Sometimes companies do things that make no sense. When I looked at this breakfast sausage package for the cooking instructions I was confronted with a basic math problem. The sausage comes in a box of 20 links vacuum packed in four neat rows in groups of 5 links. The box states that the recommended serving size is 2 links. Therefore of one were to follow the recommended serving size for one, two, or three people, they would always end up with a remainder. The second part of the issue is that the microwave instructions limit the process to four links at a time. In math there is the concept of least common denominator (LCD). Given those datum, why does the company base their packaging on groups of five links instead of two or four? My assumption is that the answer comes from the marketing and packaging constraints rather from the customer-centric view. They have obviously chosen the package size based on market data on price point rather than common sense. I also have to assume that by making the convenient package size five links, they are passively encouraging 20% waste and over consumption. Even though this store brand appears to be less expensive than the leading brand, the inherent waste changes the math.
I also find it funny that the package states keep frozen but includes instructions for people who ignore that advice and store then package refrigerated.
