Florida-Born Publix Sold an 18.5-Ounce Betty Crocker Cake Mix for 79 Cents in 1985. Today’s Box Is Different

In December 1985, Publix sold Betty Crocker SuperMoist cake mix for 79 cents a box.

The box on the shelf today holds noticeably less, and it costs a lot more than 79 cents.

Here’s how that old Publix box compares with today’s, if you’re baking in Florida this season.

Note: This is general information, not financial advice. Prices are subject to change.

The Ad Behind the 79 Cents

Publix ran a page of Betty Crocker baking mixes in the Lakeland Ledger on Thursday, Dec. 12, 1985, with prices good for a week. Betty Crocker Assorted SuperMoist Cake Mixes, in an 18.5-ounce box, sold for 79 cents.

Publix opened its first store in Winter Haven, Florida, in 1930, and the ad listed the stores where its prices applied, including Winter Haven, Lakeland and Lake Wales. Betty Crocker pound cake mix cost 79 cents on the page as well.

A can of Betty Crocker Creamy Deluxe frosting cost $1.39, so a mix and a can of frosting came to $2.18 together.

A 5-pound bag of Gold Medal flour also cost 79 cents, with a limit of one bag and a requirement of $7.50 or more in other purchases, not counting tobacco.

The Box Today

Betty Crocker lists its Super Moist yellow cake mix at 13.25 ounces. On Oct. 11, 2026, Publix’s website listed Betty Crocker Super Moist Yellow Cake Mix, a 13.25-ounce box, at $1.99 for the Tampa store.

That’s 5.25 ounces less than the 18.5-ounce box in the 1985 ad. It’s the same brand in a smaller box, with about 72% of the ounces, so matching 18.5 ounces would take about 1.4 boxes. If you bake two cakes, two of today’s boxes add up to 26.5 ounces for $3.98, which is 8 ounces more than the 1985 box.

Betty Crocker’s cake mix at Publix went from a 79-cent ad price to $1.99, an increase of about 152%. You can run the same math on any box by dividing its price by the ounces printed on the package.

79 Cents in Today’s Dollars

That 79 cents ran in a Lakeland paper, on a page headed “Holiday baking traditions with Publix and Betty Crocker.” Publix’s 79 cents from December 1985 equals about $2.42 in August 2026 dollars, using the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Consumer Price Index.

To adjust the price, multiply 79 cents by 334.98 and divide by 109.3. The index rose from 109.3 in December 1985 to 334.98 in August 2026, an increase of about 206%. That’s a national figure for all items, not a Florida grocery price.

Publix’s $1.99 box comes in about 18% under that inflation-adjusted price. Per ounce, the picture changes. Adjusted for inflation, the 1985 box cost about 13.1 cents an ounce. Today’s box costs about 15 cents an ounce, which is roughly 15% higher.

That $2.18 mix and frosting pair from 1985 equals about $6.68 in August 2026 dollars. Your box costs less than the adjusted 1985 price. Your ounces cost more.

What This Comparison Leaves Out

Publix’s 1985 ad and its 2026 website aren’t pricing identical boxes. The ad sold assorted SuperMoist mixes, while the 2026 listing is for one flavor, yellow. Betty Crocker’s site lists its butter recipe yellow and devil’s food Super Moist mixes at 13.25 ounces, too.

In the ad, Publix wrote that shoppers could enjoy Betty Crocker products “while the savings are great,” so 79 cents was an advertised special. A single ad can’t show what the box cost the week before or the week after.

The 1985 prices applied at the listed stores around Lakeland, while the $1.99 comes from the Tampa store, so where you shop matters too.

What Reports Say About the Size

Today's box is 13.25 ounces. If you remember a bigger box from years back, these reports may help explain why.

Apartment Therapy's Nov. 2024 republication of a Kitchn report said shoppers noticed Betty Crocker mixes dropping from 15.25 ounces to 13.25 ounces.