27 Jun 2022
Our latest Taste Tomorrow consumer research (April 2022) found that 96% of people are concerned about inflation and rising prices and the impact this has on their household spending. More specifically, increasing food prices are one of the top 3 concerns.
We also found that 56% of people will check the prices of products, even more, meaning it's important that these price increases are acknowledged and solutions are put into place so that your consumers feel reassured.
Due to recent worldwide happenings, many industries face challenges they've never met before. For the bakery, patisserie, and chocolate industries, we know that the availability of ingredients, price of raw materials, and logistics of sourcing specific ingredients have all been impacted.
At Puratos, we pride ourselves on providing innovative solutions. We're dedicated to helping our customers mitigate costs; whether looking at alternative, lower-cost ingredients, general advice on keeping other business costs down, or communicating price increases to your customers to offer complete transparency during this time, we're here to help.
So before you remove a customer favorite from your product offer, contact us at Puratos to find out how you can reduce costs or even reformulate your recipes to keep costs under control and keep those well-loved recipes on the menu.
Mitigating costs through alternative ingredients
The prices of ingredients are increasing, and some are becoming harder to get hold of due to supply issues.
Some key ingredients, such as eggs, represent 30%-35% of cake batter costs, which affects the total recipe cost with these costs increasing. Of course, there is a need for these products to still be produced and sold to customers, but without increasing the prices beyond affordability.
At Puratos, we've focused on mitigating costs by offering alternative ingredients without compromising taste or quality.
Some of these ingredients include:
We've created a separate article explaining the cost differences and qualities of these products and how they can help to mitigate production costs.
Tips and tricks on how to reduce your costs
As well as changing a couple of your ingredients to ensure cost savings without compromising on the taste and quality of your finished products, we've created a handy list that will hopefully help you reduce day-to-day expenses.
1. Analyze your outgoings
Knowledge is everything. It's a good idea to be aware of everything you're spending money on as a business. Through this awareness, you will notice whether you can change certain things to reduce costs.
For example, are you consistently buying too much of one ingredient? Or, are you running a piece of equipment all day that only needs to be switched on for one hour? Some of these costs may seem minor, but over some time, they add up. So, take a deep dive into your outgoings and analyze what is essential and what isn't.
2. Reduce food waste
A cost that adds up significantly - is food waste. It can be easy to over-prepare or round up the ingredients list, but we recommend only buying what you need. This will save you money, and it's better for the planet, too.
Interested in ways to combat food waste? See how these 10 concepts are working hard to save products from the bin.
3. Create recipe cards
Creating recipe cards for all your products will help reduce food waste as you'll know exactly how much of each ingredient you need, and there'll be minimal errors in the production process. Specifically, this will help when new staff members join your team and, rather than guess and use too much of one ingredient, they know exactly what they need to do and use.
4. Pay attention to your energy consumption
With the energy prices continuing to rise, it is a good time to pay close attention to your energy consumption. Did you know that with the right location, the right temperature, proper daily use, and good maintenance, you can significantly reduce the power consumption of your refrigerator and freezer?
- Make sure your appliances have sufficient ventilation (in particular if they are built-in) to avoid breakdowns and increased energy consumption due to overheating.
- Place your fridge or freezer in the coolest place away from any heat sources (oven, radiator, direct sunlight, etc.)
- Regularly dust the radiator located on the back of your appliance.
- Open the door of your appliance as little as possible and for as little time as possible.
- Defrost your freezer at least once a year or more often if ice builds up. In fact, just 2 mm of ice means the appliance consumes 10% more energy.
Communicating price increases to your customers
'Cost increase' is never a phrase someone wants to hear, but, in these times, there is little we can do to avoid the conversations, and, in our opinion, it's better to have the conversation than not at all.
Our latest Taste Tomorrow consumer research (April 2022) shows that trust and quality remain highly important to customers. It is your craftmanship and expertise that consumers are willing to come back for. So, by being completely transparent and eliminating worries surrounding constant cost inflations, you can ensure you keep the trust between you and your customers. Communicating increased costs also allows your customers to assess their household spending and account for any increases, immediately removing concerns of the unknown.
We've popped some helpful tips below to make it a little easier to communicate. We've also created a poster with hints & tips for you to share with your team.
DOWNLOAD IT WITH ONE CLICK:
- Inform your staff - to ensure everyone knows what's happening, explain the reasons for the cost increase to your team. This keeps everyone in the loop and allows them to communicate the exact reasons should anyone question them rather than yourself.
- Explain why - if your customers know why your costs are increasing, they're more likely to understand. Knowledge is everything, and people want to feel as though they know what's happening, why it's happening, and how it affects them - you can provide them with that information and put them at ease.
- Contact your customers directly - rather than popping up a notice or post, contact your customers directly. This personal approach allows them to ask any questions and makes them feel as though you're not avoiding the conversation or taking it lightly.
To find out more about how we can help you and your business keep costs under control and adapt to these times, contact us today, and we'll work with you to find a solution.
