Sizes, and the gift that is mostly package

The range we hold

From about 89 ml to 946 ml. The small end is a gift, a sampler and a market-stall purchase; the large end is a sauce somebody keeps in a cupboard. Both ends are well covered and they are different products.

The small format carries the packaging cost

A small jar and a large one cost nearly the same to fill, label and move, so the packaging is a much larger share of a small unit. Costing from a per-ounce figure makes the small size look more profitable than it is, and in this category the small size is most of what you sell.

And it carries the price

A gift buyer is not comparing per ounce; they are comparing against other presents at a price point. That makes the small format the one where presentation pays for itself, and the one where a cheap jar undermines the whole proposition.

Headspace matters for a hygroscopic product

A part-used jar of hard candy or brittle has air in it, and air has moisture. Smaller formats finished faster are genuinely better product experience, which is an argument for the small jar beyond the margin.

The seasonal peak changes what sells

Gift sizes dominate in a few weeks of the year and the rest of the year is different. Planning packaging purchases around that is part of the business, and holding the wrong format through a season is an expensive way to learn it.

Net quantity comes from the fill

It is a required element and a claim about every unit, so a size change is a label change. Settle the jar before artwork and fill by weight rather than by eye.

References