 

There is no knock-off that will dethrone Dr. Pepper!

 

If you've ever tried the store-brand sodas, you'll notice that they taste like carbonated water with a hint of flavoring. Some of the fruit-flavored store-brand sodas are not too bad, but the ones that try to imitate the name-brands are often very watered down.

[Easy Bakes 253]

I'm not old enough yet to buy beer, but I have realized that I remember things being more heavy when going to the store.

 

Although there is also generic brands that seem to have more now then the original brands and cost less.

 

I don't really get how that works, how can Winne-Dixie soda and bread be so much cheaper then the name brands? 

 

Also I've always wondered how companies get away with ripping off major brands like for example if you go to Food Lion they got a Dr. Perky and Dr. K (How unoriginal) at Kroger. 

 

I'm surprised Dr. Pepper isn't suing every supermarket in the country.

 

Edit: Appears there is a whole data base for Dr. Pepper ripoffs

 

Food Lion is still in business?

[Duke87 1,070]

II don't really get how that works, how can Winne-Dixie soda and bread be so much cheaper then the name brands?

 

My understanding is that generic food brands are cheaper because they:

1) do not spend money on advertising

2) use cheaper ingredients

3) can be sold with less of a markup for the same profit because the manufacturer and the retailer are the same company

[hym 358]

 

II don't really get how that works, how can Winne-Dixie soda and bread be so much cheaper then the name brands?

 

My understanding is that generic food brands are cheaper because they:

1) do not spend money on advertising

2) use cheaper ingredients

3) can be sold with less of a markup for the same profit because the manufacturer and the retailer are the same company

 

 

4) They don't carry the "name brand cost" that comes with the more well known products.  Basically, since people will pay more money for brands they recognize and trust, companies charge more money to make higher profits.

[ROFLyoshi 1,760]

...And why do you think cereal boxes are narrower and wine (and juice) bottles have the indentations in the bottoms.

Wine bottles are made with the indentation to provide strength, not to cut it. As nonny said, the standard size is 750mL; this is regulated and will not change.

 

Lets not forget potato chips...

[Larks2242 251]

 

I'm not old enough yet to buy beer, but I have realized that I remember things being more heavy when going to the store.

 

Although there is also generic brands that seem to have more now then the original brands and cost less.

 

I don't really get how that works, how can Winne-Dixie soda and bread be so much cheaper then the name brands? 

 

Also I've always wondered how companies get away with ripping off major brands like for example if you go to Food Lion they got a Dr. Perky and Dr. K (How unoriginal) at Kroger. 

 

I'm surprised Dr. Pepper isn't suing every supermarket in the country.

 

Edit: Appears there is a whole data base for Dr. Pepper ripoffs

 

Food Lion is still in business?

 

Yeah, it was their "lesser quality" holdings bottom dollar that they closed and retired.

 

 

My understanding is that generic food brands are cheaper because they:

1) do not spend money on advertising

2) use cheaper ingredients

3) can be sold with less of a markup for the same profit because the manufacturer and the retailer are the same company

 

 

 

4) They don't carry the "name brand cost" that comes with the more well known products.  Basically, since people will pay more money for brands they recognize and trust, companies charge more money to make higher profits.

 

Ok, that makes sense, but how do they get away with making something with a similar taste?

 

And even more so is the blatantly clear knock off label I mean they all say Dr in it, you would think that is trademarked. 

 

Dr. Bob? I mean come on man...

 

[Bipin 3,402]

This is one of the reasons (besides severe anaphylaxis) that I bake or cook many of my food items, really only buying the most rudimentary of products from stores.

[hym 358]

 

Ok, that makes sense, but how do they get away with making something with a similar taste?

 

And even more so is the blatantly clear knock off label I mean they all say Dr in it, you would think that is trademarked. 

 

Dr. Bob? I mean come on man...

 

I'm fairly certain that taste is not something that can be protected legally.

 

As for the similar packaging, US trademark law has a certain amount of wiggle room to allow individuals to take an already trademarked item, modify it, and call it their own.  It's supposed to help ensure that trademark law can't be used to blatantly stamp out creative expression.  Furthermore, there are some things that you cannot trademark.  "Dr. Pepper" can be trademarked, but I suspect that neither "Dr." nor "Pepper" can be trademarked in their own right.

[Easy Bakes 253]

 

 

Ok, that makes sense, but how do they get away with making something with a similar taste?

 

And even more so is the blatantly clear knock off label I mean they all say Dr in it, you would think that is trademarked. 

 

Dr. Bob? I mean come on man...

 

I'm fairly certain that taste is not something that can be protected legally.

 

As for the similar packaging, US trademark law has a certain amount of wiggle room to allow individuals to take an already trademarked item, modify it, and call it their own.  It's supposed to help ensure that trademark law can't be used to blatantly stamp out creative expression.  Furthermore, there are some things that you cannot trademark.  "Dr. Pepper" can be trademarked, but I suspect that neither "Dr." nor "Pepper" can be trademarked in their own right.

 

they can copy right the formula they use to make it.

