Costco confirms it will not raise the price of its $1.50 hot dog and soda combo, despite inflation

Despite the fact that the price of hot dogs and soda has gone up more than any other item, customers can rely on the $1.50 combo staying the same.

Senior Vice President Robert Nelson told investors on the third-quarter earnings call that there were no plans to increase the food court favorite price.

Since 1985, the company has said the same thing about consistent prices.

Craig Jelinek told shareholders in January 2020 that they had no plans to take that hot dog above a buck fifty.

Over the years, the company has publicly committed to maintaining the combo. If you raise the price of the hot dog, I will kill you. Figure it out.

Jelinek told a local Seattle publication that when you think of Costco, you think of a hot dog.

The deal has been protected. In the fiscal year that ended in March, the company sold more than 150 million hot-dog combinations. The famously inexpensive snacks are part of what draws people to the big box chain, Jelinek said in April 2021.

According to data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, the price of beef has been particularly hard hit by lofty price increases, up over 20% year-over-year in December. In Los Angeles and Chicago, the Kirkland Signature hot dog factories are owned by Costco, which has some control in this regard.

Over the last year, Costco has been reluctant to raise the prices of other staple items, including its famous $4.99 rotisserie chicken. In an earnings call in 2021, Rich Galanti said that there were no plans to charge higher prices for chicken.

Keeping a few items at the same price seems to be a winning strategy. The chain just announced sales for the third quarter were up 16% over the previous year, beating analyst expectations with the highest ever rates of membership renewal.

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