Four Focus Areas for QSRs to Mitigate Wage and Commodity Inflation

While the restaurant industry has experienced major supply chain and labor issues throughout the pandemic, it is now reaching a tipping point. While initially it was more difficult or impractical to assure adequate levels of staffing, and supply chain disruptions were causing product shortages or outages, these complications are now coming at a real cost to restaurants. Inflation on both wages and commodities are putting major margin pressure on brands. While supply chain issues will likely decrease over the course of 2022, wage inflation represents a new status quo on the bottom line. 

To position themselves for sustainable growth, restaurants must respond quickly. While some brands have already begun passing costs on to consumers without too much pushback (Chipotle, McDonald’s), brands will need to closely monitor customer response, as value-oriented customers are likely to begin to be more price sensitive as they also feel pressure from inflation. Here are four key areas that…