No one really knows other than cereal sellers who often decide to include as much empty space in a cereal box as the law permits. In fact, empty space in cereal boxes has been a controversial phenomenon at least since 1973. Consumers allege that companies include empty space in their boxes to give a false appearance of more quantity. Companies often respond by saying it is impossible to cheat customers as the weight of a product is always printed on the box. The federal government has looked into the reasons for including empty space in boxes.

The federal government defines two kinds of empty space in a box (a) functional space, and (b) non-functional space. It has defined functional space as the space that is there to do some useful work such as protecting cereals from breaking. Consequently the non-functional space is the empty volume of a cereal box that does not do any useful work, other than creation of an illusion of abundance.

Despite these definitions, the government has failed to define the right amount of empty space in a cereal box. This has left some wiggle room for companies who can utilize this loophole in the law to say that all empty space is functional. A newspaper from Alabama reported in 1973 that the federal government was to launch an inquiry over the excessive use of non-functional empty space that is passed on as functional. It has been 40 years since. The findings of that inquiry remain seemingly inconclusive. The debate is as sour now as it was then.

A lot of cereal manufacturers have found a nice way out of this controversy by swapping their cardboard boxes with custom printed stand up bags. Stand up pouches are cheaper than cardboard boxes. But this is not the only reason for many cereal sellers to opt for these pouch bags. Like cardboard boxes, stand up bags do a great job of protecting cereals. They are environment friendly and inexpensive, and above all, they are extremely user friendly. Manufacturers can buy stand up pouches in just the right size without raising the FDA eyebrows.

Consumers like stand up pouches as they give a more accurate visible idea of quantity. This increases consumer trust, and ultimately boosts sales. Consumers do not have to waste their time looking at the weight of cereals packaged in over-sized cardboard boxes when they can just put the right-sized stand up pouches in their cart.