Guides
Packaged food products
From batch cost to shelf price: unit cost, packaging and labels, your wholesale price, and the distributor and store margins in between. Granola example.
- How to price a packaged food productFrom batch cost to shelf price: unit cost, packaging and labels, your wholesale price, and the distributor and store margins in between. Granola example.→
- Cost per jar: hot sauces, chilli pastes and condimentsHow to work out the real cost of each bottle of hot sauce or jar of chilli paste: batch yield, fill weight, bottle, cap, label and the sauce lost in filling.→
- Jam and preserves cost: cook-down loss and jarsHow to cost homemade jam: fruit as bought, fruit after hulling, what boils off in the pot and the finished weight you fill. Strawberry jam worked example.→
- From your price to the shelf price: margins that stackHow distributor and shop margins stack, why they do not add up, and how to work back from a target shelf price to your own price. Wrapped brownie example.→
- Selling to supermarkets: costs and payment termsWhat getting into a supermarket costs beyond the margin: listing fees, promotions, merchandising, returns and payment terms, and what to ask before you sign.→
- Co-packer or your own kitchen: comparing cost per unitHow to compare a co-packer's quote with your loaded cost: minimum runs, cash tied up in stock, quality control, and what you do with the hours you get back.→
- Packaging minimum orders: jars, bottles, labels, boxesHow to decide how many jars, bottles, labels or boxes to buy when a supplier sets a minimum order: real cost per unit, cash tied up and storage space.→
- Label and barcode costs per unit for food productsWhat the label on each jar or bottle really costs you: design, printing, reprints when the recipe changes, time spent applying it and barcodes.→
- Gift boxes and hampers: how to price a food bundleHow to price a gift box or hamper of your food products: the cost of each item, the box, filler, card and assembly time, compared with single prices.→
- Shelf-life testing and batch records: cost and valueWhy test the shelf life of your packaged food, what to record for every batch, and how to spread the cost of samples, lab tests and record-keeping per jar.→
What does it really cost you?
Put your recipe into the free calculator: ingredients, packaging, your time and the gas. You get the cost per unit and your margin in two minutes, no account needed.