TL;DR
Rising meat prices are affecting franchises, with Buffalo Wild Wings experiencing a 10% stock decrease due to poultry price increases. A combination of factors, including a drought in California and a bird-flu outbreak in Minnesota, has led to skyrocketing prices for chicken and beef.
Replace lions, tigers and bears with beef, poultry and pork in that little ditty from “The Wizard of Oz” and you’ll have a general idea of the trepidation franchises are feeling right now.
Tom Kaiser over at Franchise Times recently spotlighted how a combination of factors, including a drought in California and a bird-flu outbreak in Minnesota, has led to skyrocketing prices for chicken and beef.
Kaiser cited the Minneapolis-St. Paul Business Journal in reporting that Buffalo Wild Wings’ stock decreased 10 percent following news the company had experienced a 41 percent year-over-year rise in poultry prices. Meanwhile, data from Missouri Farmer Today showed per-pound beef prices had broken the latest record set in February, with ground beef now costing $4.20 a pound.
Fortunately, while franchise owners would be forgiven for expecting pork to complete the bad news trifecta, pigs are giving them a reason to smile besides the smell of bacon. Kaiser reported pork prices fell steadily through the first quarter of 2015.
In this story
This story was originally published in 1851 Franchise on April 29, 2015. Burnaze summarizes and links to the original reporting.
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