PiMan
Deity
The idea of shipping stuff bugs me (especially bottled water!). However, the cost of centralized manufacture + shipping versus the cost of distributed manufacture is probably negligible. The real expenses are marketing. And the cost is determined by how much people will pay, not based on anything economic.
It's almost cheaper to buy orange juice than canned soda. 144 oz of canned soda can go as high as $5 when not on sale, while 64 oz of Orange juice is consistently $3. Not quite there yet, but I consider Orange juice to be a much higher quality beverage.
Soft drinks are usually cheapest when bottled rather than canned. 2 litres of orange juice is $3.57 at my local supermarket, 2 litres of Coke is $3.56 (neither are refrigerated)