Cheap icons like Costco hot dog, AriZona tea defy inflation

The big picture: By holding the line on price, companies trade margin for loyalty, signaling to customers that "value" is part of their DNA.

• Other brands, including McDonald's, Pizza Hut and Target, are driving affordability with new discounts or price rollbacks.

Driving the news: Olive Garden is putting its Never Ending Pasta Bowl back on the menu at $13.99 — unchanged for the fourth straight year, even as restaurant prices climb.

• AriZona Beverages' chairman and co-founder Don Vultaggio said Thursday in an interview with the Today Show that he is committed to keeping the 99-cent price on the cans despite tariffs on aluminum.
• The company is also cutting the price of its 20-ounce plastic bottles to $1 from $1.25.

Flashback: A 22-ounce can of AriZona iced tea has been 99 cents since the company was founded in 1992.

• Costco's combo meal has been $1.50 since it was introduced to the food court menu in 1985, though the soda was switched this summer from Pepsi to Coke products.

Between the lines: Costco's $1.50 hot dog combo and the wholesale club's rotisserie chicken are "loss leaders" — examples of when the wholesale giant accepts thin or even negative margins to drive customer traffic.

• Shoppers splurge on other, higher-margin items once they're in the door.

Context: Food prices increased by 23.6% from 2020 to 2024, outpacing overall inflation of 21.2% during that period, according to the U.S. Economic Research Service.

• Most restaurant chains raise prices annually — sometimes more than once a year — making these frozen-price items stand out even more.