The Mysterious Case of the Shrinking Cereal Box

About a week ago, my teenage daughter and I were in the grocery store, when she picked up a box of cereal and as she was putting it in the cart said to me, "This box looks different."  "Different?" I said.  "What do you mean?"

And then I had a closer look.  And she was right; it was different.  It had the same picture on the front, the same name, and at first glance, the same packaging.  But what formerly had been a 10-ounce box or cereal was now an 8.9-ounce box.  And although it was just as tall as before and appeared, on the shelf, to be the same, the width of it had clearly shrunk.

One thing that was still the same?  The high price.  So we were getting less cereal per dollar than we were a month ago.  Having a look around my local grocery store this week, I've found numerous instances of the same type of downsizing taking place.

So pay attention.  That box of cereal on your grocer's shelf may look the same.  But have a closer look.  MSNBC.com has an interesting article on this incredible shrinking packaging wave that's taking place.  It's "Shrink Ray" Hits Consumers' Wallets by David Ushery and Alex Johnson.  Read more about it and let me know what you think. 

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