Cost inflation in the food business is tremendous right now.
Just when market pricing and gross margins seem stable, something shifts. If it’s not raw materials, it’s packaging. If not packaging, manufacturing costs find a way to rise.
You can negotiate better and improve operational efficiencies, but there’s only so much you can control.
And all of this in categories that already operate on relatively lesser gross margins.
Just one of the many things that makes running a food business challenging.