Prestige Purchasing and CGA Strategy have developed the Foodservice Price Index (FPI) for foodservice operators to give a more accurate and relevant alternative to the government’s Consumer Price Index (CPI).
Foodservice operators will be able to access the information on food price trends from 14 December rather than use the CPI which, until now, has been the only inflation index available to food purchasing professionals to measure success.
CEO of Prestige Purchasing, David Read, commented, “While the CPI data is relevant for consumers and retail supermarkets, it doesn’t reflect prices on offer to caterers.
“Buyers who rely on CPI may be acting in an ill-informed manner when negotiating with suppliers. This is because the CPI is calculated using supermarket selling prices instead of foodservice wholesale prices, and we now know that these market movements are distinctly different.”
The FPI will be based on a basket of goods but gathered from wholesalers rather than retailers, which includes hot beverages, bread, cereal, fish, food products, fruit, meat, milk, cheese, eggs, oils and fats, soft drinks, sugar, jam, syrups, chocolate, confectionary and vegetables.
Also, the index will show price fluctuations across each of these categories, as well as for the whole basket.