The cost of a glass of fresh juice works like this: price per kilo of fruit ÷ litres of juice each kilo gives you = cost per litre of juice. Multiply that by what goes in the glass, then add sugar, ice, the cup, the fruit that spoils and your time, and you have your cost per glass. The key number is the yield: how many millilitres of juice you get from each kilo, with your fruit and your juicer. You cannot copy that from anyone; you measure it.
Measure how much juice each kilo gives you
For squeezed juices (orange, grapefruit, lemon, lime), run this test with the fruit you normally buy:
- Weigh about 5 kg of fruit as bought.
- Squeeze all of it with your usual juicer.
- Measure the juice in a measuring jug.
- Divide the millilitres by the kilos.
If 5 kg gave you 2.1 litres, your yield is 2,100 ÷ 5 = 420 ml per kilo. With that number:
cost per litre of juice = price per kilo ÷ litres per kilo
At $2.40 a kilo: 2.40 ÷ 0.42 = $5.71 per litre of juice.
Repeat the test when you change supplier, variety or season. Juicing oranges in one month can give noticeably less than in another.
Blended juices: measure the clean flesh
For blended juices (watermelon, pineapple, mango, strawberry) you do not squeeze; you blend flesh, sometimes with water or ice. What matters there is how much clean flesh you keep from each kilo after removing rind, skin, seeds or core. That is the fruit's yield percentage.
Weigh a whole watermelon, cut away the rind and weigh what is left. If 1 kg gives you 550 g, at $0.88 a kilo whole your flesh costs 0.88 ÷ 0.55 = $1.60 per kilo. The yield calculator gives you that real cost per usable kilo without doing the division by hand.
Then set how many grams of flesh go into each glass and stick to it. If everyone on the bar adds "a bit extra", the cost runs away without anyone noticing.
Sugar, ice and the cup
- Sugar or syrup: fix an amount per glass and cost it from the price per kilo.
- Ice and water: add a few cents per glass for blended juices.
- Cup, lid and straw for takeaway, or washing if you serve in glass. The guide on cups, lids, straws and ice shows how to cost each one.
Worked example: orange and watermelon at a juice bar
You run a juice bar. Your hour is worth $18. The fruit that spoils before you use it is, from what you logged, 1 kg in every 20: 5%.
Orange juice (squeezed), 12 oz cup with 330 ml of juice
- Measured yield: 420 ml per kilo.
- Fruit per glass: 330 ÷ 420 = 0.786 kg. At $2.40 a kilo: 0.786 × 2.40 = $1.89
- Fruit that spoils: 1.89 × 0.05 = $0.09
- Cup, lid and straw: $0.22
- Your time: 3 minutes, $0.90
- Cost per glass: 1.89 + 0.09 + 0.22 + 0.90 = $3.10
Watermelon juice (blended), 12 oz cup
- Clean flesh: 550 g per kilo, $1.60 per kilo of flesh.
- Flesh per glass: 400 g. 0.4 × 1.60 = $0.64
- Fruit that spoils: 0.64 × 0.05 = $0.03
- Squeeze of lime: $0.08
- Ice: $0.04
- Cup, lid and straw: $0.22
- Your time: 2 minutes, $0.60
- Cost per glass: 0.64 + 0.03 + 0.08 + 0.04 + 0.22 + 0.60 = $1.61
You sell the orange at $6.25 and the watermelon at $5.50, before any sales tax.
| Juice | Cost per glass | Price | Profit per glass | Margin |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Orange | $3.10 | $6.25 | $3.15 | 50.4% |
| Watermelon | $1.61 | $5.50 | $3.89 | 70.7% |
The watermelon costs about half as much and leaves more dollars per glass at a lower price. The orange juice carries almost 0.8 kg of fruit per glass, so any change in the market price shows up straight away.
When the fruit goes up
Fruit prices move with the season. Check your receipts: if in the lean months juicing oranges reach $3.60 a kilo, the same glass changes like this:
- Cost per litre of juice: 3.60 ÷ 0.42 = $8.57
- Fruit per glass: 0.33 × 8.57 = $2.83
- Fruit that spoils: 2.83 × 0.05 = $0.14
- Cost per glass: 2.83 + 0.14 + 0.22 + 0.90 = $4.09
At the same $6.25, your margin drops from 50.4% to (6.25 − 4.09) ÷ 6.25 = 34.6%. You have three ways out, each with its own number:
| Option | Cost per glass | Price | Margin |
|---|---|---|---|
| Leave everything as it is | $4.09 | $6.25 | 34.6% |
| Raise to $7.50 | $4.09 | $7.50 | 45.5% |
| 250 ml of juice in the cup, same price | $3.37 | $6.25 | 46.1% |
The 250 ml glass: fruit 0.25 × 8.57 = $2.14, plus $0.11 of spoiled fruit, $0.22 for the cup and $0.90 of your time = $3.37. A fourth route is to push the juices whose fruit is cheap that month, or blend orange with another fruit. The guide on seasonal ingredient prices covers planning a menu around those swings.
What you do not want is to change nothing without knowing it. If you never recalculate, for three months you sell the same glass with about a third less margin.
The fruit that spoils
The example uses 5% lost fruit because that is what was measured. Yours may be more or less. Log for a week how much fruit you throw away from bruising, over-ripeness, or juice squeezed ahead and not sold. If you pre-squeeze for the rush, count what is left at the end too. With your real percentage, the cost per glass stops being a guess.
If you also sell smoothies or bowls, the fruit logic is the same but toppings change the sum; that is in the guide on smoothies and bowls. To price your whole drinks menu, coffee and batch drinks included, see how to price drinks.
Do it with the calculator
Put the fruit with the yield you measured, the sugar, the cup as packaging, your time and the waste into the food cost calculator, and it gives you the cost per glass and the price for the margin you want. Run it again whenever the fruit price moves a lot.
Frequently asked questions
How much juice do you get from a kilo of oranges?
It depends on the variety, size, season and your juicer. Squeeze a few kilos, measure the millilitres and divide by the kilos. Measure again when you change supplier or season, because the yield moves.
How do I cost a blended juice, like watermelon?
Measure how much clean flesh you keep from each kilo after removing rind or seeds, work out the cost per kilo of flesh, and multiply by the grams in each glass. Then add any sugar, lime, ice, the cup and your time.
Should I change my juice prices every time fruit goes up?
You do not need to reprint the menu every week. Work out the cost at the high and the low fruit price and choose a price that survives both, or run a seasonal menu. If fruit jumps a lot, you can also adjust the glass size or blend with a cheaper fruit.
Do ice and sugar change the cost much?
Per glass they are cents, but they add up. Fix a set amount of sugar per glass and measure how much ice you use in a day, so you know what they cost you each month.