What costs more, the Pepsi or the can?

[Chekmate]

As I cracked open another Pepsi can today, I got to wondering. What costs more to make/produce: the Can, or the Pepsi inside it?

[bcullman]

A long while back I visited the Coors Brewery in Golden Colorado, and I recall them saying that 75% of the cost of a can of Beer is the can itself.

That led into a fairly lengthy display on the various ways they have beel able to reduce the metal content of the cans (by making them thinner, using different alloys, etc.). Clearly it was a big deal for them.

It's not Pepsi, but I imagine that the situaion is similar, and perhaps the percentage is even higher since in the end, cola is basically just sugar water, which most likely does not require the amount of prep time beer requires.

[SC_Wolf]

I'd say the marketing and advertising behind the Pepsi name is what's really costing you. Try comparing prices between name-brand and generic soda some time.

[samclem]

http://www.container-recycling.org/a...okeCanCost.pdf

The can costs 7 cents, the ingredients in soft drink 4 cents, according to the article. Other costs are also detailed.

[Hari Seldon]

I am sure that marketing, advertising and the like swamp the manufacturing costs. My father was involved in the manufacture of plated nail files that included diamond dust. His company charged 13c. per file (they actually do contain diamonds and white diamond dust is fairly expensive and the plating process is labor intensive). The company added cheap plastic handles and sold the files for $5.

[SC_Wolf]

What I want to know, is where are they finding vending machines that still sell a 12 oz can of a name brand soda for $0.60?

[cdhostage]

I remember something like this for McDonald's sodas. Buy a SuperSize drink for $2.50 and get a 6 cent cup and 4 cents of syrup, plus 0.001 cents of water. Or something like that. This is why I don't go to fast food places that don't let you refill the container during the same visit at that wonderful serve-yourself-soda-fountain - the damn place can afford to give me another percent of my purchase! They should all install the self-serve thingies. Suibways all have them. Burger Kings too (out of business soon).

I wonder about those cans - the shipping charges for all that water, which can be found everywhere. Wasteful. Perhaps there are many many bottling places (I know that Bermuda has its own bottling place - there are morre probably, ust not marked on the cans).
Maybe at one of those vending machines out in the boonies -
6 cent can
4 cent soda
4 cent transport
or womething like that. They like their raw profit margins large, so no vending machines out where it would be little business AND high transport cost. Maybe it'll bve okay iwth only one of those, but otherwise no.

[Dravin]

Originally posted by SC_Wolf
What I want to know, is where are they finding vending machines that still sell a 12 oz can of a name brand soda for $0.60?

There is one at the laundry mat me and my sister go to.

[neutron star]

What I want to know, is where are they finding vending machines that still sell a 12 oz can of a name brand soda for $0.60?

Huh? Everywhere. You live inside an amusement park or something?

Actually, I grumble when I have to pay 60 cents for a can. It's 45 (or is it 40?) cents in the vending machines outside my local Wal-Mart. The 35 cent Coke machines seem to be all gone, though. I haven't seen one of those in five or six years.