"As inflation shot to its peak around mid-2022, Chipotle’s prices also rose, pushing up what customers paid for burritos and bowls by as much as several dollars. Since then, the fast casual restaurant’s costs have broadly fallen. Prices have not.Chipotle’s decision to maintain high prices helped boost profits 110% in recent years, while its executives boasted to investors that they raised prices higher than inflationary costs.Chipotle’s sparkling financials are representative of much of the food industry, according to a Guardian analysis of financial documents and earning calls transcripts from 36 top US food corporations.It reveals that while you may be feeling the pain from high prices at restaurants and supermarkets, many companies making and selling the products are doing remarkably well. Most have seen their profits jump as they continue raising prices on customers, the analysis found.Some companies say they have no choice but to pass inflationary pain on to consumers. Others, however, acknowledge they are exploiting the inflationary atmosphere to raise prices, or to shrink product sizes, a strategy dubbed “shrinkflation”.
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| Your food is more expensive – are US corporate profits to blame? | Inflation | The Guardian |
