article
Burger King customers can thank inflation for seeing fewer chicken nuggets on their trays.
The fast-food restaurant chain says it has reduced the number of chicken nuggets from ten to eight pieces per serving. order.
Restaurant managers said they realized the cost savings last year.
“In the third quarter of 2021, we reduced the number of nuggets from 10 pieces to 8 pieces – the first shift in the number of nuggets since inception,” the company said in a statement to FOX Television Stations.
According to MarketWatchone franchisor said the reduction in nuggets was partly due to inflation.
RELATED:US Inflation Report: Consumer prices rose 7.5% last year, the highest in 40 years
“Remember that food, paper manufacturers and distributors who supply most of our raw materials are experiencing labor restrictions and higher fuel costs and are passing these increases on to us,” said Daniel Accordino, CEO of Carrols Restaurant Group, the largest Burger King retailer. franchisee in the world. United States,” the magazine said.
What causes inflation?
There are three factors that can lead to inflation: demand inflation, cost inflation and built-in inflation.
“As a result, overall commodity inflation in the last quarter was around 16% compared to the same period a year ago,” he continued.
However, Burger King's PR team did not mention inflation for the nuggets change, but said it was intended to give restaurants more resources to roll out the company's newest menu item, "Ghost Pepper Nuggets." The company rolled out the spicy option last October.
An inflation gauge closely watched by the Federal Reserve rose 6.1% in January from a year ago, the latest evidence that Americans are experiencing sharp price increases that are likely to worsen afterThe Russian invasion of Ukraine.
RELATED:Russia-Ukraine Updates: What to Know as Ukrainian Troops Resist Advance on Key Cities
Robust consumer spending, combined with widespread product and labor shortages, has led to the highest inflation in four decades – a heavy burden on American households, especially lower-income families facing high costs for food, fuel and rent.
Inflation economist
Rain Augustine talks to economist Dr. Stanley P. Stephenson on inflation in the United States
However, inflation is expected to remain high and may accelerate in the coming months, especially with the Russian invasion likely to disrupt oil and gas exports. The costs of other raw materials produced in Ukraine, such as wheat and aluminum, have also risen.
The Russian invasion and the likely resulting rise in inflation have increased pressure on the Federal Reserve, which is expected to raise rates by a quarter point as much as five to six times this year starting in March. The Fed's delicate task — raising interest rates enough to keep inflation in check without going so far as to push the economy into recession — has just become more difficult.
A report from the Federal Reserveshowed that inflation has spread beyond sectors hit by the pandemic, such as new and used cars, where prices have risen by double digits annually. More than three-fifths of all goods and services are now seeing price increases of at least 3% a year, the Fed said, nearly double pre-pandemic levels. At the same time, the rate is still well below what it was in the 1970s, when more than 90% of goods and services reflected price increases at least as high, the report said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report. This story was reported from Los Angeles.
