The cost of food has been rapidly increasing in the US since 2021. In fact, the rate of inflation hit a 40-year-high in June of 2022, with many analysts stating that there are even more price hikes to come throughout the rest of the year and into 2024 as well.
The cost of food has been rapidly increasing in the US since 2021. In fact, the rate of inflation hit a 40-year-high in June of 2022, with many analysts stating that there are even more price hikes to come throughout the rest of the year and into 2024 as well.
This has affected not only grocery stores but restaurant prices as well, leaving Americans to come up with some creative solutions on how to maximize their portion potential when going out to eat. Some have taken to placing to-go orders for kids’ meals at their favorite chain restaurant franchises or looking for meal prep hacks in the form of family-style meal offerings.
While it’s understandable that some food chains have no choice but to jack up their prices in order to stay in business, there are numerous shoppers who believe that the increased costs of their offerings have more to do with corporate greed rather than financial necessity.
This is something many TikTokers thought was the case after watching a viral clip posted by a Wingstop customer who was shocked at the cost of a drink they were purchasing from the popular chicken wings franchise. The beverage cost a whopping $3.85.
TikTok user @lovelybrina2 said that the cost of a beverage from the franchise was so high that even the Wingstop employee was shocked and gave it to her for free. They shared the details of their visit in a viral clip that’s garnered over 3.1 million views on the popular social media platform. @lovelybrina2 first shared the clip on Sept. 14.
@lovelybrina2 #inflation #wingstop ♬ sad SpongeBob music – michael
In their video, they record the Wingstop drink in question along with a text overlay. It reads, “This drink was $3.85 and i was like ‘$3.85?’ and the worker was like ‘yeah sh*ts crazy.’ and i asked if i could pay with coins and he said ‘at that point ill just give it to u.’ s/o to him love u”
There were a number of commenters who also agreed that the cost of beverages is exorbitantly high at popular franchises, like Panera.
“The medium sized drinks at Panera are 3.45 and the large are 4.01,” one user wrote.
“At my work we charge $4 for a large fountain drink and $2.50 for a small… i rlly j work there frfr,” someone else said.
Some food service employees said that they, too, don’t like to charge customers for beverages.
“This the type of employee I am like if you’re just ordering a drink I’m not gon waste either of our time you getting it for free,” one claimed.
One server said that they only add charges for sodas if customers upset them. “I only charge my tables sodas if they piss me off cause they be adding up otherwise I’m like look y’all, it’s free,” they shared.
“Nah i was straight up just handing cups out left & right at chipotle. i’d charge the ppl that pissed me or the line ppl off tho,” another food service worker admitted.
The profit margins for fountain beverages are notoriously high, costing restaurants only a few cents a pour. Louisiana Pantry writes that a 5-gallon bag of Coca-Cola fountain syrup yields 30 gallons of beverage. Amazon, for instance, sells this 5-gallon box for $180.60, meaning that at this price point, restaurants can get 3,840 ounces of soda from one box (if they’re following a 5:1 syrup-to-water ratio). This will result in 160 separate 24-ounce cups, which is about $1.13 per 24-ounce soda. However, restaurants typically get better deals on syrups for bulk purchases with specific retailers, so these margins can be even higher.
A Quora post on fountain pouring broke down that the actual cost of a soda for a restaurant is significantly cheaper, presumably because the 5:1 ratio of syrup to soda water may be “fudged” a little bit, combined with discounts restaurants get for purchasing syrups in bulk. According to a top-rated comment in the post, with the cost of cups, fountain soda pours come out to around 12 cents each.
The Daily Dot has reached out to Wingstop via email and @lovelybrina2 via TikTok comment for further information.
