Since the beginning of this year, many catering brands have raised product prices, and most of them have adjusted by 1-3 yuan.
This article was originally published by Red Meal Network (ID: hongcan18), author: Huang Baijian, editor: Fang Yuan.
At the beginning of the month, McDonald's officially announced that it would increase its price.
According to McDonald's China's official statement, from December 27, the price of major products will be raised across the board.
Of course, McDonald's is not the only one that has raised prices. Since the beginning of this year, brands such as Haidilao, Mixue Bingcheng, and 1 Point have raised the price of their products, and most of the adjustments are 1-3 yuan.
Is a new round of price increases in the catering market coming?
01.
McDonald's China has raised prices for 90% of its products across the board.
The price of the package increases by 1-2 yuan
On December 27, McDonald's China officially raised its price.
Compared with the price of McDonald's Guangzhou Wanshengwei Plaza restaurant in the past two days, the price of the store's products has increased by 0.5 yuan to 2 yuan as a whole, but the price of the "1+1" package has not risen again, and it is still 13.9 yuan.
▲The Maixiang chicken package has risen by 2 yuan. (FYI, there are slight differences in restaurant pricing from place to place)
As for the increase, according to the Beijing News, McDonald's China said that the average increase of products was about 3%, and the price has been clearly marked on various ordering channels.
Previously, on December 24, a user said, "McDonald's will raise the price of its main products across the board on December 27, and nearly 90% of the listed prices of major hamburger snack products will be increased by 0.5 yuan from December 27, and the price of McAld's package will increase by 1 yuan simultaneously." ”
△ Image source: Screenshot of Xiaohongshu
According to Oriental Finance and Economics, on December 25, McDonald's official customer service staff responded, "From December 27, some single products and packages have begun to be adjusted, and the prices are clearly marked, which will be publicized in various meal channels, and there is no clear information on which products and which packages will be adjusted." The O McGin 4-piece Value Pack will be subject to structural price adjustments. ”
As for the reason for the price adjustment, the other party said, "In combination with the changes in operating costs, we regularly evaluate and adjust the price structure. ”
In addition to the price increase on the surface, some users posted that McDonald's is still raising prices in disguise, "not only the price of food has risen, but the amount of food has also shrunk, and the burger feels smaller" and so on.
In fact, this is not the first time that McDonald's China has raised prices this year - for example, its "1+1" package, which was launched in 2019 and dubbed the "poor man's package" by migrant workers, has risen to 13.9 yuan since January 5 this year, which is 1 yuan more expensive than before.
However, the price increase is not limited to the Chinese market, McDonald's has raised the price of its products in many countries.
In Japan, for example, at the beginning of this year, McDonald's Japan will increase the price of its menu by 80%. In June this year, McDonald's Japan once again announced that it would raise the prices of packages and other products in 184 stores from July 19, involving 6% of about 3,000 stores nationwide.
Since the beginning of this year, McDonald's has also reported news of price increases in the United Kingdom, Canada, etc.
02.
Is the price rise coming?
This year, many F&B brands have increased their prices
Not only McDonald's, but since the beginning of this year, many catering brands have raised prices similarly.
For example, Haidilao, in late March this year, Haidilao raised the prices of some dishes and implemented differentiated pricing.
Last month, Haidilao once again adjusted the price, and the topic of #Haidilao responded to the pilot adjustment of the weight and price# also rushed to the hot search.
At that time, some users posted that some stores in Haidilao Xi'an and Beijing no longer provide "half" and "whole" options when ordering, but uniformly become "one". On the evening of November 15, Haidilao's official Weibo publicly responded that the original half of the dish size and price in individual stores will be used to unify the menu supply specifications of stores.
Some tea brands have also raised prices.
Starting from September 1st, the "free ingredients" at 1 o'clock are no longer completely free, and if you add more small materials on the basis of the standard amount, you will be charged 2 yuan, and the related topic "add 2 yuan more if you add small materials" also quickly rushed to the hot search.
