Food costs and affordability have become more significant in the past few years — one useful way to save money when grocery shopping is to pay attention to unit price labels.

Unit price labels show how much an item costs per unit of measurement. It may use increments of weight (grams or pounds), volume (ounces or milliliters), or count (pieces).

Unit price labels present pricing separate from marketing ploys or deceiving packaging gimmicks and give you a more precise cost comparison, even when package sizes differ.

If the labels use different units of measurement, it can be challenging to find consistent information to compare products, but you can convert them to find the cheapest option.

For example, if a product is priced per pound and another per ounce, simply change the pounds to 16 ounces. Divide that per-pound number by 16 to achieve a comparable price quote.

Looking at the unit price can help identify the least expensive grocery stores. Unless you're a die-hard brand loyalist, let the unit price guide your decision.