Sunny Hills (微熱山丘), the popular pineapple cake brand boasting fillings made of Taiwanese pineapple, has said that for the first time in five years, it will raise its prices, by 20 percent.
Pineapple cakes that used to cost NT$35 will be sold at NT$42 starting today. The company said that it had to raise the prices because of soaring ingredient costs.
Sunny Hills said that the former price was set in 2009, but costs for labor and materials have increased since then, prompting pineapple farmers the firm works with to raise their prices 10 percent, it said.
The company said that it is confident that it can retain customer loyalty regardless of the price hike by continuing to provide consumers with high-quality products.
A survey conducted by reporters from the Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister newspaper) showed that although Sunny Hills hiked its prices the most, it is not the only pineapple cake maker to raise its prices.
In Taipei, Chia Te Bakery Co (嘉德糕餅) last month raised the price for its original pineapple cake by NT$1. They are now being sold at NT$28 each.
Shun Chen Bakery (順成蛋糕) raised the price of its original pineapple cake from NT$15 to NT$17 each, but promised that prices for its pineapple cake and pineapple tea cake will remain unchanged until at least the Mid-Autumn Festival.
Sisuruco (絲酥入扣), the Tsaotun Township (草屯), Nantou County-based developer of the yam pineapple cake, said that a shortage of indigenous pineapples has caused its inventory cost to go up by 30 percent. The company has raised the price for its yam pineapple cakes from NT$32 to NT$35 each at its online store.
Tainan County-based TCKW (鐵金鋼原味鳳梨酥) in Guanmiao District (關廟) said it is evaluating the range of its price increment and that it will raise the prices for its products shortly as well.
The Bread (布列得) and Kuo Yuan Ye (郭元益), said that they had no plans yet to raise the prices of their pineapple cakes.
However, Bread Society said it has not ruled out a price increase in the future.
Additional reporting by Chang Ching-ya
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