Why Does Pricing Change Based On Size?

You're walking through a store, and you reach for a mini or a travel size. It's cute! It's less expensive! But, is it? The price tag is lower, but then you do the math—when you break it down per mL, it's more expensive. Why? Are brands "ripping you off?" 

Welcome to "In Full Transparency" where we help you understand why brands do what they Dieux. 

If you look at our latest packaging shift, Air Angel, it originally came in a larger format size: 75mL. To streamline our operations, standardize how we approach moisturizers and based on valid customer feedback on the pump and bottle we decided we were all in on recycled aluminum tubes. With that, Air Angel is now in a 50mL tube (like Instant Angel), and we are working on getting Air Angel in a jumbo 100mL tube (again, like Instant Angel). 

Air Angel 75mL was $44, and now, the 50mL size is $34. That's a $10 price drop, but if you look at the price per mL, it goes up. Why is that?

The TLDR; sizing impacts price. The smaller the product, the pricier it is. 

Some cost of goods are fixed, a reminder that formula is only ONE component of pricing. You’ve seen this with Instant Angel, so let’s look at how it breaks down:

The Math for Instant Angel:

• Instant Angel 25mL is $25 OR $1.00/mL
• Instant Angel 50mL is $45 OR $0.90/mL
• Instant Angel 100mL is $78 OR $0.78/mL

What is the price variation here?

• $.1/mL difference between 25mL and 50mL
• $.12/mL difference between 50mL and 100mL 

We didn’t charge $90 for 100mL Instant Angel because as you scale (the size), you get cost savings. Fixed costs like factory labor, tooling, assembly, pick and pack etc. don’t shift. This means that as a size gets smaller, it does get more expensive. It’s not 1-1. This is why we offer savings the bigger a product gets. 

The same is true for Air Angel.

The Math for Air Angel:

• Air Angel 25mL is $22 OR $0.88/mL (note: expect some changes here, early 2026 is our target)
• Air Angel 50mL is $34 OR $0.68/mL
• Air Angel 75mL was $44 OR $0.59/mL
• Air Angel 100mL (not launching just yet!) will not be $68 because the price doesn’t scale up directly from 50mL. We are aiming to have it under the $59 price point (lower than the price per mL of 75mL). Hoping to have a jumbo by 2027 but if you want it earlier, let us know! 

The Smaller the Container, the Pricier it is. 

In short: formula scales efficiently, packaging scales only somewhat, and fixed costs are constant no matter the size. 

The good news? For our Air Angel devotees we are working on a larger format Air Angel that gets you to even better savings than our 75mL format. Another pro to 50mL? You can actually get all the product out (and it comes with a free Squeeze Key!).