SODA FOUNTAIN OR CANNED/BOTTLED

Do you have a soda fountain, or just sell canned/bottled drinks? I know that there is more $ to be made with fountain drinks, or is canned/bottled your priority at this time? Let me know what everyones thinking, and what your prices are, and sales per week.

Both.
Profit is higher with fountain, but for delivery you need cans and 2-liters.

ditto

fountain more profitable???free refills,over poring to rid the foam off top
cups+lids,ice machine
cans+bottles ,need merchandiser-cooler
6 to 1,1/2 doz 2 another
i have both,we del both,dine in both.i pay 50 for b.i.b,get about 160 16 oz drinks per bag,if my servers do not tip out the foam…i get a sixer of pepsi
for 1.50.

i have to agree here… fountain soda is not profitable no more. aside from employees sucking down a 2 liter of fountain soda every day… the cups, lids, add up…

I’ve found fountain soda to be more profitable then bottled soda. Especially now-a-days with Pepsi cost raping us all.

I personally think fountain sodas are one of the nastiest things you can consume. Between the dirty ice machine, moldy dispenser parts and unevenly calibrated machines I think I’d rather be served pond water from behind your shop.

G.R.O.S.S.

for a 20 oz soda in the dining room, (accounting for 1 refill), cost is $.42, retail is $1.50.

for a 32 oz soda for delivery, including cup and lid, cost is $.39, retail is $1.50

for a 2 liter for delivery, cost is $1.34, retail $2.00 (I store 2 liters a room temp, not in a cooler or merchandiser)

for dining room, fountain is expected by the customer, and therefore a must.
for delivery, while fountain works ok and is more profitable, a 2 liter is much more convenient for drivers to handle. So which ever you use, or even if you use both, depends on how much delivery vs. dining room business you do, and how important profit over speed and convenience for drivers is.

I use 2 liters almost exclusively packed in a Pizza/2 liter special, and give the 2 liter away. In the customers mind, a 2 liter has a value of $2 max, (since our grocery stores sell them for $1 - $1.25). So I basically plan my foodcosts with the intention of absorbing the $1.34 cost for each 2 liter, and getting no retail in return, but the total markup for the special is 60-65%.

bottom line…don’t ASSUME which is more profitable for you, or even copy us.
do all your math, set your food cost goal, get a plan on making that goal, and execute. best of luck.

just be carefull who you deal with they all promise the world,next thing you know prices go up like crazy.
i switched to coca cola 4 years ago they where beating pepsi by $10 on a 5gal BIB witch is alot.They changed from 5gal to2.5gal if oyu price 2 2.5gal together now the past pepsi by $6.
Their customer service SUCKs.
Just this week they were supposed to call for the order >they did not
so i call that afternoon .The answer > Your order is to late past 3Pm so we will not deliver.
The thing is we are a small Business not a $$$$ chain so those companies dont give a da#$%
But what option do we have, COKE PEPSI or RC after that ,it would have to be water or TEA .
And they know it, so they do whatever they fell like doing with you.

for me fountan soda is not more profitable, Pepsi is raping me on the cost, and with free refils and customers wanting drinks to go I get raped. I pay like ten bucks per gallon for pepsi syrup, and what’s worse a lot of the pop I have comes in three gallon bags, and I get charged more per gallon for the three gallon bags. I make a lot more money on two liters with almost two dollar per two liter mark up. One thing you’ve GOT to watch out for with Pepsi is their “technicians” setting your fountains to dispense too much syrup. About a month ago the pepsi guy came in for Maintenance, he brixed the machines, checked the lines and all that crap. Well a few days later, as per my usual weekly routine, I brixed my pepsi fountain machine and found that 5 of my 8 dispensers were dispensing WAY too much syrup. If you don’t have a brix kit, call pepsi and they will provide you with one. The kits come with instructions on how to brix the machine. The ratio you’re looking for is 1 part syrup to 5 parts carbonated water. Also, when NuCo or whoever your carbonation people are, when they come to refill your CO2, check your fountains, sometimes it will throw the ratios off. One thing we did recently was go to smaller cups/glasses for dine in, it has helped beverage cost a lot.

we use just canned sodas and 2 liters… the cost of coke fountain syrup kept increasing every time the coke guy came through the door. the last time he came in and the price went up 10 bucks a box, i threw him out. to make matters more frustrating… it is cheaper to buy cans and two liters from any local grocery store than buying from coke! coke and pepsi are insane… someone needs to explain the concept of wholesale to them.

as for me on this, I am switching from fountain sodas to premium sodas( like Jones and bottled Coca Cola made in Mexico, made with sugar cane instead of high fructose corn syrup) for dine-in and the 2-litter Coke and Pepsi products for delivery.
I would rather not even serve sodas, but that would not be practical.
If I can break-even on the soda service, I am satisfied, as I see my business as selling and making a profit on pizza.
There is a profit model for selling soda and things peripheril(sp!) t pizza, look at Chucky Cheese and places with game rooms.

that what makes this business interesting !,

Otis

I sell Fountain pop, cans and bottles. I am quick casual so I have to have the fountain for my dine in customers. We dont deliver fountain pop so thats where the cans and 2l come in and also for people with take out. I charge 1.99 for a 32 oz refillable cup so even with a refill I make money and probably 80% dont refill. I also have 12 oz at .99 and 20 oz at 1.39. For me it makes money. My cans are 6.49 a case and 2l cost me about 1.25 each I sell cans for 1.25 and 2l for 2.50 Yes you can buy 2l at most stores for less then through coke but this is because most grocery stores use them as a lost leader and sell them at or bellow cost so shop around if it is worth the time and effort.

I did know of a drive through/quick mart that purchased all of their beverages for the week at whichever grocery store in town was having the big sale that weekend. It makes sense, there was a higher margin, but it is too much for me. I make a high margin on pizza, beverages are just extra. I have plenty of headaches with a business to run, let alone trying to go shopping every weekend.

I do not consider fountain soda profitable anymore. Syrup,cup,lid,straws & nobody here talks about co2 & ice. they’r both expensive! in california 7lb. ice bag costs 96cent wholesale,150 retail. And how about that big 32oz. FOR 59c banner, your friendly pepsi salesman is always guranteed put up on your neighbour mini mart?

I think it depends on how you look at profit. I’ve worked at places that have both, and the headaches involved with the fountain just don’t seem to be worth it to me. The things break, they spill, customers abuse them, the need to be serviced. I’m sticking with cans and 2 liter bottles for soda, and Snapple for juice. I may add Foxon Park soda, which is a local soda.

Try to get on board w/ a local micro brewer whom also makes soda this will keep you diff. from the rest and should lower some costs of the soda.If you choose to you can also bring in one of the Big chains in for your deliveries.There is no need to have to have fountain in your sit down rest…A fancy bottle of some local brew soda works just as well or even better because it is diff. and you can put a ‘fancy’ price on it.Hey.be creative its your rest…
Niccademo

as for me now, I got a soda machine outside and it even takes dollar bills…
I had a fountain machine in my trailer and it got in the way of me making good pizzas and they is the reason people visit me, maybe our sevice is good and they like us some…

every operation is different so you have to figure out what works for you
the outside soda machine is working for me now,
Oits

As a customer, I see canned sodas in a dine-in facility as a horrible option. I’d rather go somewhere that had fountain. Then again, I normally order tea, but I figure if they can’t handle a fountain, they probably can’t brew tea right either. Also, cans feel too “self serve”, even over the McDonald’s method of “here’s your cup, have fun”.