A WELL-KNOWN GINGERBREAD MANUFACTURER IS ON THE VERGE OF BANKRUPTCY

The energy crisis in Europe may leave German citizens without a traditional festive dish for Christmas. Bankruptcy threatens Lambertz, the manufacturer of German gingerbread and the legendary "Christstollen" – a traditional cupcake with nuts, candied fruits and raisins, symbolically reminiscent of the figure of the Christ child.

Last Tuesday, the head of Lambertz, Herman Bulbecker, announced possible plans for the bankruptcy of the company. According to the top manager quoted by the Bild newspaper, the rapidly rising cost of energy resources risks making the production of gingerbread products unprofitable, despite the increased consumer demand.

Bulbecker called the current situation grotesque. There are seven Lambertz factories operating in Germany. All of them are loaded at full capacity on the eve of the Christmas holidays. However, the company's management is not sure that the company will be able to make a profit from the current sales, despite the increased revenue compared to last year.

According to the head, the firm has not experienced such a difficult financial condition in 46 years of his career. There was a "price tsunami", making almost all elements of the business much more expensive: from raw materials and packaging to employee compensation and energy. Butter and flour have risen in price by 60%, sugar – more than twice.

One of the possible reasons for bankruptcy is natural gas, which until recently operated all 28 Lambertz baking lines. It is impossible to completely abandon the power supply, because this would be the end of the business. But now you will need to pay three times more than before. The company's transition to other types of fuel may take at least two years and will require serious investments that may be economically meaningless.

Recall that Lambertz is one of the leading companies in the world that produces traditional Christmas treats for the holidays. A couple of years ago, the head of the company participated in a business forum in Sochi, where possible cooperation between Germany and the Russian Federation in the economic sphere was discussed. However, since November 2020, the situation in relations between the German business community and the authorities in Russia has changed dramatically.

Photo: Freepik