Simply put, If you find a common denominator between 12 and 16, and multiply them to fit, You should end up with a proportion giving you the correct answer. Whichever is lower is the better deal
Ex: a box of cereal from target costs $2 Two box deal from Costco costs $5 Which is cheaper for the money.
Assuming they are the same size, all you have to do is take the dollar amount from the one from target and multiply it by two, giving you the cost of two boxes.