Price driver: That is why the rolls in Cologne are becoming more and more expensive
It used to be easy. A bun was a bun, made from wheat, cost a certain price, and was somewhat comparable from bakery to bakery. And today? Not only do large bakeries such as Kamps and Merzenich offer a whole range of different breads and rolls, the artisanal bakers have long since adapted to changing customer requirements.
There are also baked goods, Aldi and Co., who in turn advertise fresh bread. Comparability has become somewhat difficult in the meantime (try anyway: see info text).
All bakeries have one thing in common: prices are rising
What they all have in common, however, is that prices rise on average. Noticeable with some, reluctant with others, but European champions die in bread eating – we – are more and more concerned with their daily bread. There are reasons why prices are rising. But this is not just about the “basic supply” of flour or grain, explains Guido Boveleth, head master of the Cologne / Rhein-Erft district bakers’ guild and an artisan baker himself.
There has always been a lot of movement. He and his colleagues are troubled by the rapidly rising energy prices. A doubling of the discount on the part of the energy supply is not uncommon, he himself was also affected. Colleagues who had fixed prices for electricity consumption had simply terminated the contract – further increases had just been announced. Even if he assumes that certain products such as pumpkin seeds are artificially shortened in order to keep prices high, after all, it is energy prices that are causing the industry the most trouble. “I am assuming that the situation will not ease up again until next spring,” says Boveleth.
The baking trade is an energy-intensive business. And at the moment several factors are at play. In addition to the energy costs of the general price increase, the price increase of certain products such as mandarins or desiccated coconut, especially those that come from overseas. But butter and dairy products are also affected. With surcharges of up to 50 percent.
Storage is costly
“It’s partly like the stock market,” says Bovoleth. The more goods are purchased, the greater the chance of winning the bid. However, many small bakers cannot afford storage. On the one hand due to a lack of space and on the other hand – that closes the circle again – because warehousing is also energy-intensive. And yet another factor drives up dying prices: 450 euro workers come to an hourly wage of twelve euros the next time they work, and the minimum wage will be topped up to this amount. Many specialist employees only earn more than two. “My people are of course quite right to hold out their hands and say, it’s hardly worth the training,” says Bovoleth.
The big chains, on the other hand, are less worried about the headmaster. “Of course we feel that when more and more large bakeries open. But in the end it’s a completely different product, ”he says. “And the customers know that too.”