$3.00 20oz are back

crazy horse said:

Soda is a very cheap item to produce, as to why the markup on it is so much I will never know.

soda coasts about FOUR CENTS per 12 oz to produce in fountain form. at least that's what we learned in Chef school purchasing class....my current manager says that's about what it is now.

FOUR CENTS. all it contains is water, CO2, and some flavored syup that comes in 20 lb boxes....

so WHY the huge markup??

it's obvious to me that HW feels that eating those four cents in each 12oz is worth it to them.

Oh my...only 4 cents? That's incredible. Come to think of it, soda really is a very simple mixture, and probably extremely cheap to make in huge quantities. I guess it's, well, I really cant think of why the mark up is so huge.

Who sets the standard in the industry for concession prices? I mean, we all pretty much agree the prices are pretty consistant nationwide, but somebody has to be the first to charge $3 over $2.75 for a pop out of a machine and get away with it... who sets the trend? Movie theaters? Amusement parks? Sporting events? Is it regional first then expands to other areas? Is there a super secret monthly newsletter that food service managers subscribe to? Just kidding about that last one... threw that in for the conspiracy theorists out there...

Just curious.

"Bring back the Penguins!"

It's not about eating the four cents. It's all about getting $2.96 in profit.

And, Holiday World rolled that profit into the cost of the ticket. It was more of a PR stunt for them that paid off nicely in perceived value and good will.

The whole point of selling pop is the huge markup. It is a great product to make a lot of money on as people almost always think they are getting more than they are, because many don't know it only costs four cents to make.

If you review the history of Holiday World's drink program (this was documented at the time...):

From their own records, they determined that their soft drink per-cap was $2.85. That is, if you take their total revenues from soft drink sales and divide it by the total number of customers who came through the gate, you get $2.85 per person.

So they raised the gate price by $4. $1 because they opened a new roller coaster that year, and $3 for the unlimited soft drinks. In other words, they didn't eat that twelve cents...they *increased* their soft drink revenues by $0.15 per customer.

As a bonus, I understand their food sales also increased.

KDC knows what it is doing. Sometimes I think Mr. Koch understands his business better than anybody else in the business.

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

That 4 cents was what I figured.

The vending machines are different from fountain drinks. However, they couldn't possibly cost that much. Also, Cedar Point gives Pepsi a lot of advertisement. All Cedar Point carries are Pepsi products, so it probably comes down to even less than 4 cents.

Hmmm $3 for a 20oz Pepsi....I don't think so.

You can buy a 2 liter of Sams Choice Soda at Wal-Mart for 50 cents. Which means I can buy 6 Two Liters for the price of one 20 ounce pop at Cedar Point.

That is insulting.

Holiday World's idea may have been a "cheap marketing ploy" but it is one that worked and it gets attention every year. I have seen articles about the free pop down here in Florida several times. Think about that.

Articles in Florida for a program at an amusement park in Indiana that doesn't even qualify as being a "regional" park in my opinion. That is pretty stunning.

Holiday World has had explosive growth, and while they do have two of the best coasters on the planet (and it's looking like three before too long), it's not the rides or attractions that keep pulling people in. They do more with less.

You have to give them credit for making you think that they're giving you soda out of the goodness of their hearts, and profiting wildly from it.

Wasn't it just two years ago that I purchased the refillable dragster cup and got free refills? That was the best thing in the world. Why did they stop?

I'm going there next tuesday, and I'm staying the whole day, so I figure why not just ask for the water for free every once in a while. It's healthier and free, so why not.

$3 is out of question.

Our family will definitely not be buying. However I have found out that some of the stands do not give the free water. The one by Magnum said they removed the water lever. Another one by Gemini said they don't have any cups. So even getting the free water can be frustrating.

The only food stands that don't have free water are the ones without a soda fountain. Lack of cups and removing the water lever sounds like BS, and I would complain to the Food Operations Office.

It the past, if they ran out of the mini water cups they just put water in a larger cup for me.

Detroit Basketball said:

You can buy a 2 liter of Sams Choice Soda at Wal-Mart for 50 cents. Which means I can buy 6 Two Liters for the price of one 20 ounce pop at Cedar Point.

That is insulting.

Of course you can, but Wal-Mart doesn't have 68 rides and all the other stuff CP has. When you go out anywhere you have to expect a healthy markup. While $3.00 is a little shocking at first, so are the prices at any other venue I've been to recently. It may not be right, but it's a fact of life that the price will be what the market will pay.

Of course, you can always buy your Sams Club soda and keep it in a cooler if you don't mind the inconvenience of going to your car or picnic shelter.

Hey...I'm a big defender of the Point. But, when they charge $3 for a .50 product that doesn't say "convenience mark up". Instead it says to me..."we are going to squeeze every last penny out of our 'valued' customers."

man, there trying to make keeping yourself hydrated, for a decent price, so hard.

No, they're not. They're trying to make more money. Something Cedar Fair is VERY good at.

MrScott

For everyone that is compaining about food prices not being rounded off to make it even with tax, remember that the sales tax rate in Ohio drops .5% in July. If Cedar Point were to round off all of the food prices now, they would have to turn around and reprice everything in the park and reprogram every item on several hundred registers in just 4 weeks.

Chief Wahoo said:
Hey...I'm a big defender of the Point. But, when they charge $3 for a .50 product that doesn't say "convenience mark up". Instead it says to me..."we are going to squeeze every last penny out of our 'valued' customers."

The key word being "customers" not family. If they raised admission 3 bucks next year and offered free unlimited soda, you all would bitch about the 3 bucks probably.

Well, the people at Holiday World didn't bitch when that happened. It was seen as revolutionary in the amusement park business and the park has enjoyed tons of free press as a result.

Just an update. Yesterday I bought a 32 oz coke at Sam's Club for .74 cents. AND, I could have as many refills as I wanted. So, I can get at least 62% MORE soda at Sam's Club for 86% LESS money.

Here's the deal.

I don't mind paying higher prices for elephant ears, cotton candy, and other amusement park foods that I can't find anywhere else. Heck, I pay higher prices to get in the park for rides I can't find anywhere else.

What I do have a problem with is paying outlandish prices on a product that you know darn well costs the park next to nothing to provide and can be found almost anywhere else way cheaper.
*** Edited 6/3/2005 12:28:01 PM UTC by Chief Wahoo***