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Bulk buys aren't the only thing that brings people through Costco's massive warehouse doors. The wholesaler's food court has a dedicated fan base, and it all started with the brand's consistently priced hot dog. Costco sells its hot dogs, which come with a soda, for $1.

50 and has been doing so since the mid-1980s. The steady price of the hot dog combo is part of its lore. The cost of the 1⁄4-pound Kirkland Signature hot dog and 20-ounce refillable soda has been heavily protected over the years.



In fact, when presented with the idea of potentially raising the combo's price, a former Costco CEO reportedly responded, "If you raise the effing hot dog, I will kill you" (via ). You might be wondering who is behind this wondrous hot dog deal. As it turns out, while , the company behind the meat has not always been the same.

At first, Hebrew National supplied Costco with kosher all-beef franks and did so for almost 25 years before the chain chose to bring the sausage making in-house — a decision it made to protect the hot dogs' price point. Costco makes its own hot dogs today Regular Costco shoppers know that many of the products from its are actually produced by other name-brand companies. So, it should come as no surprise that the wholesaler's hot dogs were originally supplied by a third-party vendor.

However, in the 2000s, demand for kosher hot dogs began to dwindle, which led Hebrew National to raise its prices. The price increase put Costco in the unfortunate position of hav.

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