The rising price of fast food is a common area of discussion on TikTok. Some users have called out restaurants like McDonald’s and KFC for increasing their prices, and several others have shared numerous videos documenting their experiences paying $40 to $50 for what was once considered to be budget food.
Now, another fast food chain has come into the spotlight: Little Caesars.
Known for its Hot-n-Ready pizzas that were once $5, the pizza chain is seen as a budget option for those craving a few slices of ‘za. Recently, however, their low price-friendly status has been called into question by TikTok user @bobbelchersbaldspot. In a video with over 601,000 views, the TikToker claims that 2 cheese pizzas from the chain cost her almost $20.
“These 2 cheese pizzas from Little Caesars were $19.80,” she says. In the text overlaying the video, she adds, “not even broke people food is cheap no more.”
@bobbelchersbaldspot ♬ original sound – t <3
According to Restaurant Business in May of this year, “on an annual basis, fast-food menu prices are up 8.2%.” This was a greater increase than the Consumer Price Index (CPI), which was measured at 4%, and the price of food generally, which increased by 6.7%.
While some in the industry blame this price increase on growing labor costs, there’s not a lot of data to back this up. Earlier this year, the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco published a paper investigating how much recent rises in labor costs have affected price increases. They found that “labor-cost growth has no meaningful effect on goods or housing services inflation.”
“Overall, labor-cost growth is responsible for only about 0.1 percentage point of recent core PCE inflation,” writes author Adam Hale Shapiro.
Others have speculated that companies are raising prices simply because they can. Some part of it has to do with “premiumization,” where companies offer slightly better or more upscale products at significantly higher prices. Another part of this can be attributed to corporate greed, where companies increase costs arbitrarily to increase their profits.
Back on @bobbelchersbaldspot’s TikTok, commenters shared their own thoughts on rising prices.
“Don’t even get me start with mcdonald’s pricing,” wrote a user. “Why is a large fry $5 and drinks no matter the size not $1 anymore?!”
“I spent $24 for 2 subs at subway the other day… give us back the $5 footlongs,” stated another.
“Like atp I’m getting mad about stuff I don’t even buy, cause why is a two pack of poptarts $10!??!” questioned a third.
The Daily Dot reached out to Little Caesars via email and @bobbelchersbaldspot via TikTok direct message.
