AriZona Iced Tea CEO 'Fights Hard' To Keep Prices At 99 Cents

AriZona Beverages first debuted its 99-cent cans at retail brick-and-mortar shops in 1992. Thirty-two years later, the price has yet to be raised a single penny. 

"I don't know about never, but not in the foreseeable future," Arizona Beverages chairman and founder Don Vultaggio said in a recent interview with NBC Morning News and Today, who was asked if price hikes were imminent.

Vultaggio said, "We're going to fight as hard as we can for consumers because consumers are my friends."

He explained that keeping prices for the 23-ounce cans was "maybe … my little way to give back."

"We're successful. We're debt-free. We own everything," he said. "Why have people who are having a hard time paying their rent … pay more for our drink?"

In a 2022 CNBC interview, Vultaggio explained the way his company keeps prices low is not through large advertising campaigns, like major competitors, but instead relies on word-of-mouth.

"I tell people every day I go to a gunfight with Coke and Pepsi," the billionaire said, adding, "I have a water gun and they have machine guns."

According to Bloomberg, Vultaggio has a roughly $4.5 billion net worth. 

Vultaggio's 99-cent cans remind us of Costco's commitment to a $1.50 hot dog-soda combo, which has been in place since the mid-1980s. 

In recent months, Costco CFO Gary Millerchip had to clarify with inflation-weary customers that the $1.50 hot dog-soda combo won't be hiked:

"To clear up some recent media speculation, I also want to confirm the $1.50 hot dog price is safe."  

Consumers need all the help they can get after watching prices of food at-home and away surge during the era of failed Bidenomics. 

Earlier this year, a WSJ report showed how consumers were spending 11.3% of their disposable income on food, the highest level since the early 1990s. 

Many consumers believe that supermarket food inflation has risen much more sharply than what is printed in government datasets.

The best deals in town include 99-cent AriZona teas and Costco hotdogs. The other week, Goldman said the best supermarket deals are at Walmart.