So if you make a copy they could probably sue if it tastes too similar and say you copied their formula.

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

Speaking of Dr. Pepper, has anyone ever noticed that the main taste ingredient is prunes?

 

Anyway, when it comes to purchasing brand names, the more TV advertising I see for a given brand, the less likely I am to purchase it.  I prefer fresh foods, grown locally.  And yet, in the last 10 years my cost of groceries has doubled.

[hym 358]

Just for what it's worth, they have consistently denied the presence of prunes in Dr. Pepper.

[metarvo 710]

In my area, Dr. Pepper is actually more popular than Coke or Pepsi.  Stores devote unbelievable shelf space to the drink, and virtually every restaurant has it on tap.  Of course, every supermarket has a Dr. Pepper knock-off in this region.  Out of all the DP imitators I've tried, I find Wal-Mart's Dr. Thunder to be the most tolerable.  It doesn't taste exactly like Dr. Pepper, but it's OK IMHO if I can't get the true product on sale.

[LexusInfernus 908]

 

Hehe, if you're in the UK, you should check out Poundland and those other 1 pound stores. They are famous for selling smaller packets.

 

That reminds me of the dollar stores we have here on this side of the pond.  These places do the same thing your pound stores do.  They sell smaller packets than you can get anywhere else, and the packages keep getting smaller.  This one dollar store near me sold 8-packs of small candy bars for $1 for years, but now they've gone to 6-packs for the same $1.

 

Indeed, which is why it is always wise to compare stores before you buy and not trust that a $1 store is cheaper simply because everything is $1. Might be that you pay more but get even more at bigger supermarkets. 

[Haljackey 17,242]

Around here things like a carton of orange juice have gone from 2L to 1.89L to just 1.75L now.

 

Most ice cream has gone a similar way. 2L containers have gone to 1.89L and now to 1.66L. 1L containers are now 984ml.

 

24 packs of coke and stuff are really rare now, most are 18 packs.

 

Ketchup is becoming harder to find in 1L sizes... Most are just 750ml now.

 

 

It seems like companies are too afraid to raise their prices, and thus reduce quantity to mitigate the backlash.

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

This is not new.  It is one of the tricks that happened when we switched to metric in Canada.  A litre of milk is the same price as a quart, but a quart (British measure) is 1.14 litres.  They started out with 1.14 litre packages until they could retool, then switched to 1 litre as soon as they could.

 

Butter is now available in 500 gm lots.  Used to be one pound, 454 gm. 

 

Meat is now measured and priced in Kg, or deli meats by the 100 gm quantity. 

 

Most markets are now completely metric, and all we, like sheep, have acquiesced.  It makes sense, after all, having switched to MKS to use it properly for quantities.  The price grab was beside the point or so the retailers thought.  I used to like some of them.  Now going grocery shopping is a kind of defensive rear-guard action.

[Duke87 1,070]

The echo of customary measure remains in many places, though. All those 350 ml soda cans you have... not exactly the first number you'd choose if you wanted a nice round number, is it? Well, it just so happens to be about 12 fluid ounces. Our cans here in the US are labeled as being 355 ml instead of 350, but under the label it is the exact same can.

 

Metric conversions do provide an opportunity to skimp, though, since an exact conversion isn't going to give you a pretty number. Just look at all the freeways in Ontario and Quebec with 100 km/h speed limits. That's 62.1 mph... a bit shy of the 65 mph similar freeways right on the other side of the border are posted at.

 

 

It should be noted, though, that you folks were using imperial gallons and quarts. Down here in the US our quart is smaller than a liter.

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

Well, imperial gallons are so much simpler:  One gallon of fresh water is exactly 10 pounds.  Makes it easier to handle the system based on counting someone's mutant toes, as in 12 toes in a foot.  Base 12 systems are such a drag.

 

Some interesting metric/imperial equivalents:

 

1 ton = 2,000 pounds

1 tonne = 1,000 Kg = 2,200 pounds = 1 long ton.

 

25mm = damned near one inch (25.4 mm actually).  The weather guys quote rain in mm.  Snow in cm.

 

Oh, and the speed limit in New Brunswick on the Trans-Canada highway is 120 Km/h = 74.6 mph.  There is a bill in the Ontario legislature to raise the limit on Hwy 401 to 120 from 100.  This would make the limit de facto.  Everyone will then do 150.

 

1 Km = 5 furlongs.  1 mi. = 8 furlongs.  Snails pace is measured in furlongs/fortnight.

[Wiimeiser 434]

How do Base16 systems fare? At least there'd probably be consistency, unlike the Imperial system...

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

Think of the poor ancient Egyptians.  The hieratic system used by the priests was base 60.  That means 59 separate symbols (there was no zero).  Base 12 has the advantage of being a product of two primes (2, 3), but base 60 has 2, 3, and 5 as the primes.

 

Just think of what would have happened if we had seven fingers on each hand.

[Wiecher 192]

Luckily, all supermarkets here have to put the price per kg or Liter below the product price, so even is the package is smaller, you can't get ripped off, because you can compare all products to a common amount.