Christmas is coming soon. While many people are excited, some Western-style confectionery shops that make Christmas cakes are saying they want to stop making Christmas cakes. The rising cost of ingredients is what is hitting confectionery shops hardest. Eggs, strawberries, chocolate, and other items are all reportedly rising in price. We interviewed a Western confectionery shop to find out what is happening as they work hard to prepare for Christmas. Some people are saying, “I want to give up on Christmas cakes…” Gateau Chef Zammaido is a Western-style pastry shop in Nishi Ward, Niigata City. With Christmas just two weeks away, they have already received about 1,000 orders. President Takai Tsukasa said, “When it comes to Christmas, profits are becoming very small. “We’ve already heard from other stores that they want to stop selling Christmas cakes,” he revealed. As material costs continue to rise, profit margins at this time are only falling. “All of them. There’s almost nothing that hasn’t gone up. Prices are rising across the board, so much so that it’s hard to keep track of how much each one is worth.” Amid this, strawberries are one item whose prices soar during the Christmas season. Currently, a pack costs between 800 and 1,000 yen, which is about 20% higher than the same period in 2023. “As for Christmas, I’m a bit worried because they say it will cost over 2,000 yen (per pack).” And the item that has increased in price the most is chocolate. The French chocolate we currently purchase costs 8,000 yen per kilogram. Compared to previous prices, the new price is said to be 2,000 to 3,000 yen higher. Due to these rising ingredient costs, the price of Christmas cakes in 2024 has had to be increased from 4,200 yen to 4,500 yen. Although people usually refrain from buying things, “I want to do my best somehow” for Christmas. And it’s not just stores that are feeling the pressure of rising prices. President Takai said, “I feel like people are holding back on purchases even more than usual. With prices of many things rising, cakes are a luxury item. That’s where you can make the most savings,” he said. Nevertheless, the number of reservations for Christmas cakes is the same as usual, and it seems that there are many people who want to enjoy Christmas even if it means being a little extravagant. “We want to eliminate waste as much as possible and don’t want to make the price any more expensive, so we’re hoping to do our best in this area,” President Takai said enthusiastically. Despite facing severe price hikes, efforts to satisfy customers continue. (nst Niigata General Television) nst Niigata General Television.
>>1 Really? The Christmas cakes don’t seem to be that different from the ones they usually sell and some of the Christmas cakes these days don’t even have strawberries.
>>1 If you want to stop, just stop. If cake shops don’t sell Christmas cakes, the shortage of eggs and strawberries will be resolved and prices will go down.
>>17 Buttercream cakes are delicious these days. The cake shop in my neighborhood is so famous for it. There’s even a thread about buttercream on the pastry board.
You should interview the strawberry farmers who are so happy about it. If they get cut off like this, they’ll just act like victims and beg for money like the scum of scallops.
Christmas cake doesn’t have to mean shortcake, right? I once found a delicious looking Buche de Noel at Tokyo Station and thought I’d buy some for Christmas, but on the day I was shocked to see that the shelves were all filled with shortcake.
All you have to do is set the price so that you can make a profit. “Other companies aren’t lowering their prices, so we can’t lower ours either!” This tendency to jump into a war of attrition is a bad thing about Japanese companies, or rather, Japanese people.
If you’re worried that the prices will be too high and people won’t sell out, just make it a reservation system and raise the price. Popular stores are reservation-only so it won’t be a problem.
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