Why Hot Dogs Come in Packs of 10 and Buns Come in Packs of 8

LOUISIANA - With the big 4th of July weekend coming up celebrating America's 250th birthday, BBQ pits will be smoking all across Acadiana and Louisiana. One of the most American foods associated with the 4th of July Holiday are of course, hotdogs.

But, there's been a long standing mystery when it comes to how hot dogs and hot dog buns are sold.

Why are hot dogs sold 10 to a pack, when hot dog buns are sold 8 to a pack? Is it a marketing ploy to make us buy more hot dog buns than we actually need?

Believe it or not, there's actually a pretty interesting reason behind this long-running grocery store frustration.

The Hot Dog And Bun Mismatch Goes Back Decades

The reason has nothing to do with grocery stores trying to make you buy more.

Instead, it comes down to two completely different industries that developed their packaging standards independently.

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Hot dogs have traditionally been sold by weight. Years ago, standard hot dogs were made so that 10 of them weighed about one pound. Meat processors stuck with that packaging because it made production simple and consumers became accustomed to buying 10 at a time.

Bakeries, on the other hand, had a different priority.

hoto by Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Why Most Hot Dog Buns Come In Packs Of Eight

Bakeries designed their baking pans to hold eight buns. Those pans became the industry standard, making eight-count packages the most efficient and cost-effective way to bake, package, and ship hot dog buns.

By the time people noticed the mismatch, both industries had already settled into their own production systems and changing the equipment, the packaging, and the overall manufacturing processes across an entire industry simply wasn't worth the expense.

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Have Companies Ever Tried To Fix It?

Over the years, several different brands have actually experimented with different packaging sizes to address the mismatch issues.

Occasionally you'll find buns sold in packs of 10 or 12, and some hot dog manufacturers have released 8 count packages to try and match standard bun bags. However, those options aren't nearly as common as the traditional packaging shoppers have known for decades.

For the most part, companies have decided it's easier to leave things the way they are.

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It's One Of America's Favorite Grocery Mysteries

Despite countless jokes and memes over the years, the answer isn't some elaborate marketing trick.

The famous 10-to-8 mismatch is simply the result of two industries creating their own standards separately decades ago. One focused on meat sold by the pound, while the other focused on efficient baking equipment.