The cost of a drink you bottle is the liquid in each bottle, plus the bottle, cap, label and seal, plus your time, all spread over the bottles you actually sell. The two parts people forget are the filling loss (what stays behind in the grounds, the filter and the jug) and the bottles that pass their date before anyone buys them. For a 330 ml bottle of cold brew, counting those two or not moves the cost from $2.20 to $2.59 a bottle.
Step 1: the liquid, per filled bottle
First, cost a full batch: coffee, filtered water, filters, anything else that goes in. How to cost a drink by the litre is covered in the guide to batch drink costs.
Then divide that cost by the bottles you filled, not the bottles you expected to fill. Coffee grounds hold water; fruit pulp holds juice; there is always a last bit in the jug. If you start with 20 litres of water and 16.5 litres end up in bottles, the missing 3.5 litres are part of the cost. Measure one full batch and use your own loss figure.
Step 2: the whole package
Every bottle carries several pieces, and they all count:
- Bottle (glass or PET, the exact size)
- Cap
- Label
- Tamper band or seal
- Case or box for transport, split across the bottles it holds
Divide each pack price by its units. If your supplier sells bottles by the hundred and by the pallet, the compare pack sizes per unit tool shows what you save per bottle on the bigger order. The guide to packaging cost covers building the full list.
Step 3: your time
Bottling takes hours: brewing, filtering, washing bottles, filling, capping, labelling. If you do it yourself, put a value on that hour and spread it over the batch. Leave it out and the price only covers the ingredients, while your work goes in for free.
Step 4: the bottles that do not sell
A fresh drink has a date. You have tested how many days your cold brew keeps in the fridge; after that it goes down the drain. If some bottles from each batch expire in your fridge or come back from a café, the ones you did sell pay for them:
Cost per bottle sold = cost of all bottles made ÷ bottles sold
The guide to shelf life and what it costs shows how to plan smaller batches so less gets thrown away.
Worked example: 330 ml bottles of cold brew
You make cold brew in 20-litre batches. These are your numbers:
Liquid
- Batch cost: 2 kg of coffee at $18.00 a kilo ($36.00), filtered water ($1.00) and filters ($2.00): $39.00
- From 20 litres of water, 17 litres come out of the filter and 0.5 litres are lost in the jug, funnel and taste tests: 16.5 litres bottled, which is 50 bottles of 330 ml
- Liquid per bottle: 39.00 ÷ 50 = $0.78
If you had divided by the 60 bottles that 20 litres "should" fill, you would have got 39.00 ÷ 60 = $0.65. That $0.13 a bottle is your filling loss.
Package
| Piece | Cost |
|---|---|
| 330 ml glass bottle | $0.55 |
| Cap | $0.06 |
| Label | $0.15 |
| Tamper band | $0.04 |
| Total | $0.80 |
Your time
- 2.5 hours per batch at $15.00 an hour: 37.50 ÷ 50 = $0.75
Cost per bottle made: 0.78 + 0.80 + 0.75 = $2.33
The ones that do not sell
From each batch of 50 you sell 45 on average before the date you set. The other 5 are poured away.
- Cost of the whole batch: 50 × 2.33 = $116.50
- Cost per bottle sold: 116.50 ÷ 45 = $2.59
What each channel leaves you
| Channel | Price | Cost per bottle sold | Contribution |
|---|---|---|---|
| Direct at a farmers market | $5.00 | $2.59 | $2.41 |
| Wholesale to a café | $3.50 | $2.59 | $0.91 |
If the café sends back more bottles than you lose at the market, the cost in that channel goes up. With 8 back out of 50, the cost per bottle sold becomes 116.50 ÷ 42 = $2.77 and the café contribution falls to $0.73. Work out waste separately for each channel. The guide to wholesale versus retail pricing shows how to set both prices without losing money in either.
Prices here are before sales tax; check your local tax rules.
Labels and local rules
Bottled drinks sold to the public or through shops usually need some form of food business registration, and the label often has required content: ingredients, allergens, a date, sometimes nutrition information. The rules vary by country and city, so check with your local food authority before you print. Any change to the label changes its cost, so re-run the numbers after. The guide to food labels covers what usually goes on one.
Lowering the cost without changing the drink
- Batch to what you sell. Pouring away 5 of 50 costs more than brewing 45.
- Buy packaging in bulk only once you are sure the label will not change before you use it.
- Measure the filling loss. A better filter or a tap on the brewing vessel can give you one or two more bottles per batch.
For the bigger picture of a packaged product business, see the guide to packaged food products, and for every kind of drink, the guide to drink costs.
Do it with the calculator
In the food cost calculator, enter the full batch with what actually ends up in bottles, add the bottle, cap, label and band as packaging, and your time; it returns the cost per bottle and the price for the margin you want in each channel.
Frequently asked questions
How do I work out the liquid cost per bottle?
Divide the full batch cost by the bottles you actually filled, not by the bottles the batch should have made on paper. What stays in the grounds, the pot, the filter and the jug is part of the cost.
How do I account for bottles that expire or come back?
Spread the cost of every bottle you made over the bottles you sold. If you make 50 and sell 45, each bottle sold carries the cost of 50 ÷ 45 bottles.
Do I need permission to sell bottled drinks?
Usually, yes. Food safety registration, labelling rules and the shelf life you may print vary by country and city. Check your local food authority before selling bottles to the public or to shops.
Is it better to sell to cafés or directly?
It depends on what each channel leaves you after returns. Work out the contribution per bottle in both, using the bottles that actually come back from each.