Okay, I had an overwhelming request to provide 60 cake decorating kits that would include (4 primary colored bc bags, couplers, tips for each and 2-4 sprinkle containers in each filled with sprinkles, jimmies, candies, etc.) When I spoke to the customer she was set on 60 individual kits (one for each child and that I would not be able to break it up into stations,like I normally do for these types of events). The real kicker is that half (30) need to be 100% sugar free. The children will be decorating jumbo cupcakes and will need their own kits. I am only one person but hate to turn away requests, especially in this economy.
Does anyone out there have suggestions on pricing per kit?
the best way to go about making that much frosting ( i could possibly be buried in bc before it's all over)?
where I can find that many tips, couplers, 1-2 oz shakers and bulk sprinkles and candies?
where I can find multi-colored sugar free sprinkles in bulk?
recipe for a sugar free frosting that would hold up in south florida in June?

This request is a bit overwhelming at the moment. any feedback would be welcomed.......

well i understand how you feel. at my job we provided 500 kids with cake and decorating bags. that means 500 cakes and 500 bags. all the bags were paper so i had to fold each one them fill them. this was the biggest pain in the butt ever. all i can say is good luck.

Here in Upstate New York, we have small country stores that make you think of Amish but are not. They use vehicles and electricity. Anyhow, they have a good inexpensive selection of bulk spices, flavorings, sprinkles and sleeve fillings.

wow - that is alot, esp the sugar free part. i do know that you can get plastic tips, which should help w/ the expense.

as for the sugar free part, check w/ a local hospital dietitian. i am sure that they would be able to help you w/ recipes and where to get sprinkles or other goodies to use. or, could you crush sugar free candies to use as sprinkles? gummy candies could be another choice - they come in s/f, so the kids could all have gummies w/out some being singled out. or, if you can find sugar free sprinkles, etc in bulk, see if she would be okay w/ everyone having sugar free, instead of having 2 diff kits. and, nowadays, there are so many diff s/f candies that have matching regular candies, you should be able to make that work. as for containers for the candies/sprinkles, get the little 2 oz dressing cups w/ lids. that would keep everything together cheaply.

since they have one jumbo cupcake each, they really don't need much icing. i would think a cup (1/4 cup of each color), total, per kit would be plenty. and you could use heavy duty zip top bags as decorating bags to cut some of the cost. just shove the coupler in the corner, fill and zip close. the tip and other part of the coupler could then be screwed on to keep them together. when the kiddos are ready to decorate, the tip of the bag can be cut off - that would prevent icing from leaking everywhere in transport.

as for pricing, i would add up the cost of each and every item, seperating the regular from the sugar free (so she can see the difference). also, be sure to include what you are going to package each kit into the price, too, unless she is supplying. figure up the time involved in making the icing, going to get everything and assembling the kits. then add an extra 15%, at least, for your profit.

i hops this rambling answer helps!

(oh, sugarcraft.com has plastic tips for .40 each w/ a 25% discount if you order 30 or more of the same tip!)

Does she have any idea how much money it's going to be to give each child 4 bags and 4 couplers and 4 tips. That's 240 tips, 240 bags, 240 couplers. That is going to add up really fast. Plus the cake she has to pay for...and the buttercream. And all of the effort you are going to have to use to put it all together. This sounds like it's going to be VERY expensive! I mean gummies aren't going to be cheap... and the sprinkles. I would suggest that you tell her to buy the toppings that she wants and that way you don't have to worry about getting those.

You're going to need to charge a lot though. I would do bebea says and break the price of everything for her. For example this is how much the tips cost, etc. So I would say for all the tips, couplers, bags, it's going to be $150 or whatever it is. That is simply the cost of the supplies.

Now, my portion is this. Decide how much you are going to charge for each cake and then how much you want to put everything together. I mean, I would think you would want to charge a MINIMUM of $10 per kid. So that would be $600 just for that. Plus the cost of the equipment. She is easily looking at $700-$800 bucks.

Hope this helps!

I can't wait to hear what happens! I think the group stations will be much better (easier for you) and much less expensive for her.