Matthew Clark and Bibendum raising prices by 3.5%

14-Oct-2021 - Last updated on 14-Oct-2021 at 09:37 GMT

Perfect storm: a combination of fuel price inflation, labour costs and supply chain issues resulted in the price increase, Matthew Clark and Bibendum said (Image: Getty/traffic_analyzer)

Drinks firms Matthew Clark and Bibendum will be putting prices up by 3.5% from November, it has been confirmed.

The C&C Group-owned businesses put the increase down to supply chain pressures alongside a hike in labour costs and fuel prices.

A company spokesperson said: “As our industry recovers from the pandemic, the resulting, well-documented pressure on UK and global supply chains has added increased cost and complexity.

“This has been further compounded by increased labour costs and fuel price inflation. While we work hard to mitigate the impact of these pressures, in order to be able to maintain the service, we provide our customers, we have had to take the decision to increase the prices of our products.”

Trading results

C&C Group acquired Matthew Clark and Bibendum three years ago from previous owners Coviviality, which went into administration in 2018, with the deal being completed less than 12 hours after C&C announced interest.

In a trading update last month (September), C&C reported “a strong return to trading” for the 2022 financial year.

It stated for the last five weeks for the first half of the 2022 financial year, the company served 90% of distribution points in August 2021 compared to August 2019.

Operating profit was expected to be at €16m (£13.5m), compared to a loss of €12m (£10m) in the first half of the 2021 financial year and a profit of €66m (£56m) in the first half of the 2020 financial year.

The price increase from Matthew Clark and Bibendum comes as the British Institute of Innkeeping (BII) chief executive Steve Alton warned pub’s recovery was under threat as supply chain issues escalate, in a column he wrote for The Morning Advertiser last month (September).

Drinks supply difficulties

He said: “The supply chain issues are generating multiple challenges for our members. Some 72% have run out of core lines in their food and drink offering, leading to extensive menu changes and 66% have also seen significant price increases. One in four have seen that the lack of choice for customers has led directly to reduced levels of trade.

“Cost rises are impacting the majority of pubs with two out of three seeing over 10% increases in food costs and one in three seeing over 10% increases in drinks costs.

“In addition, 47% are having difficulties getting drinks supplies to meet customer demand and 27% do not have enough food supplies.”