High prices for sugar and cocoa
Bahlsen cookies are becoming more expensive
October 22, 2023, 12:43 p.m
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With brands such as Bahlsen, Leibniz and Pickup, Bahlsen is the German market leader for sweet pastries. However, rising prices for sugar and cocoa and a poor response to the new packaging design are depressing sales. This has consequences for consumers.
Bahlsen boss Alexander Kühnen has announced further price increases. “We have to continue to increase prices – at least in 2024,” Kühnen told Handelsblatt. He justified this with increasing costs. Sugar and cocoa prices are at an all-time high in Europe. In addition, expenses for personnel and energy are significantly higher than in 2020.
Kühnen also wants to revise the new packaging design for Bahlsen cookies because it led to declining sales. Some customers apparently find the modern design “too elitist and distant”. Rolling backwards is out of the question. Brands would live and have to be kept relevant.
“The Bahlsen brand has been around since 1889. But nobody buys a product because of tradition,” says Kühnen. “Our marketing people generally also travel to third-tier cities. There they talk to typical customers at the shelves, which opens up their perspective.” The relaunch will cost several million, said Kühnen. “That’s why Bahlsen’s brand identity needs to change.”
In 2021, Bahlsen’s global sales fell slightly to 528 million euros. The family company has not yet published any new figures. In 2023, sales will be driven by inflation and sales will be satisfactory, said Kühnen. The company boss wants to streamline the range and eliminate products with small margins. The biscuit manufacturer is the German market leader for sweet biscuits with brands such as Bahlsen, Leibniz and Pickup. The traditional company has around 2,500 employees worldwide, 1,900 of them in Germany.