Does the price of food leave a bad taste in your mouth?

Cookery is not chemistry. It is an art. It requires instinct and taste rather than exact measurement. – Marcel Boulestin

Ensuring your products trade at a competitive price is essential for any company, not least those in the food and drinks sector.

But if you were in the fortunate position of dominating the market would you resist the temptation of greed?

News broke today that authorities in Canada have charged food giants Nestle and Mars along with a network of independent wholesale distributors for fixing the price of chocolates.

It has been alleged that the Canadian arms of the two companies along with the Canadian branch of Hershey and the distributor ITWAL have colluded to keep the price of chocolate confectionary artificially high.

So what will this do to the reputation of these companies?

At Speyside we know the pressures on keeping the price of our products appealing to the consumer, especially at a time when people have less and less disposable income at their mercy.

Last year a number of our key ingredients rocketed in price. The oatmeal price rose by 50%, beef dripping by 75% and the muntok white pepper we use in our white pudding increased by a staggering 350%.

Many people don’t mind spending that little bit extra if they know they are getting a quality product and that’s why we strive to source as much of our produce as locally as possible.

At time it can be difficult to convey this to the consumer, but it’s also important to be honest.

It is of course not the first time in recent months customers have been forced to pay more for their chocolate.

Last October, Cadburys altered the shape of their classis bar reducing the size from 49g to 45g but the price remained the same.

They did the same when they reduced the 140g bar to 120g and cut the size of Roses tins from 975g to 850g, with no real explanation as to why.

Would you think differently of a company if they weren’t honest with you? Do you think more should be done to catch companies out?

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