But there are other challenges beyond COVID-19, one of them being the rise in commodity prices. In April, among the products with the highest price increase were tomatoes (20.3%), gasoline (1.36%), chicken (2.94%), avocados (13.94%) and corn tortillas (2.18%). The inflation In general, in the fourth month of the year it reached an annual rate of 7.68%, the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (Inegi) reported on Monday.
“The increase in the costs of our supplies has been the biggest challenge during 2022. Last year we could get fresh chicken for roasting at 40 or 45 pesos per kilo. But this last month, the price has reached 70 pesos, a situation never seen before in more than 30 years that we have with the restaurant,” says Déciga.
To maintain operations, this place has had to cut costs, while adding other dishes to the menu that help avoid increases, such as the sale of tacos al pastor, rice, sauces, chili in vinegar or even soft drinks, which are have remained more stable than the rest of the products.
For now, it is warned that it will be a celebration that will have a greater impact on the pockets of consumers. “We have been forced to increase the price of our star product: roast chicken. However, most of our customers understand those settings. Even if profits drop considerably, we cannot afford to lower the quality of our products. The buyer values these efforts and continues to consume what we sell,” says the administrator of the Ugui rotisserie and taqueria.
Daniela Mijares, executive president of Canirac, declares that for this year the outlook seems more encouraging, because it is the first without restrictions, after the pandemic. On May 10, 2020 there was only home delivery, while last year the capacity allowed was 40% with a closing time of 10:00 p.m. “This year we face other challenges, such as inflation, but we are very optimistic, people have finally trusted the establishments. The Mexican turned to the streets to reactivate the economy, and May 10 is the most important day for restaurateurs throughout the year, ”said Mijares.
Ulises Martínez also expects a greater influx of customers in his restaurant bar, located in one of the neighborhoods in the center of Mexico City. The administrator of Los Compadres shares that since the weekend he has increased the request for reservations at his restaurant, where he sells pozole, chamorros and other Mexican dishes. For this May 10, he has sold 90% of the tickets for the special event he organized for the holiday.
“We are in a better moment. We are having a meal with a dance, which we had had to suspend due to the pandemic, and we are excited to resume. We did increase the ticket price to 580 pesos, which is 20% more than the last one in 2019, but customers are loyal and pay for it because they know that we have been through difficult times and they always seek to support the local restaurant,” he says.
Celebration at home
Since 2020, the large restaurant chains have focused their efforts on developing and strengthening their marketing strategies. sale of food at home. Vips and Toks, for example, started by selling meals by the kilo. The gastronomic offer adapts to the seasons and this Mother’s Day is no exception.
Toks, the restaurant chain that belongs to Grupo Gigante, added dishes to the menu, in response to the adoption that this sales model has had among its consumers. “Due to a great response from diners a year after launching this line, we decided to expand the menu with more dishes, side dishes and sauces that achieve an ideal complement with some other recipe or, to just receive, heat and enjoy at home. ”, said Claudia Amerena, director of Marketing at Toks, quoted in a statement.
Alsea, operator of Vips and El Portón, estimates that for Mother’s Day there will be an increase of at least 20% in sales, compared to the previous year. “Taking as a reference the sales that were registered in the Easter period of this year, which were around 20% higher compared to 2021. We believe that this percentage can be reached, even exceeded, for this Mother’s Day, which speaks of a solid growth in terms of sales by the company”, the company told Expansion in an email.