In another blast from the limepast, I am compelled to revisit my February 2008 post, “kiss my nozzle” in which I complained about the nozzle on the pump of my shaving cream.  One thing I suggested was selling larger or smaller tubes of the stuff.

And while we’re rearranging tube sizes, how about a 3-oz tube instead of the 4-oz one? Why? Ask the TSA. (And don’t try to pass off a half-empty 4-oz tube as 2 oz of liquid, that’s terrorist math.) I bet you could charge more than 75% of the price of the 4-oz tube. Maybe more than 100% of it with a “TSA-safe” label on it.

Remarkably, the CEO of Kiss My Face commented on the post, in part:

… By the way have u tried the 4 oz tube ? I LOVE the 3 oz idea. problem is the retail will be pretty close which would probably annoy a lot of loyal users (mistakenly) thinking we’ve lowered the size but left the price pretty much the same. …

In my comment back on July 1 of 2008, I wrote back, in part:

… I think the only way to sell the 3oz next to the 4oz for a similar price would be to trumpet the “travel-safe” thing or have some different form factor maybe like a squeeze bottle. …

Now look what I just bought at the local Whole Foods. I caught the last tube of the old design and the first tube of a brand new regime:

On the left, 3.4 oz (1oo ml) of “New Cleaner Greener” and “Travel Friendly” Kiss My Face; on the right, 4 oz (118 ml) of same.  And the prices?  $4.99 and $4.99 respectively.

That’s a 15% reduction in product for the same price.  I’ve said before that I’m often willing to pay more for less if less is the right amount for the job.  But that assumes a choice, and  what’s happened here is that KMF has replaced the 4 ounce size with the 3.4 ounce size so the only other choice is the 11 ounce pump. I wonder if this decision came via market research or an executive decision and I wonder if they’ve annoyed a lot of  loyal users with it.