A man walked into a convenience store and grabbed an Arizona Iced Tea out of the refrigerator. Then he noticed the price labeled $1.99—a dollar more than the universal price for the popular beverage. He questioned whether the brand finally raised its longtime low price.
In a video with over 1.7 million views, TikToker Bailey (@baileybye_) holds up a can of Arizona.
“Where’s the owner of Arizona, bro?” he asks, showing the $1.99 label on the shelf. “That’s not 99 cents, my dog.”
Can Stores Sell Arizona For More Than 99 Cents?
According to Arizona’s website, the tea cans still show the recommended price of 99 cents. However, it doesn’t enforce the 99-cent sale price, despite rumors that the company would cut ties with stores that sell the cans for more.
Arizona chairman and co-founder Don Vultaggio tells TODAY, “Unfortunately, we don’t govern how store owners choose to price their products.”
However, some customers on the r/ArizonaTea subreddit still attempt to report higher prices directly to Arizona in hopes that the company will step in.
“I worked with a guy who would habitually report a place whenever he saw Arizona over 99 cents. I kinda felt it was a mute point, though, when the cans stopped having the 99 cents on them,” one commenter wrote.
A second shared, “Just bought an Arizona ice tea at my school for 4 dollars, lol. I might report it just for that, and hope the company is annoying in response bc wtf.”
“My local grocery store sells then for like 2.79, even cans with the 99cent still printed on it, it’s outrageous,” a third remarked.
Will Shoppers Pay For The More Expensive Tea?
While shops can charge more than 99 cents for the tea can, some commenters say they’re not falling for the price increase after years of promises that it would remain low.
“I haven’t seen an Arizona for 99 cents since pre pandemic and I refuse to pay more. they don’t even have the price printed on them anymore,” a viewer wrote.
Another remarked, “2 dollars is a next level of greed.”
“This and the $4.99 rotisserie at Costco are the last hope I have in this place,” a third joked.
Others shared how much higher some retailers sell the Arizona tea cans for.
“They’re 3.49 at my local potbelly like- why are y’all even selling em if you’re gonna charge that much,” one commenter said.
“I work at liquor store & we sell it for $1.10. $1.40 for the new ones smh,” a second wrote.
Several suggested that stores may purchase Arizona cans without the pre-priced 99-cent label to skirt around the original recommended price. However, cans with the 99-cent label still have to be sold for their advertised price.
@baileybye_ @AriZona Iced Tea #99cent
BroBible reached out to Bailey via TikTok direct message and comment and to Arizona via email for further comment. We will update the story when they reply.