Cupcake Company talks impact of rising egg prices

HARRISONBURG, Va. (WHSV) - Eggs are the latest item at the grocery store to see a hike in prices.

Experts say part of the price increase is due to an outbreak of avian flu in hens across the U.S. They say the poultry industry is also experiencing labor and shipping shortages.

The rising prices of eggs are impacting those who use them every day.

“Everything we do uses butter, eggs, cream cheese ... I mean, yeah, cakes, pies, brownies,” Renee Alexander, owner of Cupcake Company said.

Bakeries go through dozens of eggs a day to create dense desserts.

“Not only have we had issues with the prices going up but also with just being able to get the supplies,” Alexander said.

With the supply chain issues and price increases, Alexander says production has been impacted as they like to keep ingredients consistent in their recipes.

“We’ve just found that anytime we try to change the product is impacted and we don’t, we don’t like it. We want things to be as consistent as they possibly can,” Alexander said.

After 12 years in business, Alexander has only raised prices once and she says she doesn’t want to do it again.

“The shipping alone on the clam shells and things we use to put our cupcakes in pretty much tripled so that that kind of ... because of that was one of the reasons we had to raise our prices some,” Alexander said.

She hopes the prices of eggs plateaus soon.

“We just introduced a brand new line of cheesecakes to out, to our business and put pies back in so you know it seems like eventually egg prices are gonna hopefully lower again and we’re just kind going with the flow right now,” Alexander said.

She said the bakery has got creative on items they offer to combat the rising prices and supply chain issues.

“Maybe doesn’t use nuts that are very expensive and different things like that we are kind of creating the simple basics that our customers really like that way we can not raise prices but keep the good stuff that everybody likes,” Alexander said.

The Cupcake Company is open Tuesday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Copyright 2023 WHSV. All rights reserved.