KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Kansas City-area businesses are scrambling to offset inflation as the price of eggs continues to soar, hurting bakeries' bottom lines.
Mr. D’s Donuts goes through 360-540 eggs a week. Owner Johnny Chen said a year ago, a case of eggs, which carries 15 dozen, was between $15-$17.
Since the effects of the bird flu on supply and demand began driving prices, the same case of eggs now costs $100.
KSHB 41 spoke with Chen last October after the U.S. Labor of Statistics released data indicating baked goods saw the biggest cost increase in the last year.
At that time, eggs were $3.75. The national average is currently $4.25.
"Certain items, price came down, but certain items, obviously like the eggs, skyrocketed — it just went up tremendously," Chen said.
To offset costs, Chen says Mr. D's cut ties with suppliers and are shopping around individual grocery stores to find the best deal.
"We still want to keep our recipe, and we believe at some point it will even out, so I think we should just stay patient," Chen said.
But for pie bakery The Upper Crust, egg prices remain steady.
The Upper Crust buys eggs from a local supplier who charges $73 a case, but other ingredients like fruit, butter and sugar have seen at least a 17% increase.
Both businesses say prices have increased for their products by at least $0.25.
"We have had to adjust some pricing. That's always our last resort because, of course, we don't want that," explained Jan Knobel, owner of The Upper Crust. "But ultimately, you have to stay in business."
