Cake Pricing?

Decorating By missluckypiggy Updated 8 Dec 2010 , 4:50am by missluckypiggy

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missluckypiggy Posted 5 Dec 2010 , 3:00am
post #1 of 8

Hello All,

I am new here and just started a small cake business from home (cupcakes and celebration cakes).

This web and forum is really useful for me as a newbie.

May I know how much you charge for a cake like in this link:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sandrascakes/2911210599/in/set-72157606446229702/
It is NOT my cake.

and How much will you charge for a single cake (more or less like the above picture but without the smaller cake on top)?

with bc or fondant decoration?

any input will be very valuable.

many thanks!

Cheers,

7 replies
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Crazboutcakes Posted 5 Dec 2010 , 3:10am
post #2 of 8

My only advice to you would be to gather up prices of the materials that you would use, include the extra gas/boxes/cooking any over head that you may have and once you've added everything up try to figure how long it would take you to do it and than add what you feel you are worth, keeping in mind you are new but also don't give it away... HTH

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leah_s Posted 5 Dec 2010 , 9:52am
post #3 of 8

Your pricing is going to partly depend on your location. Where are you? (Your profile isn't showing a city or state.)

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TexasSugar Posted 6 Dec 2010 , 3:11pm
post #4 of 8

This is a cut and paste from a previous post.

First thing I would suggest is to figure out what it is costing you to bake. Not just the cake mix plus eggs and powder sugar. There are many little expenses that you use that add up fast, plus people for get to add in cake boards, boxes, toothpicks, wax paper and so on. It is amazing to see how much you are really spending on a cake. If you don't charge enough to cover than then you are taking money out of your household budget to do cakes for other people.

Second, figure out what your time is worth to you. Isn't your time in the kitchen away from your family worth something? And figure out on average how much you spend doing a cake. Some cakes may take a little more time, but then you will have others that take less time, so it averages out in the long run.

And third, how much profit do you want to make?


(Cut and pasted from a pervious thread on the same topic.)
Your cost/time/profit become your price per serving.

Im just grabbing numbers out of the air here

Lets say your cost for an 8in round cake which serves 24 is $10. And it takes you 6 hours at a $10 an hour to do it.

When you divide $70 by 24 (number of servings) you know you need to charge at least $2.92 to cover your cost and time.

If you charge $3.50 per serving, then you will make a $14 profit on the cake.
If you charge $3.75 per serving, then it is a $20 profit.

You dont actually have to price out every cake, you just need some base numbers to work with. If you do mostly tiered cakes, then I would figure the cost for a 6 and 8 or a 6 and 10 and then use those numbers to figure your price per serving. That way the pillars/dowels are built into the price. So then if you do a cake that is a single tier then you just make a little extra profit on it.

Another thing to remember, when figuring your cost do not use sale or discounted prices. It is nice to buy things on sale but sometimes you may not be able to, so then you are shorting yourself. And if you do get things on sale, again that is just extra profit for you.

------
Some other things to consider about pricing, also copied from a pervious post of mine:

The problem with asking pricing questions is that there isn't a set number we can give you. There are way to many variables out there.

Your location plays a factor in it. If you are in a large city chances are you can price higher than someone in a small town.

Baking from cake mixes and scratch cost differently. Baking from expensive ingredients costs more. Buying in bulk lowers your costs. Buying supplies in a higher cost city can cost more than buying in a small town.

How long it takes you to work varies as does hourly wage.

The best thing you can do for yourself is to take some time and really figure out what you spend making a cake. It can be very surprising when you start adding up all those numbers and really see what you actual spend on a cake.

You can always call around to bakeries where you live and see what they with charge for the cake, but then you do have to keep in mind their expenses and supplies could cost more or less than what you would be spending.

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gr8yf Posted 6 Dec 2010 , 3:25pm
post #5 of 8

All of us need to refigure cost of ingredents, have seen the cost of eggs lately wow.

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missluckypiggy Posted 6 Dec 2010 , 11:26pm
post #6 of 8

dear ALL,
THANK U Soooooooo... much for the input.

I will have to jot them down 1 by 1, it is amazing how many things we use just for 1 single cake. Really appreciate all of your input. I will print this out for my guidance.

Btw I live in a small country town called Cessnock, NSW, Australia.
Cheers,

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TexasSugar Posted 7 Dec 2010 , 6:02pm
post #7 of 8

When you really start making that list and seeing what all really goes into the cakes, it is an eye opener, isn't it?

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missluckypiggy Posted 8 Dec 2010 , 4:50am
post #8 of 8
Quote:
Originally Posted by TexasSugar

When you really start making that list and seeing what all really goes into the cakes, it is an eye opener, isn't it?




indeed,, geez lots of bits and pieces to be in the list... huge thank U for your great advise, very helpful icon_smile.gif

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