1
A multipack is not always a bargain
A pack of three can cost more per kilo than three units bought separately. The word “pack” is often enough to suggest a discount where none exists. Only dividing by the quantity settles it.
The packaging trap
Three cans for 1 €, the pack for 3.90 €
The label says promotion, the arithmetic says otherwise. Multipacks, large formats and bundled offers are built so that the division never gets done. Here are the three most common mechanics, and what defeats them.
Pack vs. unit
Real price per liter
+ 30 %
2
Nor is the family size
Large formats are assumed to be cheaper. In practice they sometimes cost more per kilo than the standard size of the same product. Bigger means cheaper is a habit, not a guarantee.
3
Price per kilo levels the field
Price per kilo, per litre or per unit is the only common ground between different formats, brands and retailers. It has been mandatory in France since 1997, but printed so small, in units that vary so much, that it stays almost unreadable on the shelf.
Frequently asked questions
- Is a multipack always cheaper?
- No. Nothing requires a multipack to beat buying single units. The only way to settle it is to compare the price per kilo of the pack with that of the same product sold on its own.
- Why is the price per kilo so hard to read?
- It is printed in small type, and the unit changes from one product to the next: grams here, litres there, a piece elsewhere. Comparing then takes a conversion nobody performs in front of a shelf.
- Does Aukilo say which format to buy?
- Yes. For a given product, the app ranks the available formats by price per kilo and flags the cases where a multipack or a large format costs more than the single unit.
The division, done for you
Scan a product: Aukilo compares its formats, its multipacks and the shops around you, then tells you which one to buy.