You've stopped off at a service station to get yourself a cool, refreshing drink, but
you can't help but notice that while a twelve ounce bottle of soda costs a mere dollar forty-nine,
an equally-sized bottle of water costs about fifty cents more.
You would think that soda should cost more because in addition to water it contains sugar,
flavorings, and a number of mysterious chemicals, whereas water just contains...water!
So what's really going on here?
If we look at production cost, the actual liquid really only accounts for a few cents
of the price of each.
Bottling and transportation cost a bit more, but the primary expense for both products
is marketing!
These companies spend millions putting their drinks on signs, TVs, and in the hands of
celebrities all in an attempt to convince us to pay for either a product that's largely
responsible for numerous health problems or for one that comes out of your tap virtually
for free.
But the average person doesn't know or care about any of this.
They're just looking for something to drink.
And companies simply charge whatever we're willing to pay for it.
Ten dollars for a bottle of water?
Yeah right!
But one ninety-nine?
Eh, what the heck.
It's good for you.
Soda on the other hand, suffers from a far less favorable public opinion.
We've caught on to the fact that it's an unhealthy, childish beverage selection, and as a result,
few people are willing to pay a whole two bucks per bottle.
But at one forty nine, who can resist?
Essentially it boils down to two very inexpensive products being sold at the highest price companies
can get away with.
The real question is, how long is it going to take before we start buying bottled air?
With the right logo, brand name, and marketing campaign, the sky's the limit!