High egg prices putting a pinch on Louisiana bakeries ahead of Mardi Gras
During carnival season, people seek out the multitude of parades that roll through the streets and also possibly get their hands on a king cake.
The French pastry covered in green, purple, and yellow glitter is a favorite for both locals and visitors.
But in order to make one of these famous cakes, you have to crack a few eggs.
Egg prices are the highest they have ever been and small businesses that bake those famous cakes are facing sticker shock.
Jean-Luc Albin owns the Maurice French Pastries bakery in Metairie, Louisiana.
He has been crafting French treats for over 30 years.
Albin said Mardi Gras season is the busiest time of the year, with his team baking over 100 king cakes a day at the shop.
King cakes are popular for any kind of party leading up to Fat Tuesday, he said.
"It's part of the celebration, it's something you can share with friends," said Albin. "It came to be an obsession among everyone. Every year it seems to get more exciting."
Albin said the high cost of ingredients is making it tougher to turn a profit.
He is not planning on raising the prices of his king cakes, but he's hoping the cost of eggs will come down soon.
"You can get them at certain supermarkets for over $10, $12 a dozen. All of that is kind of mysterious," Albin said.
"However, the chocolate went up, the eggs are up. So it's difficult in our business."
In January, the average price of eggs hit $4.95 per dozen in the United States.
The bird flu outbreak is killing millions of chickens, leading to the high egg prices.
Osman Kazan, the director of the Business Analytics Program at Tulane University, said people may have to face a new reality when shopping for eggs.
"We won't be going back to very cheap dozens of eggs, which we saw several years ago," he said. "So this is going to stay here for awhile, and the high will become the new normal."
Kazan added that egg prices are likely to get even higher — and people may not see prices level off until the summer.
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