Tehran Confectioners Union: Minimal Profit Amid Raw Material Challenges

The head of the Tehran Confectioners’ Union, Ali Bahremand, has expressed serious concerns about the difficult situation facing pastry shops in Iran. Due to ongoing economic challenges, the demand for luxury sweets and large cakes has significantly decreased, with purchases mostly limited to small-scale events like birthdays.

Bahremand highlighted the constant rise in prices of essential ingredients like sugar, flour, oil, and eggs, along with unstable supply, making production planning difficult. He also pointed to high overhead costs — including nuts, fruits, additives, utilities, and increased wages — as major burdens on the industry.

Frequent power and water outages are damaging equipment and ingredients, increasing waste and losses. Despite this, utility bills have sharply risen. Many confectioners are now forced to sell their products at minimal profit or even at cost, just to stay in business. If the situation continues, many may face closure.

Another major issue is the shortage of skilled and semi-skilled labor, as the physically demanding nature of the job makes it less attractive to younger workers.

Finally, Bahremand noted that although online sales initially helped, high commission fees from platforms pushed many pastry shops to return to traditional in-store sales.