Soda pricing fluctuation

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cjd
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Soda pricing fluctuation

Post by cjd »

Recently a 2L of Pepsi product was $3.69 at Winn Dixie which I thought was crazy. But just tonight I saw at Publix they are 2/$8.

So either prices have gone up a lot very recently or are fluctuating quite a bit.

I know a few weeks ago Winn Dixie did a promotion of packs of bottles of Pepsi product if you bought within a certain qty that made it even cheaper than Walmart.

Both Publix and Winn Dixie run the promotions sometimes of buy 2 get 2 free that also puts them cheaper than Walmart.

I thought Winn Dixie was just not getting good regular vendor pricing on Pepsi products but seems this is high at Publix as well.
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Re: Soda pricing fluctuation

Post by storewanderer »

cjd wrote: January 31st, 2025, 5:24 pm Recently a 2L of Pepsi product was $3.69 at Winn Dixie which I thought was crazy. But just tonight I saw at Publix they are 2/$8.

So either prices have gone up a lot very recently or are fluctuating quite a bit.

I know a few weeks ago Winn Dixie did a promotion of packs of bottles of Pepsi product if you bought within a certain qty that made it even cheaper than Walmart.

Both Publix and Winn Dixie run the promotions sometimes of buy 2 get 2 free that also puts them cheaper than Walmart.

I thought Winn Dixie was just not getting good regular vendor pricing on Pepsi products but seems this is high at Publix as well.
What I notice is the high pricing seems to be nationwide. It isn't much lower or higher out in CA than elsewhere.

Safeway NorCal is 3.29 for 2L Coke on sale, regular price 3.79.

Not many people buy 2 L Soda as it is. I expect ultimately the 2 L Soda will be discontinued. At these prices, you can't afford for it to go flat and have to dispose it..
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Re: Soda pricing fluctuation

Post by cjd »

Save a Lot had them two for $5 when I was there the other day. Looks like they are currently at $2.20 for Pepsi products here at Save a Lot.

I thought the two liters sold well but maybe the cans are more popular since they won’t get flat.

I’ve just been buying store brand sodas for the most part.
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Re: Soda pricing fluctuation

Post by storewanderer »

cjd wrote: January 31st, 2025, 5:56 pm Save a Lot had them two for $5 when I was there the other day. Looks like they are currently at $2.20 for Pepsi products here at Save a Lot.

I thought the two liters sold well but maybe the cans are more popular since they won’t get flat.

I’ve just been buying store brand sodas for the most part.
I have been surprised the stores are not pushing store brand soda more. Given the price increases, this seems like an optimal time. Especially Kroger and Safeway who both have soda plants.

I see some effort on the Kroger front to promote the Big K Soda but it is 3.00-4.00 per 12 pack on sale. Regular price is 4.something. Kroger does not include Seltzer on that sale, but runs some separate sales on Seltzer.

Safeway ran some promotions earlier last year like 2.50 12pack or 0.50 2 Liter both with some quantity limit, but haven't seen anything in a while that good there. Safeway included Seltzer on that deal. More frequently, Safeway promotes the Soleil Seltzer at 2.50-3.00 8pk. But curiously they cut flavors on Soleil (Pineapple seems to be gone) recently.
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Re: Soda pricing fluctuation

Post by BillyGr »

Seems that a few places have gone into deals on those 1.25L bottles, like 4/$5 or 2/$3 in the last month or so around this area in NY.

At that point, they are both cheaper than the larger ones and more convenient as well.
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Re: Soda pricing fluctuation

Post by storewanderer »

BillyGr wrote: February 2nd, 2025, 5:34 pm Seems that a few places have gone into deals on those 1.25L bottles, like 4/$5 or 2/$3 in the last month or so around this area in NY.

At that point, they are both cheaper than the larger ones and more convenient as well.
1.25L seems a lot more reasonable than 2L. Many people will go through that before it runs flat.

We had a brand out west called Crystal Geyser who for years made 1.25L Seltzer Water. They do or used to do Trader Joe's label too. That 1.25L seltzer was an annoyance to me- the bottle didn't fit in a cup holder. I noticed last fall that seltzer was discontinued.
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Re: Soda pricing fluctuation

Post by wnetmacman »

Where I am in South Louisiana, several stores had been running 2L bottles on some form of sale. Brookshire Grocery's Super 1 Foods stores had them for $1.67 each when you buy 3.

Last week, they went to the 'new normal' price of $3/bottle.

Walmart had them for $2.24; now it's $2.85.

I don't even want to talk about cans....
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Re: Soda pricing fluctuation

Post by buckguy »

So, do bottlers still promote all this promotional activity with deals for shelf space? When I bought soda on a more regular basis, you could almost predict when your favorite brand would be on sale at one chain or another. As long as they have that income stream, there's no reason for chains to run promotions on their own brands. Soda has been on a long-term decline for at least a couple decades, but I have to wonder what benefit comes from encouraging their remaining customers to stock up at promotional prices. It's probably not going to expand market share.
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Re: Soda pricing fluctuation

Post by cjd »

I’ve noticed the WD Chek soda is nearly always on sale either for a BOGO or $10 for 10 or I get the coupons in the app.

Publix will often do I think $5 for 3 on its brand soda.

I noticed tonight at Winn Dixie Pepsi products are the same as Publix $8 for 2. Crazy!
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Re: Soda pricing fluctuation

Post by Super S »

I was in Fred Meyer a couple days ago.

They had their 12 pack can price inflated to $10.99 for a "BUY 2 GET 3 FREE" sale. And you must buy 5 packs to qualify.
If you do buy 5 packs and drink a lot of pop, it might be a good deal as it pencils out that way to $4.40 each. This does apply to both Pepsi and Coke products.

But still, they had their Big K store brand at 3 for $12 ($4.00 each) with no minimum required.

I am not loyal to any brand names. The Big K "Dr. K" is actually a pretty good clone of Dr. Pepper.

WinCo has been having sale prices of around $5-$6 per 12 pack, with regular shelf prices in the $7-$8 range. Pepsi products have been slightly cheaper than Coke products across the board lately.
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