"Shopping and Eating Out Are Scary"... Ham, Ramen, Burgers, Ice Cream, and Bingsu All "Went Up"

Year-End and New Year Price Hikes Flood In "January Application Advantageous for Labor Costs, etc."... Criticism of Distraction Tactics

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Seon-ae] As 'price hikes' surge mainly in the major food and dining industries, the burden on low-income households, whose wallets have thinned due to the economic downturn, is expected to increase. This year, as time goes by, price hikes are expected to surge even more than last year, leading to widespread forecasts that consumers will feel a significant burden from rising prices.

According to the related industry on the 27th, CJ CheilJedang will raise prices of 26 refrigerated items including ham, sausage, and bacon by an average of 9.7% starting February 13.

Since these are side dishes that children like, housewives are complaining a lot. Housewife Seo Yunhwa (32) said, "My child likes ham, so I often prepare ham side dishes, and I tend to buy CJ products because I want to feed good ham," adding, "The price increase is burdensome, so I think I need to buy some in advance."

CJ CheilJedang explained, "Due to the prolonged global African Swine Fever (ASF), the price of imported raw meat has continued to rise, making a price increase of over 20% inevitable. However, considering consumer burden and price impact, we minimized the increase rate and delayed the timing until after the Lunar New Year holiday," adding, "This is the first refrigerated ham price increase since June 2014."

Dining-out prices are also unusual. McDonald's raised prices on some products starting the 20th. The items increased include 4 types of burgers, 2 breakfast menus, 1 side, and 1 beverage, totaling 8 items. The cheeseburger and Big Mac sets each increased by 200 won, while other products rose by 100 to 300 won. On the same day, all delivery menu prices were raised by 100 won. Prices for all menu items including burgers, burger sets, snacks, sides, desserts, and beverages uniformly increased by 100 won.

H?agen-Dazs raised ice cream prices at stores, convenience stores, and large supermarkets starting the 1st. The H?agen-Dazs mini price rose from 4,200 won to 4,800 won, a 14.3% increase, and the pint price rose from 11,300 won to 12,900 won, a 14.2% increase. H?agen-Dazs cited rising costs of ice cream main ingredients and packaging and transportation costs due to domestic and international price increases as reasons for the price hike.

Student Lee Jiseon (23) said, "When I meet friends, we tend to go to burger shops or ice cream specialty stores, but recently prices have all gone up, so it's a bit burdensome," adding, "Even if companies say the increase is just a few hundred to a few thousand won, from a student's perspective with limited allowance, the feeling of impact is different."

Especially, with prices of bingsu (shaved ice dessert) rising even outside the bingsu season, criticism is growing that dining brands are quietly raising prices during the early-year period when many price hikes occur.

Sulbing raised prices of its bingsu menu items by 1,000 won each as of the 10th. Injeolmi Sulbing increased from 7,900 won to 8,900 won, Red Bean Injeolmi Sulbing from 8,900 won to 9,900 won, Choco Brownie Sulbing and Cheese Sulbing from 9,900 won to 10,900 won, adjusting prices for 9 menu items. Prices of 3 set menus including bingsu also rose by 1,000 won each.

Baekdabang, a low-priced coffee brand loved by those with thin wallets, also joined the price hike. Starting February 3, Baekdabang will raise consumer prices for 4 menu items with significantly high cost burdens for franchisees. By item: ▲Complete Choco Banana Baeks Chino (basic) will rise from 2,800 won to 3,500 won ▲Complete Strawberry Banana Baeks Chino from 3,000 won to 3,500 won ▲Green Tea Baeks Chino from 3,000 won to 3,500 won ▲Salad Bread from 2,000 won to 2,500 won.

There is fierce criticism that price hikes are concentrated every year at the end and beginning of the year, when consumption increases and attention shifts elsewhere, calling it a 'customary' practice. It is seen as a trick to divert attention. In fact, at the end and beginning of last year, most food and beverage companies such as Nongshim, Angel-in-us, Lotteria, Seoul Milk, Namyang Dairy Products, and Lotte Confectionery also implemented price hikes.

Still, the industry protests. A food industry official said, "Since material costs, labor costs, and rent, which account for a significant portion of costs, mainly rise at the turn of the year, the timing of reflecting the increase is concentrated at the end and beginning of the year," emphasizing, "It is absolutely not a sneaky price hike."

In the case of dining franchise companies operating franchise stores, they argue that price increases are necessary to solve management difficulties of franchisees.

A Baekdabang official said, "Since it is a difficult time for both franchisees and customers due to the economic recession, we decided not to raise prices for coffee menu groups with high customer preference by lowering the coffee bean supply price," adding, "However, due to rising labor and rent costs, there is a limit to easing store operation burdens, so we decided to raise prices for 4 menu items with a high cost ratio."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.