MClean Design

I don’t miss the giant starbursts that used to read “10% MORE FREE!” but I hope nobody asks me to design a “NOW WITH FEWER OUNCES” burst anytime soon either.

Consumer Reports recently published an article on a trend of companies trimming ounces out of their packaged goods to combat rising materials and production costs. The article can be found here.

“From toothpaste to tuna fish, hot dogs to hand soap, companies have been shaving ounces and inches from packaged goods for years, usually blaming it on rising costs for ingredients and energy.”

No doubt there are a number of factors that come in to play with these decisions, and they have been happening for some time now. This trend is at least 2 years in the making. “Rightsizing” and other efforts to maximize space and efficiency are common practice these days.However, subtle changes in package size or redesigned packaging meant to hide the reduction are easily missed by even the most diligent consumer. In many cases, the only noticeable difference between “before” and “after” is that tiny net weight statement buried at the bottom. That text can have a more profound impact on a decision to buy a product than all that beautiful artwork.

It will be interesting to see the competition between brand loyalty and value as they battle it out in the marketplace. There are far too many variables to account for, but this is an opportunity to see if a pint really means a pint, to who, and why.