Ice cream cost per scoop, tub or lolly

The cost of a scoop is the batch cost divided by the scoops you really get, plus the cone or cup, plus your share of the freezer's electricity, the machine and your time. The catch is air. As mix is churned and frozen it gains volume, and that gain is called overrun. It changes from batch to batch, so do not copy a figure from anywhere: measure it. Your overrun tells you how many litres of ice cream each litre of mix becomes, and your scoop weight tells you how many scoops each pan gives.

Step 1: mix cost per litre

Cost the batch like any recipe: milk, cream, sugar, milk powder, dextrose, stabiliser, the fruit, nut paste or chocolate. Use prices from your last receipts and weigh every ingredient. Then measure the finished mix in a measuring jug.

mix cost per litre = batch cost ÷ litres of mix

Flavourings are often the most expensive line. Pistachio paste, real vanilla and good chocolate can cost more than all the dairy in the batch, which is why the guide on premium ingredients is worth a look before you set flavour prices.

Step 2: measure your overrun

Overrun is how much volume the mix gains. To measure it, write down the litres of mix that go into the machine and the litres of ice cream that come out, counting full pans.

overrun = (litres of ice cream − litres of mix) ÷ litres of mix

If 5.5 litres go in and 6.6 litres come out, your overrun is (6.6 − 5.5) ÷ 5.5 = 20%. That 20% is only this example's number. Yours depends on your recipe, your machine, how full you load it and how long you churn. Measure several batches and use the average.

Measuring what comes out in pans has an advantage: whatever sticks inside the machine is already accounted for.

cost per litre of ice cream = batch cost ÷ litres of ice cream that came out

Step 3: weigh the scoop

A litre of ice cream does not weigh the same as a litre of mix, because it contains air. Weigh a full one-litre container (net of the container) and weigh ten scoops served the way you serve them. That tells you how many scoops you get per litre.

This matters because air is free and ice cream is not. If overrun comes out lower one day, the ice cream is denser and the same scoop weighs more: you get fewer scoops per batch. Controlling the scoop is controlling cost, which is what the guide on portion control is about.

Step 4: what goes with the scoop and what the shop spends

• Cone, cup, spoon, napkin. Unit price from your last purchase.
• Your time. Making and ageing the mix, churning, filling pans, cleaning the machine. Time it once.
• Freezer electricity. The display freezer runs all month whether you sell or not. Compare bills or use a plug-in meter, then spread the amount over the litres you sell per month.
• The machine. It cost money and one day it will need replacing. Spreading its price over the months you expect it to last gives you a monthly amount; the guide on equipment costs and depreciation explains how to keep that simple.

Worked example: pistachio gelato

You make pistachio gelato to sell by the scoop and in 500 ml tubs. These are your numbers from a real batch:

Mix and overrun. You measure 5.5 litres of mix: 34.35 ÷ 5.5 = $6.25 per litre of mix. Out come 6.6 litres of gelato in pans, so this batch's overrun is 20%. The cost per litre of gelato is 34.35 ÷ 6.6 = $5.20.

Scoops. A litre of your gelato weighs 900 g and your average scoop weighs 90 g: 10 scoops per litre. The batch gives 6.6 × 10 = 66 scoops, and over a few batches your count matches that.

Monthly costs. The display freezer adds $80 a month to your electricity bill and you sell about 200 litres a month: $0.40 per litre. The batch freezer cost $8,000 and you expect five years from it: $133.33 a month, or $0.67 per litre. A batch takes 1.5 hours and you value your hour at $16: $24 per batch.

Cost of one scoop in a cup:

You want a 70% margin to leave room for rent and quiet days: 1.11 ÷ 0.30 = $3.70. At $4.00 on the board your margin is (4.00 − 1.11) ÷ 4.00 = 72%.

Cost of a 500 ml tub: gelato 5.20 ÷ 2 = $2.60, your time 24 ÷ 6.6 ÷ 2 = $1.82, electricity $0.20, machine $0.33, tub and lid $0.45. Total: $5.40. At the same 70% margin: 5.40 ÷ 0.30 = $18.00.

What overrun does. If another batch gives only 6.05 litres instead of 6.6, overrun drops to 10% and a litre of gelato costs 34.35 ÷ 6.05 = $5.68, which is $0.48 more per litre and $0.24 more per tub. That is why you measure every batch.

Ice lollies: cost per unit

For lollies frozen in moulds without churning, what goes into the mould is what comes out, so here weight rules. Weigh the mix that goes into each mould and multiply by the cost per gram.

If your batch of strawberry lolly mix costs $6.00 and weighs 2 kg, each gram costs $0.003. At 80 g per lolly, the mix costs $0.24. Add the stick ($0.02) and the wrapper ($0.06): $0.32 per lolly, before your time and freezer energy. Lollies that snap when unmoulding cannot be sold, so divide by the ones that come out whole.

Common ice cream costing mistakes

• Costing per litre of mix and selling per litre of ice cream. They are different litres. Ignore overrun and your tub cost looks inflated; assume an overrun you do not get and it looks too low.
• Forgetting the season. In winter you sell fewer litres and the freezer uses the same power, so electricity per litre rises.
• Copying someone else's overrun. Your machine and recipe give your number.

For the full method across other sweets, see the guide on how to price desserts and sweets.

Do it with the calculator

In the food cost calculator, enter the batch recipe and the scoops or tubs you get at your measured overrun; it returns the cost per scoop and the price for the margin you want.