Restaurateurs bought with discounts – Newspaper Kommersant No. 166 (7367) dated 09/09/2022

The sharp increase in purchase prices for products for restaurateurs was replaced by a reverse trend. Over the summer, the average cost of positions for HoReCa decreased by almost 10%, approaching the level before the outbreak of hostilities in Ukraine. Against this background, some market participants thought about lowering prices for dishes for end consumers. But most establishments still cite the high cost of a number of ingredients and rising labor, equipment and inventory costs.

The average purchase prices for food products for HoReCa (hotels, restaurants, cafes) decreased by 9.9% over the summer and approached the February level, before the outbreak of military operations of the Russian Federation in Ukraine. Such calculations “Kommersant” were presented by analysts of the online platform for ordering products for catering GFC. So, according to their data, products for Japanese cuisine over the summer fell by 14.6%, vegetables and fruits – by 13.8%, groceries – by 13.2%, meat products – by 9.5%, ingredients for fast food establishments. nutrition – by 7.7%.

The sharp rise in food prices for the restaurant market began in March, when their prices jumped by 23.5% in one month. To keep the flow of guests, the managers of the establishments had to remove items from the menu, the cost of which increased especially strongly. But restaurateurs failed to completely avoid raising prices for visitors. According to Elena Perepelitsa, General Director of RestCon, since February, ready meals in restaurants have risen in price by 10-30%.

Many Salmon CEO Alexander Mutovin confirms that for a number of items, food prices have dropped to the level of February. The executive director of the Association of Production and Trade Enterprises of the Fish Market (APTPRR; includes the Moremania network) Alexander Fomin also speaks about this. The founder of the network of gastrobars “Rakovaya” Yevgeny Nichipuruk recorded a decrease in prices for “non-key products” for restaurateurs – household goods and groceries. Papa John’s Marketing and Product Director Nadezhda Ovanesova talks about adjusting prices for meat by 2-3% and for products whose cost is pegged to the exchange rate. Elena Perepelitsa says that only vegetables and fruits have fallen in price so far due to seasonality.

Alexander Mutovin does not rule out that due to cheaper raw materials, prices for dishes for the end consumer may change. Moremania has twice reduced prices for salmon, sea bass and dorado on the menu during the summer due to a decrease in the purchase cost of these products, Mr. Fomin notes. APTPRR, GC Shokoladnitsa, Rakovaya and Papa John’s are not yet expecting further price cuts.

According to Elena Perepelitsa, only 15–20% of the final price of dishes is spent on food purchases in restaurants. And the current price adjustment for products reduced the cost of purchasing products by only 5%, Mr. Nichipuruk notes. Alexander Mutovin adds that, taking into account inflation, the cost of labor is growing, equipment and inventory have also risen in price.

In addition, prices for many products still remain high, market participants point out. Alexander Mutovin points out that the cost of salmon has not changed after a significant increase. From February to July, the price of Atlantic salmon almost doubled due to a reduction in imports to the Russian Federation from Chile and the Faroe Islands by almost six times. Yevgeny Nichipuruk confirms that seafood has not fallen in price. The Shokoladnitsa Group also did not notice a decrease in fish prices and believes that now this is a product “only for high-budget restaurants.” Due to the lack of analogues and the reduction of imports to the minimum volume, the cost of ingredients for Japanese cuisine for some items has increased manifold since the beginning of the crisis, they indicate.

According to Alexander Fomin, suppliers of imported fish and seafood cannot lower prices to the previous level, primarily because of the remaining difficulties with logistics. The search for alternative routes drives up costs, and foreign firms offer prices higher than for other markets when working with Russian counterparties because of the high risks, he adds.

Daria Andrianova