The sharp rise in the price of butter will increase the cost of producing the approximately 60 million galettes des rois sold at the beginning of each year, but should not penalize consumers too much, according to industry professionals.
“Butter, which represents half the weight of a frangipane galette, has gone from 5,500 to more than 8,000 euros per tonne this year. Added to this are wage and energy increases. The cost of manufacturing will therefore increase, but bakers will often cut into their margins”, estimated Paul Boivin, general director of the FEB (Federation of bakery and pastry companies).
According to the public institution FranceAgriMer, the price of pasteurized butter sold in Rungis has increased by around 40% over a year.
“The galettes, sold over seven to eight weeks, represent around 15% of the annual turnover of bakeries and the bakery departments of large surfaces: it is therefore a real loss of earnings”, added the general director of the Federation, which brings together large industrialists and bakery chains.
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“A galette is sold on average for 4 to 12 euros in a supermarket and 17 to 30 euros at an artisan baker. But since the purchase remains a one-off, the consumer does not necessarily notice the increases, if they occur”, he acknowledges.
In addition to butter, other key ingredients in galettes have also seen their prices rise, adds Dominique Anract, president of the National Confederation of French Bakery and Bakery-Pastry, such as eggs, affected by bird flu. Their price rose to 14 euros per 100 eggs in December compared to 10 euros this summer, according to FranceAgriMer.
“Butter represents a quarter of almond cream and almost half in puff pastry. In two years, the share of raw materials has gone from 23% of bakers' turnover to 26-28%”, he notes.
“Bakers have to watch their accounts, otherwise it's a time bomb. They could slightly increase their prices, by around 10 to 20 cents, or even 50 cents per share, or they won't increase at all. But that will be wise”, he assures the head of the Confederation.
Galettes remain a flagship product for the 35,000 bakeries in France: “Each one sells an average of 500 to 2,000 galettes during this period, 4,000 to 5,000 for the best placed and up to 10,000 for the winner of the Best Galette Prize”, he concludes.