Well Ed,I have another one for you to check out.

Bacon,doesn't matter if its' Maple Leaf,Schneiders,any "brand" name,has gone down from the 454 gm pkg. to 375....approx. 12 slices in each package.
The price,however,in the Bancroft area for either of the name brands averages $5.99-$6.99 "a pound"......commonly known now,as a package....cuz no matter how you take it out of the packaging,its' nowhere near a pound.
I shop "mostly" in a health food/bulk stop up here....that way I do not have the nonsense packaging-this particular bulk store carries the salts,pepper,and spices,flour,sugar,cereals,etc., etc., that I require.
We "average" the equivalent of an old time green garbage bag of recyclables every 2 weeks-we still go to a dump here.
Household garbage is nil-all waste,that being compostable,is composted-all paper,cardboard products are burned in either or woodstove or in an outside incinerator.
Oh,and another cookie package to check out-Girl Guide Cookies......I was "gifted" a box a couple of months ago-(hadn't bought any myself since DD was a guide-so about 25 yrs ago)....wow-that one will open your eyes too...

Ed & other Canadians, things too have shrunk in the lower 48. Yes our Yogurt cups are smaller too along with margarine, which not only decreased but it is almost 5.00 per package. Real butter is cheaper. Coffee is in smaller cans but the price is higher. There are some stores that have gone away from plastic, and tried paper, or the cloth bags. Some of the had to go back to disposal plastic. The cloth bags really never went over plus they got so dirty so quick that some company did some testing and found out they could be dangerous to the persons health due to germs found. They said they should be washed every time used.

Here is the part I can't comprehend.

Let's say a 5lb. container of whatever, costs $5 dollars. The company decides to change to 4lb. containers and the price goes up to $5.25. Now customers are upset because they get less product for more money. The company has had to retool, or whatever the process is called, to make the machinery make smaller containers, labels, and boxes. The company is unhappy; customers are unhappy. Nobody wins.

Could somebody explain to me the logic in why that has been done?

Sue

Sue

I think the company is counting on apathy from many customers if the price/volume changes are small and incremental.

I think the companies use the same size package just less product in it. At least some of the time, you wouldn't know a package had less in it unless you check the weight.

Chocolate chips have gone from 12 oz package to 11 oz. Just be honest and raise the price instead of putting less chips in my cookies!

For those of you who buy yogurt - when empty, poke holes in the bottom, it is great for starting seeds. Advantage is that, due to the shape, not too much moisture evaporates and it can staying consistently moist. When it is time to transfer to the garden, just cut down the sides. With margarine you don't have to cut the sides, those containers can be re-used.

I'm eating A Yoplait lite right now and notice it's 6 oz which is what it's always been but don't get me going on coffee, ice cream, candy bars, soup cans, etc and then theres house paint which is no longer a gallon yet the stores advertise them as gallons. It goes on and on. Only good news is gas and oil prices are down.

When I got a job to pay my expenses when I was going to college I made $1.50/hour.

Sue-va, let's look at your example. You've left out the middlemen (like the store) who buy from the manufacturer enroute to the buyer, but that's fine, let's assume the manufacturer sells directly to consumers.

5 pounds for $5 is $1 per pound. The manufacturer wants to increase its per pound revenue. With the same size package, to get (say) $1.30 per pound, the new price would be $6.50. Buyers would probably reject such a large per item increase, so instead, by reducing the package size to 4 pounds, the 30% increase looks smaller because the new package is $5.25.

What you've described as "retooling" costs are inconsequential, the supply chain and equipment can handle size changes with ease and minimal costs.

Price setting is an art for anyone or any company selling products or services. The goal is to set it prices as high as possible to maximize revenue, without discouraging too many potential buyers.

We (US and CA) have been spoiled. The percentage of income we've had to spend on food has been extremely low for decades, and IMO it still is. The Great Recession that held down incomes and retail food costs is easing. Companies had absorbed increasing wholesale costs, but now feel they can increase retail prices (or decrease quantity for the same price).

I'm amazed that I can buy (good) raspberries at price below that of rubies in the middle of November -- unheard of in my childhood. We have tremendous variety of (safe!) food from all over the world. There's a price to be paid.

Hi ChiSue ... you're right: we do have cheap food, compared with many others.

Much more highly processed, too ... which isn't cheap: a pound of potatoes in the form of chips costs a great deal more than raw in a bag with skins still on.

ole joyful

Ah, I wouldn't know about chips. There are two aisles of the grocery that don't know me: Sodas and Chips. The Deli never sees me, and I don't buy Cheerios, etc. at $5/lb. Why would I pay $10/lb. for ham by the slice when I can buy better quality little hams at half that cost, just a few feet away in the meat section? (We'll eat the larger package long before it could spoil in the fridge.)

It makes sense to me. I think we've paid far too little for food in the past, and I think it's contributed to the massive portion sizes and poor diets that much of the continent consumes. No one needs meat 3 times a day and maybe this will help people shift to more economical and nutritionally sound options. It's common to hear that junk food is cheaper than healthy food, so maybe this will help change that mindset.

A lot of the products are those that are highly processed (packaged cookies, crackers, cake mixes, sugary yogurt, etc.) or items that, in my opinion, should be treated more as a luxury, like bacon or butter. I don't think there's anything wrong with paying a premium for items that aren't necessary, which is the very definition of luxury.

Produce costs have gone up, but you can find reasonably priced produce. Farmer's markets, produce-specific grocery stores (like Growers Direct, Sprouts) can be great options to the chains. I've also found that places like Target are often significantly cheaper than the grocery store for food.

I'm hoping this trend will help farmers and local food producers who currently can't keep up with the low food prices in the stores. Maybe more people will shift to local foods if the price points become closer.