Amid rising input costs due to high food inflation and fuel prices, quick-service restaurants such as Dominos, bars and cafes are increasing prices by up to 15 per cent, according to a report. Industry executives quoted by the report said their raw material costs have increased by up to 30 per cent in the past three months.
However, the restaurants are not going to increase prices at once and overnight. “We can’t increase menu prices overnight in sync with inflation but we are taking up pricing by 4-5 per cent, that too for our top-selling products. That is the only way we will be able to offset some of the inflation, though we will still end up taking a hit,” said Biryani Blues founder Raymond Andrews, according to the ET report.
Speciality Restaurants Chairman Anjan Chatterjee said it is now raising prices by at least five per cent after three years. “We didn’t expect the impact of the Ukraine-Russia war to impact prices of raw materials such as sunflower oil and fuel to such a huge extent,” Chatterjee was quoted as saying in the report. Speciality Restaurants operates multiple brands including Mainland China, Asia Kitchen and Sigree Global Grill.
Jubilant FoodWorks, which operates Domino’s Pizza, has raised prices by 5 per cent this month, its second increase in five months after a 4-5 per cent price hike late last year.
Retail inflation in March touched a 17-month-high level of 6.95 per cent. According to a recent survey by LocalCircles, a majority of people said they are paying more for vegetables in April than they paid in March. Over a third of the total respondents (or 37 per cent) said they are paying one-fourth more to get vegetables in April compared to the previous month, according to the survey conducted by digital community-based platform LocalCircles. The survey got 11,800 responses from citizens across 311 districts of the country.
The inflation in March jumped mainly due to a rise in food items. The inflation in the food basket during the month stood at 7.68 per cent, higher as compared with 5.85 per cent in February. Core inflation, which excludes food and fuel components, also rose to a 10-month high of 6.29 per cent in March. Food inflation rose to 7.68 per cent in March, against 5.85 per cent in the preceding month. The spike in the food basket was due to a sharp rise in prices of oils and fats, which climbed 18.79 per cent year-on-year in March.
Fuel prices also remained high in Delhi and other parts of India. Currently, the prices of petrol stood at Rs 105.41 per litre in the national capital and Rs 120.51 per litre in Mumbai. The diesel prices were at Rs 96.67 a litre in Delhi and Rs 104.77 a litre in Mumbai. In Kolkata, the per-litre price of petrol stood at Rs 115.12, while diesel was being sold at Rs 99.83 per litre. The petrol price in Chennai was at Rs 110.85 per litre, while diesel was retailing at Rs 100.94 a litre.
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