The Hidden Economics of Fresh Raspberries in Lemonade

I go to a sauna that charges $20 for entry. They used to sell lemonade for about $2 per cup, or $3 for unlimited refills during your visit.

Every time I went, I'd stand there calculating whether the unlimited made sense. I knew I'd drink it once, maybe twice at most. The lemonade wasn't amazing. And the bigger problem for myself: they rotated flavors. They had maybe ten different options, but only two or three available each day. Some days the flavors they had just weren't good.

So most visits, I'd skip the lemonade and just drink water (or I'd go to a different sauna without really knowing why).

What Changed

They raised the unlimited refill price to about $4. But they made two other changes:

First, they switched to better syrups. Not fancy, just noticeably better quality than before.

Second, they fixed the menu at four flavors—raspberry, mango, cucumber, and ginger. When you order raspberry or mango, they dump frozen berries or frozen mango chunks into your cup. Cucumber gets actual cucumber slices. Ginger gets fresh ginger.

When I first saw it, I thought they were crazy. They raised prices but their costs went up way more. Frozen fruit isn't cheap. And people are going to drink way more refills now that the drinks are better—which means even more frozen raspberries per customer. Before, the production cost was minimal because they just used basic juice. Now, with these ingredients, their margin on lemonade is orders of magnitude smaller. For some customers, they might actually be losing money on the drink itself.

What Actually Happened

I now choose this sauna over others specifically because of the lemonade.

Before, I'd drink maybe two refills per visit, and I went occasionally. Now I drink four or five refills, and I go three times a week. That's $60 in entry fees every week that they wouldn't get otherwise.

From their accounting perspective, yes, they're making less margin on the lemonade. The frozen raspberries cost more than the old syrup, and I'm drinking more of it. But I wouldn't be there at all if they hadn't made these changes. I have a closer sauna to my home, but I drive past it to go to this one instead.

The Hidden Incentive

The fixed menu matters more than the quality upgrade. Knowing exactly what flavors will be available when I show up means I don't have to gamble on whether today's selection will be worth it. I can count on it. And not just me—every customer knows what to expect.

This looked like a bad business decision at first—raise prices while also raising costs, resulting in worse per-unit margins. But the per-unit margin doesn't matter if it drives frequency and loyalty. The sauna makes most of their money on entry fees, not lemonade. The lemonade is just the reason I keep coming back instead of trying other places. At least in my case.

Not all incentives are obvious. Some things that look like they hurt margins actually drive the behavior that matters. The frozen raspberries aren't about the lemonade. They're about making sure I show up next time.