Several months ago, a number of restaurant chains warned of spring price increases due to harsh winter growing conditions and rising fuel prices.
Now, the world's largest restaurant chain, McDonald's, has announced it will increase some prices bit by bit throughout the remainder of the year to help cushion the shock, on top of the 1% increase it instituted last month.
"Since January, the global commodity markets have experienced significant increases," Pete Bensen, McDonald's Corp. chief financial officer, said during a conference call with investors Thursday. "As a result, we expect additional pressure as we move throughout the year."
McDonald's said it expects its annual domestic commodity costs to increase between 4 and 4.5% percent from last year. At the beginning of the year, the company had said it expected U.S. commodity cost hikes of 2 to 2.5%.
McDonald's also said it plans to add several menu items, including frozen strawberry lemonade, pineapple-mango smoothies, revamped chicken sandwiches and nugget offerings, a spicy chicken and a return of the Asian Salad.
In December, nearly 60% of more than 100 participants in the "NRN a.m. Restaurant Operators Survey," conducted by Nation's Restaurant News, said they expected to raise menu prices this year. Then, earlier this week, the same survey's first quarter results showed that 42% said they already took increases between 1 and 3% percent so far this year; 18% said they took increases between 4 and 6%, and 6% said they took increases of more than 6%. About 34% of respondents have yet to raise prices.
OTHER CHAIN RESTAURANT NEWS UPSTATE:
• Hooters succeeding Colonie Fuddrucker's
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