Fat Tuesday Products See Spike in Pricing Year Over Year
Celebrating Mardi Gras will be more expensive this year, but relief appears to be on the horizon as the rate of inflation shows signs of slowing for many popular Fat Tuesday products.
Why It Matters: With Mardi Gras kicking off on February 21, 2023, hundreds of thousands of Americans are preparing their celebrations. If consumers shop smart, they could stick to a tight budget for Fat Tuesday party supplies this year while still letting les bons temps rouler.
What We’re Seeing: Our data science team analyzed pricing information for popular Mardi Gras products within three categories: food, paper/plastic, and festive items. Across the most popular products in each category, we found that the average cost of Fat Tuesday products rose by 8.34% from Q1 ’22 – Q1 ’23. Here’s how prices for the most popular products increased over the last year:
Food Products
- Cornbread Mix +35.15%
- Coffee Cake Mix +17.83%
- Crab Cake Mix +14.44%
- Gumbo Mix +9.62%
- Hush Puppy Mix +9.42%
- Cinnamon Roll Mix +7.61%
- Moon Pies +6.54%
- King Cake +4.62%
- Icing +3.55%
Paper and Plastic Products
- Paper Plates +13.88%
- Plastic Cups +4.79%
- Napkins +4.11%
Festive Items
- Mardi Gras Beads +12.53%
- Feather Boa +1.46%
- Mardi Gras T-Shirt +2.10%
Yes, but: In the near term, inflation among these same products has shown signs of slowing or even reversing in some cases. Here’s how the price of these same goods has changed from Q4 ’22 – Q1 ’23:
Food Products
- Cornbread Mix +2.69%
- Coffee Cake Mix -1.68%
- Crab Cake Mix -1.16%
- Gumbo Mix +5.33%
- Hush Puppy Mix +0.41%
- Cinnamon Roll Mix -3.19%
- Moon Pies -4.12%
- King Cake +0.13%
- Icing -2.67%
Paper and Plastic Products
- Paper Plates -7.74%
- Plastic Cups +1.68%
- Napkins -2.16%
Festive Items
- Mardi Gras Beads -0.07%
- Feather Boa -1.22%
- Mardi Gras T-Shirt -4.76%
The takeaway: Inflation is still wreaking havoc on the cost of consumer goods — especially when it comes to paying for Mardi Gras celebrations. However, the slowing inflation rate from Q4 ’22 – Q1 ’23 within each product category is an encouraging sign that could point to broader relief for consumers as a whole. If you’re interested in leveraging insights like these to power your ecommerce strategy, don’t hesitate to contact Pattern to request more information.
