Picture this: your supplier bumps meat prices 15% in January, but you decide to "wait until March." March becomes June, June becomes October, and suddenly you've absorbed €1,100+ in extra costs on just one ingredient. That "temporary" delay becomes a permanent hit to your bottom line.
Why delay is so dangerous
The problem with price increases is that you don't feel them right away. You're still running at full capacity, guests still come, but your margin gets thinner every month.
? Example:
Your supplier raises meat prices by 15% in January. You think: "Let's wait until March." Then spring comes, then summer, and before you know it it's October.
- Steak was €18/kg, now €20.70/kg
- Difference per portion (200g): €0.54
- At 40 steaks per week: €1,123 per year in extra costs
Loss: €1,123 because you waited 10 months
The hidden impact on your food cost
What many entrepreneurs underestimate is how quickly a supplier price increase pushes your food cost percentage up.
? Example:
A pasta dish you sell for €18.50 (€16.97 excl. VAT):
- Old ingredient costs: €5.10 = 30.1% food cost
- After 12% supplier price increase: €5.71
- New food cost: €5.71 / €16.97 = 33.6%
Your food cost has risen 3.5 percentage points without you noticing
At an annual turnover of €400,000, an extra 3.5 percentage points of food cost means €14,000 less profit.
Why we keep delaying
There are always reasons to postpone price increases:
- "Guests think it's expensive" - But they notice quality loss faster than a fair price increase
- "The competitor is cheaper" - Maybe they've already adjusted their prices
- "It's a quiet period" - That's exactly the perfect time
- "In a few months" - Those few months cost you hundreds of euros
⚠️ Watch out:
Every month you wait to adjust is a month where you earn less than you should. You never get those months back.
The domino effects
If your food cost gets too high from delayed price adjustments, a dangerous spiral begins - something most kitchen managers discover too late after watching their margins evaporate for months:
- Smaller portions to cut costs (guests notice this)
- Cheaper ingredients (quality declines)
- Less staff (service gets worse)
- Deferred maintenance (the place deteriorates)
Ultimately you lose more guests through lower quality than through a fair price increase.
? Example:
Restaurant De Nieuwe Kans delayed price increases for 8 months:
- Food cost rose from 31% to 37%
- Started giving smaller portions
- Guests complained about 'less value for money'
- Reviews dropped from 4.2 to 3.8 stars
Result: fewer guests AND lower margin
The right time for price adjustment
The right time for a price increase is as soon as your costs rise structurally. Not in 3 months, not after the season, but now.
Common rules of thumb:
- At 10%+ cost increase: adjust immediately
- At 5-10% cost increase: adjust within 1 month
- During inflation: adjust annually in small steps (2-3%)
Small, regular adjustments are less painful than big shocks.
How to communicate it
Honesty works better than excuses:
- "Due to rising purchase prices, we're adjusting our menu"
- "We maintain quality by adjusting prices to reflect actual costs"
- "We'd rather charge a fair price than cut corners on quality"
⚠️ Watch out:
Never argue about prices with guests. Stand by your decision. Those who only care about the price aren't coming for the quality anyway.
Keep an eye on your food cost
To prevent these situations, you need to check your food cost per dish regularly. Especially on your top-selling dishes.
Check at least monthly:
- Have your suppliers become more expensive?
- Is your food cost still under 35%?
- Which dishes are most sensitive to price increases?
With a system like KitchenNmbrs you see immediately when your food cost gets too high, so you can adjust in time.
Related articles
How do you calculate the impact of delayed price adjustments?
Calculate your new ingredient costs
Add up what your ingredients now cost after your supplier's price increase. Don't forget the smaller ingredients like spices, oil, and garnish.
Calculate your new food cost percentage
Divide your new ingredient costs by your selling price excl. VAT and multiply by 100. This is your actual food cost after the cost increase.
Calculate the difference on an annual basis
Multiply the difference in food cost percentage by your annual turnover. This shows how much profit you lose by not adjusting.
✨ Pro tip
Track your food cost weekly on your 3 highest-volume dishes - if any hit 36% or higher, you've already waited too long. Every week of delay at that level costs you real money you'll never recover.
Calculate this yourself?
In the KitchenNmbrs app you can do this in just a few clicks. 7 days free, no credit card.
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Frequently asked questions
How much can I raise my prices without losing guests?
What if my competitor doesn't raise their prices?
Should I make all dishes more expensive at once?
Sources consulted
- EU Verordening 852/2004 — Levensmiddelenhygiëne (2004) — Official source
- EU Verordening 853/2004 — Hygiënevoorschriften voor levensmiddelen van dierlijke oorsprong (2004) — Official source
- EU Verordening 1169/2011 — Voedselinformatie aan consumenten (2011) — Official source
- NVWA — Hygiënecode voor de horeca (2024) — Official source
- NVWA — Allergenen in voedsel (2024) — Official source
- Codex Alimentarius — International Food Standards (2024) — Official source
- FSA — Safer food, better business (HACCP) (2024) — Official source
- BVL — Lebensmittelhygiene (HACCP) (2024) — Official source
Food Standards Agency (FSA) — https://www.food.gov.uk
The HACCP standards shown in this application are for informational purposes only. KitchenNmbrs does not guarantee that displayed values are current or complete. Always consult the FSA or your local authority for the latest regulations.
Written by
Jeffrey Smit
Founder & CEO of KitchenNmbrs
Jeffrey Smit built KitchenNmbrs from 8 years of hands-on experience as kitchen manager at 1NUL8 Group in Rotterdam. His mission: give every restaurant owner control over food cost.
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