When it comes to his business, raising prices on a popular product isn’t exactly Arizona Beverages’ chairman and co-founder Don Vultaggio’s cup of tea. For him, his 99-cent teas are best served with the assurance that its cost will remain the same. Vultaggio co-founded Arizona Beverages USA 30 years ago — on May 5, 1992.
At the time, a , a , and a 23-oucne can of Arizona iced tea was 99 cents. But through the decades and surging inflation rates, Arizona iced tea has held the line. Instead of cranking up the value of its iced tea, the company has opted to snip out the extra expenses that might increase the price.
“People say, ‘How do you do that?’ We make it faster. We ship it better. We ship it closer.
The cans are thinner,” he explained in a recent interview with TODAY’s Savannah Sellers while recalling just some of the ways he’s worked to keep the price of his 99-cent teas the same. “We’re successful. We’re debt-free.
We own everything. Why? Why have people who are having a hard time paying their rent have to pay more for our drink?” he told Sellers. “Maybe it’s my little way to give back.
When asked by Sellers whether he ever intends to raise prices, he responded, “Not in the foreseeable future. We’re gonna fight as hard as we can for consumers.” In a 2022 interview with TODAY.
com, Vultaggio explained that this shrewd understanding is why, despite recently witnessing inflation rates hit a 40-year high, he’s sold his iced tea drinks a.
