Financial Crisis - Are Dessert Sales Slowing?

[schneich]

hi,

tv is full of bad news pretty much all day. stocks going south, banks already have gone south (well pretty much so). when i watch news coverage about "financial ground zero" aka new york, they sometimes use to interview restaurant and shop owners who talk about losing 50% of their turnover. my question would be does anyone of you (especially in thechocolate or pastry business) already see turnover going down despite getting into high season, or at least have lower numbers than last year ??

cheers from cologne

torsten s.

[Desiderio]

WHile I dont have a store at this moment, in the recent event I partecipated ( a craft show ), I was disappointed by the sales I made. People really love the product but the sales were one third I made in May. Maybe was the type of show , but its season already and I feel people isnt actually ordering the way the used to do last year. I am really trying to get as much business I can at this point to afford the rest I have to pay, but seems little bit slow. I am kinda glad I dont have to depend on the income from the chocolate business at this point.

[shaloop]

I do mostly wholesale desserts. My business depends on the business of my customers. It is slower than last year. I think fewer people are eating out.

[gfron1]

Not foreseeing this current mess, we had set up our cafè to be on the lower end of the price scale, so we haven't seen much impact. My desserts have held steady. But I also am in a small town where we rely on customer loyalty and first name basis. Time will tell.

[devlin]

The restaurant industry in the Louisville area is struggling right now, and we've seen a lot of closings over the past year, especially over the past three months. And many restaurants are cutting back on buying breads and cakes from independent bakers and specialty stores and making easier, less labor-intensive products in-house. Frankly I don't see that changing for a good while.

[chefpeon]

My dessert sales are down for sure, but it's not as bad as I thought it would be.

My theory is that people will still buy "affordable luxuries" and I think dessert is one of those things!

[Desiderio]

Thats what a friend of mine told me about luxury items like chocolates, since people will get depressed , I honestly trying not to get into that frenzy state where everybody talks about how the prices are going up and all that stuff that the media love so much.