Smaller food cos. get set for a high-priced holiday season
NEW YORK (AP) — Holiday celebrants in Hilo, Hawaii, might notice something different about the traditional Yule Log cake from the Short ’N Sweet bakery this year.
Maria Short typically makes her popular $35 bûche de Noël with two logs combined to look like a branch. This year, thanks to soaring prices for eggs and butter and other items, she’s downsizing to one straight Yule log.
“It’s the same price, but smaller,” she said. “That cuts down on size and labor.”
Higher prices are hitting everyone this holiday, but food vendors are seeing some of the biggest increases. Small businesses that count on food-centric holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas are bracing for a difficult season.
At the wholesale level, egg prices are more than triple what they were a year ago, milk prices are up 34% and butter is up 70%, according to data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Businesses are also paying more for everything from packages to labor.
Many owners are raising prices to offset the higher costs. But raising prices too much risks driving away the crucial holiday shopper. So, businesses are adapting: adjusting the way they make products, changing gift basket components and adding free gifts instead of giving discounts, among other steps.
Maria Short says that even for Hawaii, where the cost of living is among the highest of any U.S. state, the price increases are “drastic.”
For example, she says, the Short N Sweet Bakery is paying $123 for a case of eggs that cost $42 in October last year. A case of butter that was $91 in October ago; it's $138 this year.
Among the ways Short is cutting costs, she'll use a generic box decorated with stickers instead of using a customized box for her desserts. And she ordered a cookie printer rather than having bakers hand-pipe...
