There was something wrong with my box of Cheerios…

It had shrunk. Not by a lot… You might not have even noticed the change in the cereal aisle in recent years… But it’s a trend that’s happening in a lot of the aisles.

Shrinking food packages – from breakfast cereal to cheese-flavored snack crackers – means that you’re paying the same price for less.

[ad#Google Adsense 336×280-IA]Food companies know that American consumers don’t like when products go up in price.

So instead, they have started reducing how much you’re getting for your money.

By doing this, companies can still pass along a price increase to you… just in a different form.

Because you’re getting less cereal for the same price, the price per unit goes up.

Since it costs companies less to fill the smaller bag, their profits increase.

But it isn’t all bad… We’ve found a common-sense way for you to benefit from this development. Think of it as a way that you can “hedge” your grocery bill…

A hedge is a way to protect yourself against loss on a bet or investment by making another transaction. Consider the products you buy at the grocery store to be your initial “investment.” In order to hedge ourselves, we need to make another transaction.

That’s when we turn to the food companies…

For example, General Mills (GIS) is one of the world’s best-known cereal makers. The Minneapolis-based company makes Cheerios, Wheaties, Lucky Charms, and a host of other “Big G” cereals. You probably have a few of these brands in your cabinet right now.

General Mills purposely shrank the size of its cereal boxes and raised its prices years ago. That allowed the company to weather the financial crisis in 2008-2009.

But General Mills makes lots of other products, too… like Betty Crocker desserts, Bisquick pancake mix, Pillsbury dough, Haagen-Dazs ice cream, Progresso soup… and more.

And the company does so profitably. Look at the company’s 20-year stock chart…

Over the past two decades, General Mills’ growth has been incredible. A $10,000 investment in GIS shares 20 years ago would be worth more than $82,000 today.

And this scenario isn’t limited to General Mills. Many other companies that sell their products in grocery stores – like Procter & Gamble (PG), Clorox (CLX), and Church & Dwight (CHD) – have done as well (or better) in that span. Plus, these companies’ stock prices barely budged during the recession.

Consider hedging your grocery shopping by buying some shares of these companies today. Any profits you earn will offset your rising grocery bill.

Good investing,

Brian Weepie

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Source: Growth Stock Wire