In this week’s episode of The Food Biz, hosts Kristyn Tarpey and Ryan Nelson discuss the inflation that the U.S. is currently experiencing, where it's coming from, and when we can expect it to die down.

Kristyn begins by telling us more about why this is happening and she starts out by pointing out the obvious, the significant labor shortage we are experiencing, especially in the foodservice industry with over 133,000 jobs open. She wants everyone to know that the shortage isn’t just relevant with cooks and waiters, it’s happening in vital positions like food manufacturing as well. And even though many companies are offering higher wages, the paychecks still can’t keep up with inflation rates.

Ryan points out that because so many people were panic-buying food and supplies in bulk, companies ramped production up - now these companies are stuck with all of this inventory they can’t sell, which in theory would mean lower prices. Still, because of inflation, this isn’t happening. They also discuss the presence of “shrink-flation,” even if the price hasn’t necessarily gone up, consumers are paying the same amount for less food - both at restaurants and in grocery stores. 

The two wrap up the episode by concluding that there are two major factors that need to happen in order for inflation to decrease. One is that consumer supply needs to actually meet demand. People are out and about more than ever, post-Covid, and companies need to have more resources to manage surging demand. The second factor is the conflict in Ukraine. Ukraine is a huge wheat supplier for the rest of the world and this conflict is heavily affecting the wheat supply, which in turn is affecting the rest of the world. 

Make sure to listen to the entire episode on Spotify or in the Apple Podcasts App! While you’re there, don’t forget to subscribe. Also, feel free to reach out to us by email at news@barchart.com with any discussion topics, questions, comments, or overall feedback; Ryan and Kristyn would love to hear from you!