Due to the fall in the pound since Brexit, bar operators are pulling back on expansion plans, and indeed may be forced to close outlets amid big rises in food and drink costs. According to the latest figures released by the CGA Prestige Foodservice Price Index, food price inflation rose to 9.3% in August, up by over 2% on the previous month.
If that wasn’t bad enough for operators, the rise in food costs is also combined with increased costs from the introduction last year of the national living wage for over-25s, in addition to rising business rates and mandatory pension contributions.
Additionally, southern Europe experienced some of their worst weather conditions in years. Floods lashed Spain which proved catastrophic for vegetable producers. Freezing conditions followed, hitting both Italy and Spain, with Spain seeing its largest snowfall in decades. As a result, it wasn’t possible to plant new crops, and the supply of yet more commodities was cut dramatically. Spain provides more than 25% of the UK’s vegetable imports.
We are in extraordinary times, with price fluctuations occurring regularly, forcing bar operators to keep a close eye on food prices in order to manage their own profits accordingly.
So how can bar operators deal with this unpredictability?
Read the full article in Bar Magazine here.
Recommended topics