△ Image source: Screenshot of Xiaohongshu
On September 26, the prices of many drinks in Mixue Bingcheng were raised, and the topic # Mixue Bingcheng Some drinks increased by 1 yuan # was also on the hot search. Among them, the price of Peach Four Seasons Spring Drink in Honey Snow Bingcheng was increased by 1 yuan, from the original 6 yuan to 7 yuan, the price of coffee series drinks also increased by 1 yuan, American coffee was adjusted from 4 yuan to 5 yuan, and Snow Top Coffee and Latte were adjusted from 6 yuan to 7 yuan.
On the baking track, topics such as #bread is getting more and more expensive#breadassassin are also hot, and a number of baking brands have also raised prices, such as Hollyland.
Some netizens posted pictures that the price of Hollyland's bread is rising, and the unit price of its classic meat floss rolls was 12 yuan in May, and later the price rose to 15 yuan, and the unit price of another product, black pepper hot dog, was increased from 15 yuan to 18 yuan, and then increased to 25 yuan.
Many fast food brands have also announced price increases.
At the end of October, the West Young Master Meat Sandwich Bun removed the 9.9 yuan series of single products and other "discount packages" from the shelves. After some stores of Lao Xiang Chicken were upgraded to Lao Xiang Chicken ProMax, the price of the products increased across the board.
It can be seen that the catering brands that have quietly increased their prices involve many categories such as hot pot, tea, and fast food. In addition to the obvious price increase, there are also many brands that are changing their price increases.
03.
There is a "risk" in price increases,
Brands have their own struggles
In fact, since the beginning of this year, the overall consumer market has returned to rationality, paying attention to pragmatism and pursuing cost performance. This point has become popular all over the country from 2 yuan bread, the return of affordable small hot pot, the price war of 9.9 yuan for tea and coffee, and the explosion of affordable Zibo barbecue...... You can see it.
In this context, every price increase of the brand has attracted much attention.
For example, at the beginning of this year, as soon as the news of Haidilao's price increase came out, it sparked heated discussions, and then Haidilao officials had to issue a statement saying: "The price increase of Haidilao stores is a wrong decision of the company's management and hurts the interests of Haidilao's customers." We apologize for this. Since then, the prices of dishes in Chinese mainland stores have returned to the standard before the store closure on January 26 this year. ”
There is a "risk" in price increases, why do many catering brands still raise prices one after another? Judging from the responses of all parties, it can be said that each has its own "difficulties".
For global fast-food chains such as McDonald's and KFC, price increases have been reflected in many markets, perhaps due to pressure on the overall supply chain.
This year, prices in most countries and regions around the world have risen due to inflation, and the McDonald's supply chain will also be affected by international inflation. At the beginning of the year, McDonald's also announced a restructuring plan that included laying off hundreds of employees in an effort to cut costs.
In addition, McDonald's Q3 reported that global same-store sales (i.e., sales of stores that have been open for at least one year) increased by 8.8%. In the U.S., same-store sales increased by 8.1 percent, while China's international development licensing market grew by 10.5 percent.
Reuters analysts believe that the third quarter report exceeded Wall Street's expectations, thanks to new product launches, promotions and consumer demand for more affordable burgers and fries.
The good financial performance may be another reason why McDonald's dares to raise prices in the global market – to test consumers' price sensitivity, but it also means that it also needs to bear the risk of reduced traffic if the benefits and benefits are no longer available.
For Chinese fast food brands such as Lao Xiang Chicken, store upgrades and expansion and opening stores in first-tier cities with higher consumption capacity are accompanied by an increase in rents and labor costs, which are transmitted to the terminal, which is the rise in product prices.
In addition, the operating pressure brought about by the fluctuation of raw material prices is also one of the reasons for the price increase of the brand, and the impact on the baking track is particularly obvious.
Taking the essential sugar for baking as an example, since the beginning of the year, the spot price of white sugar has risen all the way, hitting a nearly ten-year high in September - reaching nearly 7,600 yuan/ton. Flour prices have also risen, with the third quarter of this year approaching their five-year peak. In terms of butter, many Xiaohongshu users posted that the price of Anchor butter has risen a lot. Some users said that the price of a box has been 1360 yuan. Previously, Anchor butter was the "950 yuan era".
Another example is the new tea drink and coffee track, the tea and coffee field has set off a vigorous raw material and milk base upgrade war this year, and many brands choose to upgrade higher quality, healthier and organic raw materials, which will inevitably lead to an increase in costs.