Tidbits: Lunchables on parade

Lunchables on parade Mr. Tidbit realized recently that it had been a while since he last visited Oscar Mayer Lunchables. In his absence, Lunchables has begun to take over much of an aisle. Besides the ever-changing array of not-really-pizza, not-really-tacos and the like, the most basic Lunchables commodity -- cheese and crackers -- has become at least five products. Here are similar versions of them that Mr. Tidbit priced at one discount supermarket:

Lunchables with crackers 4.5 ounces (eight Ritz crackers, eight cracker-size slices of cheese, eight cracker-sized slices of ham) $1.72; Lunchables Stackers 4.5 ounces (six Ritz crackers, six slices of cheese, six slices of ham, two vanilla sandwich cookies) $1.72; Lunchables Jr. total 3.66 ounces consisting of two packs, each with 15 teeny Ritz Bits crackers, eight half-size strips of cheese and maybe 24 odd little scraps -- cubes and shreds) of cured turkey. $2.09; Lunchables Stackers with drink, 5.2 ounces (six Ritz crackers, six slices of bologna, six slices of cheese and a tiny Butterfinger bar) plus a 6.75-ounce Capri Sun pouch, $2.14; and Lunchables Maxed Out, 5.6 ounces (six large [2 1/2-inch] crackers, six cracker-size slices of ham, six cracker-size slices of cheese, one Air Heads candy strip, one 100-calorie pack of Pringles), plus an 8.5-ounce drink (water, small envelope of Kool-Aid) $3.24.

Yow!

Adventures in pricing As part of the promotion of the Indiana Jones movie, there's a Snickers Adventure Bar, the wrapper proclaiming "New flavor kick!" There's a bit of coconut flavor (apparently that's a natural or artificial flavor, as it contains no coconut, nor is there any change in the ingredients list except for flavorings). The real difference is that the Adventure Bar is 1.87 ounces and the regular bar is 2.07 ounces. Of course, they are the same price, so the new one costs 10 percent more per ounce.

AL SICHERMAN