As restaurant prices continue to climb, more individuals in the Czech Republic are choosing to pack their lunches from home or take home leftovers from dining out in order to save money. Some are even pooling their orders for delivery meals to split the delivery costs.

Tereza Knířová from Sodexo Benefity, a company that distributes meal vouchers, noted that “this year, there has been a significant decline in customers in the gastronomy industry. This is primarily due to the high lunch prices, which have exceeded what customers are willing to pay.” The average price for lunch in August reached almost 185 Czech koruna, which is 20 koruna more than the previous year.

People are devising strategies to cut costs, with some opting only for a main course in restaurants and forgoing drinks and soup. Others are reducing their orders or selecting discounted menus.

Delivery services have also observed shifts in customer behavior. Adam Kolesa from Foodora mentioned that they are noticing a trend towards fewer items in customers’ orders, but the value of orders has increased due to inflation. On the other hand, Marek Maxa from Bolt Food pointed out that customers are increasingly placing orders collectively to share the delivery expenses.

Nevertheless, a significant number of people continue to purchase lunch at restaurants or canteens. According to a survey by meal voucher company Edenred, 16 percent of people eat lunch at work daily, a decrease of three percent from the previous year. However, 49 percent of people do not buy lunch at work, an increase from 41 percent last year.

Almost half of the survey respondents said that restaurant prices are too high. Aneta Martišková from Edenred stated, “Czechs could afford almost five percent fewer lunches from their average salary in July than a year ago. But the good news is that inflation and price increases began to slow down in the first half of this year.”

Lunch prices vary across the country, with the highest prices in Prague at over 200 Czech koruna. The lowest average lunch price is in Jihlava, at 163.50 Czech koruna.

While many people bring their lunches to work, some cannot do so due to a lack of options or dietary restrictions. Nearly a quarter of respondents in the Edenred survey indicated that they can prepare better meals at home, while around eight percent require special diets.

Article by Prague Forum