Chapter 8 Question ○○4

Why is milk sold in square boxes, but Coke is sold in round bottles? Almost all soft drink bottles, whether glass or aluminum, are cylindrical.But milk cartons seem to be square.Square containers use shelf space more economically than cylindrical containers.So why are soft drink makers sticking with cylindrical containers? One reason may be that soft drinks are mostly consumed directly from the container, so the extra storage cost of the cylindrical container is offset by the fact that it fits better in the hand.This is not the case with milk. Most people don't drink milk directly from the box.

But even if most people drink milk directly from the box, the cost-benefit principle also shows that they are unlikely to be sold in cylindrical containers.Yes, square containers (regardless of what they contain) do save shelf space, but the space saved in the case of milk is clearly more cost-effective than in the case of soft drinks. Most soft drinks in supermarkets are stored on open shelves, which are cheap and usually have no operating costs.But milk needs to be specially packed in freezers, which are expensive and costly to operate.As a result, storage space in the freezer is at a premium, increasing the benefits of using square containers for milk.