There was a time before these sophisticated chemists were able to concoct zero-calorie or near-zero-calorie sodas, in which the soda bought by the consumer was just soda. That is to say, back in the day, when a person drank a soda, they drank carbonated water sweetened with sugar, which also contained other natural flavorings. Nowadays, consumers have additional choices, of which diet soda, often containing zero calories, is a conscious and desired choice for many of those consumers, probably because they feel that they get the same sort of pleasing soda taste without having to worry about adding empty calories to their body.
One would logically think though, that diet soda, since it has no calories, which means it has no sugar, and has thus been chemically modified to not have calories, would be priced lower than the “real thing,” but in many stores, the price of diet soda is pretty much the same as regular soda, even though regular soda, actually has calories, which would seem to contradict the fact that whenever we have two similar products, the one that has calories, should be valued more, because junk calories or not, the body needs calories for energy.
Of course, the counter argument as to why diet soda should be priced the same as regular soda, or even perhaps be a bit more expensive, is that for people that already consume enough calories and therefore are not trying to add more calories to their diet, they can indulge in a product, that has been modified so that they can seemingly have their cake and eat it, as well. While that certainly makes sense, it has to be noted, that the more artificial a given food product is, the more inherent danger that what is being consumed, may have bad long-term consequences, for to be able to play a game in which something is sweet, but has no calories, seems to be a game, in which, there is probably some bad consequences, that will eventually be felt.
Nevertheless, it is surprising that diet soda has become so mainstream, of which those who purchase such, apparently, feel that it is worth as much as regular soda, which is probably something that soda makers, when they first came out with diet soda, probably did not realistically expect to see ever occur. After all, in most circumstances, for example, providing a meal to someone that has half the calories as a similar meal, but charging the same price, would seem to be unfair, but in the soda world, this is what is actually occurring.
So too, give credit to the chemists for their brilliance -- while accolades must also be given to those that are quite satisfied with their choice of a diet soda, because what those that drink diet soda seem to be saying, more than anything, based upon the pricing of the product, is that they are satisfied that what they are drinking is just as good, tasty, and valued as the regular stuff, without them having to worry about their caloric intake, which is why diet soda and soda can therefore be priced the same.