What we're seeing here is only part of the complete cycle. Once sizes get to be so small that a company cannot realistically make them any smaller, they release a 'new larger size' at a higher overall price point but with a better unit price than the smaller size. Those customers looking for the best 'deal' start to buy the larger size. As the popularity of the larger size increases the smaller size is phased out and the cycle begins all over again. Since this cycle normally takes many years, people tend not to notice it. Ice cream is an excellent example of this marketing strategy. Most manufacturers are currently hovering around the 1.5 qt container size. It will be hard to drop this much more (though a manufacturer that wants to live on the edge might go to 1.25 qts) so I predict that within a year or two, we will see the re-introduction of 2 qt containers as the 'new, larger size' with a step increase in price!