Don’t Miss These Deals: Shop Around for 40% off Beef Short Loin, Go Frozen for 53% off Mahi Mahi!
Another monthly Producer Price Index and Consumer Price Index report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and another month of inflation. That’s going to continue to make things difficult for restaurant and food service operators, but it isn’t all bad news. We continue to see deals on alternative products that can save you 10%-50%. And this week that includes a number of Fresh to Frozen and Frozen options on most protein categories with big savings!
We also know that restaurant operators don’t always want to have to change their main vendor. All of the opportunities below are from within single distributors! So here are the deals this week:
tl;dr
Frozen deals are back! We found Fresh to Frozen and Frozen options in Bacon, Beef, Chicken, Fish, and Pork that can save you 15%-53%! We continue to consistently see Brand deals across almost every category including Oil and Flour, so take some time to compare your current order guide. There are consistent deals of 10%-20% and some up to 40% if you look. Produce deals continue to be mainly in Odds & Ends with more opportunities with grade, packaging, and size. If the differences work for you then you have a chance to save money.
You can find deals of 34%-35% from single vendors with similar opportunities across vendors (35%-42%). As usual, even if you are using just one vendor you can find deals.
Slightly higher Cash and Carry discounts this week (44%). So if this is an option for you, you may want to keep an eye out for deals.
Brand
The deals on different Brands keep coming with some big ones in Beef again this week. We found Beef Short Loin Choice at 40% off from one brand! Keeping most attributes consistent, there definitely are trends in several product categories where you can find better deals with some brands than others. Here are the average percent savings on a cost per weight basis we are seeing right now:
| Category | Discount |
|---|---|
| Beef Short Loin Choice 174 | 40% |
| Oil, Vegetable TFF Salad & Frying | 20% |
| Oil, Canola Clear Fry | 18% |
| Cheese, American Loaf Yellow | 16% |
| Beef, Tenderloin CAB 189A PSMO Boneless | 15% |
| Flank Steak Angus Choice MBG 193 | 14% |
| Flour, All-Purpose H&R | 13% |
Frozen
Frozen deals are back this week and there are some great ones above 30%! If a frozen option works for you, this can still be a good opportunity to get your normal product at a huge discount, especially fresh to frozen. Frozen product can also give you a buffer with uncertain traffic.
| Category | Discount |
|---|---|
| Mahi Mahi 4 oz Portion Skinless Frozen | 53% |
| Chicken Breast Boneless Skinless Whole Butterfly Frozen | 40% |
| Beef Strip Loin MBG 180 Fresh to Frozen | 35% |
| Bacon Center Cut 18/20 Honey Cured Frozen | 30% |
| Bacon Applewood Smoked 13-17 Fresh to Frozen | 18% |
| Pork Butt Boneless .25” Trim Frozen | 15% |
| Beef Ground Patties 80%-20% Ground Fine Frozen | 14% |
Odds & Ends
There are often price differences when there are different attributes with similar products. The grade, size, source, and a long list of others impact the price. You made decisions on what you would source when you first decided on the menu item, but how often can you check what is going on with prices now? Can you make a slight adjustment to save money without negatively affecting the end dish? Here are some of the products you may want to look at your options this week:
| Category | Discount |
|---|---|
| Chicken Thighs Bone-in Skin-on Limited Quantity | 32% |
| Avocado #1 Almost Ripe 40-48 ct vs 20-24 ct | 30% |
| Pepper Bell Green Sliced 1/8” vs 3/16” | 27% |
| Apple Granny Smith Fancy vs Extra Fancy | 20% |
| Salmon Atlantic Portioned Skinless Chilean 6 oz vs 8 oz | 17% |
| Pork Chop Bone-in Center-cut 1412A 5 oz vs 4 oz | 15% |
| Cheese, Cheddar Mild Shredded Feather Wisconsin vs Standard | 13% |
| Beef Tenderloin PSMO 5UP MBG189A Limited Quantity | 11% |
Remember, this is all based on normalized price per weight comparison.