Inflation in Germany is at a high level. That drives up the prices. Households in Germany are fighting against expensive petrol, diesel, electricity and ever-increasing living costs. While prices in supermarkets are rising every two days, catering establishments are cheating on the menus. FOCUS Online tells you what to look out for.
Discounters and supermarkets now adjust the prices of the range at regular intervals. The butter price alone climbed from 1.65 euros to 2.29 euros within a few months and stages. In many places, consumers even pay more than 3 euros for the branded product.
There are also major adjustments to cooking oil. Instead of 89 cents, consumers even pay 4.99 euros for a liter of sunflower oil. That’s a fivefold increase in three months.
Catering establishments are also affected. Food and drinks are more expensive than ever. Operators have to recalculate because rising electricity, heating and staff costs have to be passed on to guests. But instead of just raising prices on the menu, wine, or drink menu, restaurant owners are taking it a step further. They reduce portion sizes and serve smaller quantities of beer and wine.
In more and more cafés, guests have to decide for the first time whether they want to drink their hot drink with milk or sugar. Sweetened and with a dash of milk, tea and coffee are sometimes up to 30 cents more expensive.
In restaurants, too, companies ask their customers to pay if they order ketchup or mayo with their fries, for example. The surcharges range from 50 cents to even a euro for a bit of ketchup and mayo.
Mustard or sauces also cost more now. The products are often placed on the table without being asked. It doesn’t matter whether you put ketchup on top of it or not: In most cases, the amount is on the bill.
In pizzerias, guests now have to pay extra for chili or garlic oil. “Could I have some more oil” now means a price surcharge of 50 cents for your favorite Italian.
Side dishes such as rice, fries or pasta are also charged extra.
As a rule, the small side salad is now separated from the main course. If you are used to eating a small salad with your pork schnitzel and fries, you have to pay extra for it. Sometimes the small salad bowl costs between three and six euros.
A glass of beer in the tavern currently costs over 4.50 euros. Breweries raised prices across the board in March. Industry experts expect further adjustments in the fall. While the price has gone up, the glass in the restaurant is getting smaller.
Instead of the 0.5 liter glass, 0.33 liter glasses are now served. The beer price remains the same. If you order three beers, you pay an average of 13.50 euros and get one liter. A few weeks ago it was 1.5 liters for less than 13 euros.
There are also changes with wine. Instead of 0.2 liters, innkeepers now only serve 0.15 liters or 0.1 liters. The glasses are also getting smaller so that the new upper limit is not too noticeable. The price stays the same. When asked, a Metro employee from Munich says: “We have seen that the demand for glasses and mugs has been increasing for weeks.”
As for non-alcoholic beverages, there are changes to tap water and juice spritzers. If you want to drink a small glass of water with your coffee in a café or restaurant, you have to pay for it. Even where it has always been served free of charge.
With the juice spritzers, there is no longer a distinction between “small” and “large”. If you want to drink a passion fruit spritzer, you only get the larger glass at a higher price.
Basically, you should always pay attention to the information on menus, drinks menus and receipts. What items will you be billed for, what extras will you book and what dishes will you have to pay extra for?
If you’re not sure how certain prices are made up, ask.
Basically, the following applies: An indication of increased prices are new menus and beer and cola prices of over four euros per glass.
Supermarket prices are skyrocketing, but we consumers also have to dig deeper into our pockets for electricity, petrol, furniture and clothing. What did you observe? What do you do to save money each month for yourself and your family? Send an e-mail to Konstantinos.mitsis@burda-forward.de with your name and telephone number
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