Sticker shock not stopping customers from buying seasonal lenten buns

Shrove Tuesday (vastlapäev) is still a month away, but across Estonia, a wide selection of lenten buns (vastlakuklid) can already be found in stores and cafes — and despite rising prices, they're still selling like hotcakes.
Supermarket confectionery aisles are already being kept stocked with boxes of lenten buns, but even customers already used to recent years' rapid price hikes may still be in for some sticker shock.
With a bonus card price of €5.99, the full price of a Rõngu Pagar blueberry lenten bun at Selver is up to €7.99. The package contains just a single 180-gram bun, meaning that at full price, the cost per kilogram of this mostly white bread and whipped cream treat is over €44.
A two-pack of Gustav lenten buns with raspberry filling, meanwhile, costs €4.99, while two Reval Cafe salted caramel lenten buns are priced at €5.99 — both at the same store.
Selver communications manager Kadri Järvela said that the store's own lenten buns cost the same as they did last year, adding that they're also the chain's best-selling buns.
"The most popular product in Selver stores is Selveri Köök's classic lenten bun with whipped cream and jam," she noted. Even so, she admitted that a strong new contender has emerged as well — the vastlatasku, a hybrid between a vastlakukkel and the choux pastry-based tuuletasku — with cherry filling and cream cheese. This newcomer was first introduced last year.
A four-pack box of Selveri Köök's classic whipped cream and jam lenten buns costs €5.29 at full price, but the supermarket chain offers most of its lenten bun varieties with bonus card prices.
Checking out the offerings at various cafes, most lenten buns are priced around €4 each, though some places charge under €3 per bun.
Popular fillings include cherry, lingonberry, raspberry as well as marzipan and almond cream.
Only one month a year
Ristikheina Cafe, which operates four locations in Tallinn, sells seven different types of lenten buns. One of the cafe's owners, Meelika Nõmme, told ERR that while Shrove Tuesday is still a month away, the buns are already selling well.
"We've earned a dedicated following over the years," she said. "My own family member eats an average of two buns a day; I try to limit myself to one or two a week."
Nõmme admitted there's something special about them. "And the fact that you can only get them for only a month, month and a half a year — that isn't long," she continued. "People skip the cinnamon roll and go for a lenten bun instead."
According to the cafe owner, customers' favorite fillings are cherry and pistachio. Her own personal favorite is the cherry-marzipan bun, but she complimented their lingonberry filling too.

At Selver, Järvela likewise confirmed that lenten buns are already in high demand, noting that the buns are selling even better this year than ahead of Shrove Tuesday last year, despite the moving holiday falling in early March this year.
"General trends show that interest in various holiday products is growing earlier," she explained. "Many customers want to buy lenten buns in early January already."
Nõmme couldn't say how many lenten buns Ristikheina Cafe ends up selling during the Shrove season, as demand will vary from day to day. They sell quickly when they first hit counters, then sales slow down before picking back up again as Shrove Tuesday itself approaches.
"On Shrove Tuesday we'll see lines [of customers]," she noted. "That's when our former employees, even pregnant employees, will ask if they can come in and help for the day. It's a very special day for bakers and patrons alike."
That's also the day when the cafe's workday actually begins the night before, just as many people are heading to bed.
Vastla-croissants fetching premium prices
At Ristikheina Cafe, lenten buns will run buyers from €4 to €4.20, depending on the variety. According to Nõmme, these prices are around what they were last year.
"Even though ingredient prices have gone up, I feel like customers' purchasing power has decreased," she noted, explaining that when setting prices, cafe owners consider how much they themselves would be willing to pay for a lenten bun.
"Of course, we run the numbers to determine what we need to charge to stay afloat and still be in business next Shrove Tuesday," the owner added.
Among this year's most expensive lenten buns are the vastla-croissants, or lenten bun-croissant hybrids, that have been gaining popularity in recent years.
At Karjase Sai in Tallinn's Kopli neighborhood, for example, a four-count box of these lenten croissants will set you back €22, or €5.50 each. At Cruffin Bakery in Tartu, raspberry jam-filled lenten croissants are selling for €4.80 a pop.
For those looking for cheaper buns, the best deals can still be found at supermarkets, particularly among store-brand goods. For instance, a two-pack of Rimi's store-brand lenten buns costs €2.20. At Prisma, meanwhile, you can find them for as little as €1.99 for a two-pack of Erlandia lenten buns, meaning less than €1 a bun.
These cheaper store-bought buns are also typically much smaller than their café counterparts, usually weighing between 65 and 80 grams each. By contrast, lenten buns at Ristikheina Cafe tip the scales at 200 grams apiece.

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Editor: Aili Vahtla