Pricing perspective...

[NewKid]

Anyway, I think of these things when I am shopping for anything...Top Level Castrol Synthetic, $21.50/gal.
Gasoline, in NEPA, $3.65/gal.
Hellman's Organic Mayo, $55.04/gal.
Now, I know it's Organic and Hellman's and all but Top Tier and 10,000 mile Castrol...But to be fair we aren't talking about the One Gallon pricing on the mayo and I'm not bashing Unilever per se...but I like putting things in perspective.

 

[kschachn]

So all food products should be cheaper than some random oil?

 

[Chris Meutsch]

but I like putting things in perspective.

 

[Soft Cars]

Is Hellman's mayo really $55.04 per gallon?

 

[nascarnation]

64oz is 11 bucks at BJ's Wholesale so more like $22/gal if you're buying a big container at a club.

Since I can get Costco Kirkland Dexos oil for about $16/gal, I'm not switching to Hellmans in my Chevy.

 

[RyanY]

Interesting! The quantity perspective is important, but I generally think of the useful quantity for each item instead of using a single quantity for everything. Gallons work well for gas, but oil seems to work better in qts because few cars take exactly a gallon (or multiple of a gallon); qts are easier to divide into smaller amounts, with less product left over to take up shelf space. Mayo (and many other foodstuffs) need to be packaged in containers that will fit in a refrigerator without taking up a lot of space...some of these will be 4 oz and others will be qts, but rarely gallons. Also, each package needs a lid, seal, etc so the manuf cost of a larger quantity is usually lower, per volume, than a smaller quantity.

 

[NewKid]

Interesting! The quantity perspective is important, but I generally think of the useful quantity for each item instead of using a single quantity for everything. Gallons work well for gas, but oil seems to work better in qts because few cars take exactly a gallon (or multiple of a gallon); qts are easier to divide into smaller amounts, with less product left over to take up shelf space. Mayo (and many other foodstuffs) need to be packaged in containers that will fit in a refrigerator without taking up a lot of space...some of these will be 4 oz and others will be qts, but rarely gallons. Also, each package needs a lid, seal, etc so the manuf cost of a larger quantity is usually lower, per volume, than a smaller quantity.

So one of the first times I looked at something like this I was looking at a tube of red Loctite (which is a very small tube). I then pulled out my phone and calculated the cost per qt. and per gallon and of course it came out to some ridiculous amount of money per. Now, I realize that an argument exists for quantity needed and the logistics of packaging and retailing. But still, profit margins, especially on mundane chemicals has to be very high. My original post/point was—does the packaging logistics warrant the up charged price?? Certainly Mayo is easier to produce than PAO motor oil or gasoline. Also, to be fair, I used the price per ounce of Organic mayonnaise which, of course, gets you a few better eggs and better soybean oil.