Xmas planning 'essential' as costs rocket
Buying specialist Lynx Purchasing highlighted while the latest Office of National Statistics (ONS) figures showed the headline rate of inflation at 10.1% for September, Lynx found hospitality operators face even higher increases in many essential food categories including fresh produce and dairy.
The official figures revealed the price of meals eaten outside of home soared by 10.4% year on year as operators passed on increasing costs to consumers.
Strict focus
Lynx Purchasing managing director Rachel Dobson said: “From the turkey dinner right through to the cheeseboard, the price of many seasonal products is high as the peak trading season approaches.
“In addition, core menu items such as dairy, canned tomatoes and cooking oil, which are part of a wide range of recipes, are seeing continued increases and price volatility.
“It will take a strict focus on sensible, planned buying to protect margins and profits during one of the most challenging trading periods the sector has known.”
While Lynx urged operators to plan for Christmas early, this will also pose a challenge because of the uncertainty surrounding how much consumers will be spending over the festive period due to the cost-of-living crisis.
Discretionary spend
Dobson added: “The sector has welcomed news of Government support for businesses on energy costs, with the promise of a further review of the scale of help needed to come, although the fall in the value of sterling means commodities traded in dollars, such as cooking oil, will now cost UK buyers more.
“In the meantime, the reality is consumers are seriously feeling the pinch and will think carefully about discretionary spend.
“The earlier operators can plan menus and update suppliers on their expected ordering levels for the peak Christmas and new year trading period, the better.
“That’s going to be a challenge because although we know many consumers will be cutting back on spending, it’s not clear just how much that will affect hospitality spend this Christmas.”
