DEATH, TAXES AND COSTCO HOTDOGS
How Much A Costco Hot Dog Would Cost Indexed By Inflation, Visualized
Redditor nick_ecoinometrics speculated how Costco's hot dog would be priced had it not been kept stable by the company, and if its price was instead loosely indexed on inflation.
By 2023 the hot dog would've reached a price of $4, or a 166 percent increase of its original price.
The Story Behind Costco's Pricing
When Costco's current CEO, Craig Jelinek, once approached Sinegal, then the CEO, about raising the price of the hot dog, Sinegal told him, "If you raise the [price of the] effing hot dog, I will kill you. Figure it out."
In 2009, Jelinek did figure it out. Costco stopped using its longtime hot-dog supplier, Hebrew National, and built a Kirkland Signature hot-dog factory in Los Angeles. It later built another one in Chicago. The new factories reduced the production costs for the hot dog, allowing Costco to continue selling the menu item for $1.50.
H/T: Reddit.
