Navigating Protein Pricing Challenges in the Food Service Sector

The protein market continues to experience significant pressure, driven by escalating input costs and constrained supply conditions. These factors are contributing to ongoing price volatility and product availability concerns, making strategic procurement and careful menu engineering more critical than ever for food service operators.

Beef prices are expected to remain elevated in the near term, with particular pressure on value cuts due to strong demand from the UK market—this trend is placing upward price pressure on Irish businesses.
Poultry pricing is also on the rise, impacted by reduced supply across European markets, primarily due to avian influenza outbreaks in Poland and ongoing shortages in breeding stock.

At Procurewise, we are actively working with our supply network and culinary teams to mitigate the impact of food inflation. Our focus is on securing consistent supply and minimizing cost increases to reduce the impact on your business.
Despite the challenges of recent years, including supply disruptions, rising costs, and evolving menu demand, the Procurewise team has successfully maintained food gross profits (GPs) across the Cliste Hospitality Group and The iNua Hotel Collection for the past three years. This is despite a 29% increase in the cost of striploins, 70% increase in the cost of burgers and a 9% increase in the cost of chicken fillets alone.
If your business is struggling to maintain GPs in the current climate, we can help. A quick desktop review will allow us to identify opportunities to protect and potentially improve your margins.

To learn more, please contact:
Siobhan Hamilton
Head of Procurement, Cliste Hospitality
s.hamilton@clistehospitality.ie