Master Kong unified bottled instant noodles rose by nearly 10%

Before the arrival of the traditional high season instant noodle season, Master Kong and uniform barrel instant noodles rose at the beginning of the month. The reasons for price increases are still cost pressures. Industry sources confirmed that the cost of instant noodle companies continued to rise after the initial price hike in early April. This time they finally broke through the barriers to interviews and successfully raised prices. At present, the terminal sales guide price rose by 3 cents per barrel, or nearly 10%.

According to Master Kong’s internal staff introduction, Master Kong started on August 1st and adjusted the price of its instant noodles in barrels. The ex-factory price per bottle (12 barrels) increased by 2 yuan, and the terminal sales price increased by 3 hairs per barrel. . “The price increase is mainly due to cost pressures, while leaving profits for the road.” According to the insider, in accordance with the guidance price, the sales channels can each have an additional 1.6 yuan.

The owner of the Home Supermarket in Haizhu District of Guangzhou City confirmed this news to the reporter, but the increase was slightly higher than the guide price. “After the price increase, the price per barrel is going to 4 yuan.” He also revealed that he also received uniform barrels. The face of the recent price adjustment notice, "from the dealer to get the goods, each price is about 5 yuan." However, there are currently no notices of price increases from other brands.

The reporter visited Guangzhou Jiajia Supermarket Zhengjia Square Store and Jujima Tianhe City Store and found that instant noodles prices were actually raised. Master chef's sauerkraut beef drum noodles is priced at 3.6 yuan at PARKnSHOP, and Yoshinoshima is priced at 3.9 yuan; his gold master Kang Tung's braised beef noodles is 3.6 yuan at Jishou, while PARKnSHOP displays "a temporary shortage of goods." Jishou Island, a salesperson who surnamed Li, told reporters that the price increase was due to the “wholesale price has gone up” and the supermarket was “a last resort”. The salespersons of the two supermarkets all said that at present, there has been no overreaction caused by the rise in prices of instant noodles, and there have been no major fluctuations in sales.

Costs have increased and gross profit has fallen It is understood that Master Kong disclosed in its annual report released in March this year that the price of major raw materials such as flour, palm oil, sugar and PET particles will continue to increase pressure on the industry. It is planned to increase instant noodles from April 1. price. However, after the news broke out, Master Kong was interviewed by the National Development and Reform Commission. The latter announced at the end of March that it would suspend the price increase plan. Regarding the interview questions on how Master Kong responded to cost pressures after suspending price increases, Master Kong also did not make any reply. However, the ultimate reason can be found in the performance of listed companies: Last year, the company's Master's gross profit margin fell 6% to 28.4% from 2009. The gross profit margins of instant noodles and cake products both fell by 2%-3%.

Although Master Kong’s competitor’s unification was not interviewed at the time, he was unwilling to reveal the cost issue to the outside world. Yang Shouzheng, the company’s press spokesperson, told the media that the company never accepts interviews on price increases, and that the issue of cost control is a trade secret.

"Interviews" did not stop the symptoms but despite the price hike, all companies have also adopted other methods to reduce cost pressures, and many manufacturers have achieved a disguised price increase by reducing the weight of cakes. Zhou Sianran, a food industry researcher at China Investment Advisors, explained that in the context of rising international grain prices, domestic food prices have also soared. The prices of raw materials such as corn and wheat continue to rise, and prices of food processing accessories such as sugar have also risen sharply. The increase in transportation costs also aggravated the cost pressure on food companies. For companies such as Kangshifu, which involve beverages, instant noodles and many other food segmentation industries, the impact of rising costs on their production is indeed greater.

At present, as the prices of bulk food ingredients such as edible oil, flour, and sugar remain high and even continue to rise, the cost pressure of the entire food industry has not shown signs of abating. Analysts believe that the government’s policy of raising the minimum purchase price of agricultural products year by year will, to a large extent, encourage the market to form the psychological expectation that the prices of agricultural products will increase year by year, coupled with the current drought conditions in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, and reinforce the psychological reluctance of farmers to boost sales. The price of agricultural products has shown a rising trend. It is difficult for interviews to play a role in the price increase of enterprises. Most food companies are small in scale and have low technological content. They often use disguised upgrades, packaging changes, and taste changes to disguise their prices.