--- title: The ever-reliable $1.50 Costco hot dog combo - The Hustle description: Costco has never — and likely will never — raise the price of its $1.50 hot dog combo. image: https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/893442042-HS-News-Brief_2022-07-15T022403.857Z.webp --- # The ever-reliable $1.50 Costco hot dog combo ![Juliet Bennett Rylah](https://53.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/53/assets/hubspot.com/web-team/WBZ/HubSpot%20Media/Blog%202021/Images/Nav/Optimized/TheHustle_Icon_Dark.svg) [Juliet Bennett Rylah](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/author/juliet-bennett-rylah) [Juliet Bennett Rylah Twitter profile ](https://twitter.com/JBRylah) Published: July 15, 2022 Updated: October 11, 2023 Hi, welcome to Costco, where an all-beef hot dog and a soda is always — under threat of death — $1.50. ![The ever-reliable $1.50 Costco hot dog combo](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hs-fs/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/893442042-HS-News-Brief_2022-07-15T022403.857Z.webp?width=595&height=400&name=893442042-HS-News-Brief_2022-07-15T022403.857Z.webp) No, for real. Before Craig Jelinek became Costco’s CEO in 2012, he suggested to then-CEO and co-founder Jim Sinegal that the retailer raise the price of its hot dog combo as they were losing money on it, [per](https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/547020/costco-150-hot-dog-soda-combo-enigma) *Mental Floss*. According to Jelinek, Sinegal said, “If you raise [the price of] the effing hot dog, I will kill you.” Costco now sells [~130m](https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-1-50-costco-hot-dog-combo-that-defies-inflation-11657753870?mod=lead_feature_below_a_pos1) dogs annually. Had Costco kept pace with inflation, the combo would cost ~$4.13; notably, hot dog prices were up 16% YoY in June. #### **Costco has made *****some***** cost-cutting changes** - In 2009, amid rising supply costs, it switched from Hebrew National dogs to making its own. - When Coca-Cola was about to hike prices in 2013, Costco switched to Pepsi. #### **But lately…** … inflation and supply chain issues have forced many retailers to rethink their strategies. For Costco, that’s included raising the price of its chicken bake by a buck and a 20-ounce soda by 10 cents, [per](https://fortune.com/2022/07/12/costco-ceo-hot-dog-combo-inflation-answer/) *Fortune*. But when *CNBC*’s “Squawk on the Street” [asked](https://www.cnbc.com/2022/07/11/costco-ceos-one-word-answer-to-whether-he-would-raise-the-price-of-hot-dogs-no.html) Jelinek if the hot dog combo was next, he simply answered, “No.” **Why?** For Costco, most of its profit comes from its annual membership fee, which may increase. The eternally affordable hot dog combo builds goodwill among those members — and that’s more valuable than a slightly more expensive meal. Topics: [Ecommerce And Retail](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/tag/ecommerce-and-retail) [Economy](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/tag/economy) ## Follow us on social media prev next - ![Excited about Bed Bath & Beyond’s return? You may feel pretty lonely](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/1248390843-19-News-Brief_2023-08-20T225804.606Z.webp) ### Excited about Bed Bath & Beyond’s return? 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