4 ms·

They actually sell the same hot dogs that they use in the food court back in the refrigerated area (or something very similar) but I'm not at a Costco and can't

They actually sell the same hot dogs that they use in the food court back in the refrigerated area (or something very similar) but I'm not at a Costco and can't check the pricing. I doubt they're making much of a profit on the dog-and-a-drink combo, but I'm pretty sure they're not subsidizing it at least in terms of ingredients. I'd be surprised if cost of ingredients for it was more than $1-1.10 - $0.50-0.60 for the dog, $0.20 for the bun, $0.05-0.10 for condiments, $0.30-0.35 for the soft drink, bearing in mind that they're not paying the retail prices for those items.

kurthr 8y ago
I seriously doubt that their cost of soda runs even $0.30. A 5 gallon bag of Coke syrup (in relatively small quantities) runs $75 and makes 30 gallons or ~500 small cups of soda. At another 10c, the ice and an expensive cup might cost as much as the soda itself, but $0.20 total is probably high for Costco. https://www.quora.com/Are-the-drinks-and-beverages-normally-the-highest-profit-margin-items-on-the-menu-for-restaurants-and-fast-food-restaurants https://www.quora.com/Are-the-drinks-and-beverages-normally-...
- birdman3131 8y ago
  i am going to assume that the hot dog combo is the same as Sams club's $1.50 combo. (I don't have a costco near me at all. I live in Walmart country) Sams runs a 32oz drink with theirs. You could claim that it is only a 16oz with the ice but on the other hand you have free refills so I think 32oz is a fair average between ice and refills. At that point it is 120 drinks per 5 gallons of syrup. Using your figure of $75 that leaves each drink costing $0.62 plus the cup. (Ice is negligible in cost.) Non branded cups are $0.075 ea. I doubt branding adds much cost at scale. Hot dogs are $96 for 120 (40 lb case) That comes out to be $0.80 per. As for buns it looks like ~$0.15 per bun. So add up soda + cup + hot dog + bun and you get $1.64 per meal. I left out lids, straws and napkins but those are small amounts.
  - fencepost 8y ago
    Costco's dog is "1/4+ lb" so I'd figure 4 oz for convenience. I suspect their cost is $2/lb or less or $0.50-0.60/dog. Costco drinks are a 20 oz cup, and they sell them for $0.59. They use non branded /Pepsi branded cups. I'll update with their retail price for the dogs in bulk if I go over this evening for a chicken. Are you using retail /small scale wholesale pricing for your calculations?
    - anoncoward111 8y ago
      To be honest, it sounds like the labor cost of moving these ingredients around and cooking/serving the meals is something to be considered here as well. The average employee, when factoring in wages, training, compliance and benefits, probably costs the company nearly 20 an hour. An in person transaction, from swiping the card to cooking and serving the food, probably is nearly $1 per dog.
    - birdman3131 8y ago
      Using Sam's prices. They have cheaper hot dogs but Nathan's is what they actually advertise as being in the concession.

kurthr 8y ago

I seriously doubt that their cost of soda runs even $0.30. A 5 gallon bag of Coke syrup (in relatively small quantities) runs $75 and makes 30 gallons or ~500 small cups of soda. At another 10c, the ice and an expensive cup might cost as much as the soda itself, but $0.20 total is probably high for Costco. https://www.quora.com/Are-the-drinks-and-beverages-normally-the-highest-profit-margin-items-on-the-menu-for-restaurants-and-fast-food-restaurants https://www.quora.com/Are-the-drinks-and-beverages-normally-...

birdman3131 8y ago
i am going to assume that the hot dog combo is the same as Sams club's $1.50 combo. (I don't have a costco near me at all. I live in Walmart country) Sams runs a 32oz drink with theirs. You could claim that it is only a 16oz with the ice but on the other hand you have free refills so I think 32oz is a fair average between ice and refills. At that point it is 120 drinks per 5 gallons of syrup. Using your figure of $75 that leaves each drink costing $0.62 plus the cup. (Ice is negligible in cost.) Non branded cups are $0.075 ea. I doubt branding adds much cost at scale. Hot dogs are $96 for 120 (40 lb case) That comes out to be $0.80 per. As for buns it looks like ~$0.15 per bun. So add up soda + cup + hot dog + bun and you get $1.64 per meal. I left out lids, straws and napkins but those are small amounts.
- fencepost 8y ago
  Costco's dog is "1/4+ lb" so I'd figure 4 oz for convenience. I suspect their cost is $2/lb or less or $0.50-0.60/dog. Costco drinks are a 20 oz cup, and they sell them for $0.59. They use non branded /Pepsi branded cups. I'll update with their retail price for the dogs in bulk if I go over this evening for a chicken. Are you using retail /small scale wholesale pricing for your calculations?
  - anoncoward111 8y ago
    To be honest, it sounds like the labor cost of moving these ingredients around and cooking/serving the meals is something to be considered here as well. The average employee, when factoring in wages, training, compliance and benefits, probably costs the company nearly 20 an hour. An in person transaction, from swiping the card to cooking and serving the food, probably is nearly $1 per dog.
  - birdman3131 8y ago
    Using Sam's prices. They have cheaper hot dogs but Nathan's is what they actually advertise as being in the concession.