Getting caffeinated to start off your day is going to take a bit of a toll on your budget going forward.
This week, Starbucks announced that it will be raising the cost of its products from this point forward, due to several factors, including soaring inflation, disruptions within the supply chain, and rising labor costs.
The Seattle-based coffee powerhouse reportedly failed to reach its predicted quarterly profit in the wake of the rising Omicron variant world-wide. The negative fiscal damage caused by the pandemic led to labor cuts and a spike on COVID-related restrictions, which has taken a toll on the coffee giant across the globe. According to their brew company, this issue has particularly hit China most of all, which happens to be the company's fastest-growing market.
However, this isn't the first time Starbucks has made this move involving its prices, with only four months ago the company spiked its prices in October of 2021, not to mention the cost increase that are set to kick in this year.
"Although demand was strong, this pandemic has not been linear and the macro-environment remains dynamic as we experienced higher-than-expected inflationary pressures, increased costs due to Omicron, and a tight labor market,” said Kevin Johnson, Starbucks president and CEO.
According to the company, these actions are on the basis of balancing the toll that the coffee giant has taken throughout the pandemic, while also looking to place the business in a better position for the long run.
In a statement this week, Starbucks will be “taking additional pricing actions planned through the balance of the year to mitigate cost pressures, including inflation as it looks to position its business for the future.”
At the same time, however, Starbucks has increased its spending on its own employees by boosting its worker benefits in the midst of the current conditions of the labor market. The company has applied a boost in COVID-19 pay over the course of the pandemic, including paid time off for workers who become ill due to being infected by COVID-19. Additionally, Starbucks have encouraged its workers to receive vaccination against the virus, by offering to pay them to get their COVID-19 vaccine doses.
