Preparing for the holidays: What you should know about cost and procurement

From festive trends to labour cost pressures, Entegra has you covered with the latest insights you need to capitalise on the seasonal business boom.

The festive period is a time full of opportunities for any hospitality business. Make the most of it with the following tips and considerations.

Beef, turkey and ham: traditional center-of-plate cost forecasts

The price of turkey is predicted to rise as we enter the holiday period. European beef prices remain high, with a 16% increase on the five-year average. However, demand for beef is expected to be low over the holiday period as consumers choose cheaper proteins.

An alternative for holiday items like tenderloin and prime rib could be pork. Holiday ham should be attractively priced for operators. Pork margins have improved for British pig producers, with profits shown for the first time in ten quarters. UK pig prices are beginning to settle.

Interested in commodity price forecasts? Check out our latest trends report (link landing page) for an overview of how and why prices change for key ingredients.

Ingredient innovations: new products and trends and forever favorites

Recreate the Barbie world by incorporating pink into your menu. From cocktails to smoothies to cake frosting, not only is pink trending because of the movie, it’s a fun and festive colour to add to your holiday food and décor.

Entegra suppliers are offering holiday treats like:

• Pink chocolate chips. Add these to cookies for centrepiece-worthy cookie trays or melt them down for frostings or drizzles.

• Seasonal creamers for coffee service. Flavours like pumpkin spice and peppermint mocha make these months special. Both flavours drive business from younger consumers, over-indexing among Gen Z and Millennials.

Deck the halls with holiday décor

Setting the mood through colour, holiday lighting, the scent of fir or pine and live greenery can help you create the perfect vibe for customers. It shows that you’re in sync with what they care about and welcome them into your establishment.

Staffing your business for the holidays

Finding enough staff to operate smoothly is a challenge right now, and competition to keep those workers is fierce — even when businesses offer higher wages.

Hiring and training new staff and getting them up to speed can be another stressor for management. If that’s the case for your business, adding temporary workers and getting the quickly trained and up to speed can help.

We're eager to help

One thing is certain, the holidays are an exciting time that brings opportunities and challenges. If you’re looking for a procurement partner to get through it all, let’s chat.

Contact us at info@entegraps.uk for more information about putting Entegra’s purchasing power and business performance improvement solutions to work for you.