Inflation is still impacting every industry in the U.S., including fast food. Restaurant prices are rising 7.1 times faster than prices at the grocery store, according to new data released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Many famous brands point to the skyrocketing cost of ingredients as the main driver of menu price increases. Meat, poultry, fish, egg, and dairy prices all soared in the past couple of years. At the same time, milk, flour, sugar, and coffee prices faced the largest price hikes in BLS history. Now, some of the biggest fast-food chains in America are announcing further menu changes in 2023 as they continue to pass along those increased costs to their customers. Continued below the video
Unfortunately, if you’re on a tight budget, this means you may no longer afford to visit your favorite restaurants in the months ahead. For instance, Chick-fil-A customers may be noticing that prices at the chain keep going up. And it seems there’s no end in sight for that trend as new CEO Andrew Cathy just announced another price increase for 2023. The famous chicken sandwich restaurant raised menu prices by 15% in the past year. Now, the company announced another menu-wide price hike of 6% on average. In other words, Chick-fil-A items are a whopping 21% more expensive than they were just a couple of years back. That’s definitely a hefty sum for many American workers, who lost on average 24.7% of their purchasing power due to inflation, according to the Pew Research Center.
Meanwhile, from 2020 to 2022, Taco Bell’s prices went up by 14.6%. In the first two quarters of this year alone, the chain’s fans saw items going up by half of that rate, marking an additional 7.4% on Taco Bell’s menu costs. Some of the brand’s most popular products have seen the steepest increases, according to customers, who have also been also remarking on the apparent “shrinkflation” of some items, including the Crunchwrap. “All this while continuing to increase prices. I rarely eat at TB anymore now,” said one former devotee on a Reddit post. Another noted that their order of 3 chicken tacos at Taco Bell came to a total of $8.34—while a similar order of 3 chicken tacos at Chipotle came out to $8.20, making Taco Bell the more expensive option.
“I remember getting 4 tacos for like $3 as a teen,” lamented one responder. In the past, the restaurant’s cheap prices were a small comfort for hungry Americans trying to save. But that’s no longer the case in 2023. Similarly, Wendy’s rose prices twice in the past two years. Last year, the company increased its menu prices by 6%, according to CFO Gunther Plosch. In 2022, prices went up by another 6%. And in March, the executive said that Wendy’s stores would start implementing another 5% hike in the summer and into the third quarter of 2023. According to Pricelisto’s analysis, in Q2, most of its cheeseburger offerings went up between 32 and 39 cents. Today, we compiled 20 fast food chains where menu prices are getting more expensive this year.
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