Hi, I've been a member for a bit but this is my first post..
Ok so, I talked with a local party supply guy today about referring our home based cakes to his customers.. He said he would love to help us get our business started and growing as he started his the same way.. so he asked for a price list, pictures, etc...
Here's my question.. He asked for the price list to be priced by the pound. That's a new concept for me.. I've always charged by the slice or by the size of the cake.. Can someone explain how to charge by the pound?? Any maybe offer suggestions of what fair pricing would be?
Thank you in advance and I truly enjoy this site!!
Brian

pricing by the pound is typical in some Carribean countries, but not in the US.

Sorry, that's all I've got.

I think they price goodies/pastries by the pound in India, too.

Where are you located? That might help elicit some more helpful answers.

I'm actually in Massachusetts. Maybe this is why I never heard of it before.

That is weird. Things like fudge are normally sold by the pounds, cookies are sold by the dozen, and cakes are mostly sold by the serving. I've never, ever heard of selling cakes by the pound. That would be too hard to figure out. Truthfully, some cakes just weigh more than others depending on the recipe. Fondant cakes are going to weigh more than BC cakes. How much weight do decorations add to a cake? Way too many factors to just slap a per-pound price on it. I think you need to tell him that just won't work and that the standard way to sell cakes is by the serving or by the cake size itself. Good luck. I hope this new business venture works out great for you!

Irish- is the owner of the store or the area predominantly caribbean? I know Dominican cake is sold by the pound. Way too cheap if you ask me.

hi, i just started using this website. i am dominican and live in indianapolis. i bake dominican cakes and ofcourse i cahrge by pounds.... .5 pound is 15 dollars this feeds 15 peoplet. 1 pound is 35 dollars feeds abt 30 people. you can charge more depending on the decorations. thats what i can say abt pricing a dominican cake. ohh dulce de leche can be 40 dollars per pnd. hope this helps


the attached cake is for a wedding feeds 50 people i charged 65 dollars for this cake including the topper which i made....

laru, I live in Indpsl and I'llmake you a deal. I'll become your distributor. You make the cakes and sell them to me at your price. I'll resell them to brides. You'll go broke ... I'll make a fortune .. and I'll have none of the work.

You are severely undercharging for this market. This market will DEFINITELY support higher pricing.

Your glass topper alone would sell for $20 or more, which means you are charging less than $1/serving for that cake. Even walmart charges more than that and none of us on here pretend that we can compete with walmart pricing.

larufiana01 - RAISE YOUR PRICES!
Please, please, do some research on the prices in your area... even around here, we charge more than that.
You and your talent are worth more than that, and I find it difficult to believe you are making much of a profit (any?) at those prices.

Dominican cakes are sold by the pound (pound of dry ingredients), I'm Dominican but I would NEVER sell that way, here in my area the pound is $40.00, which I think yields 20-25 servings! that's crazy cheap, but most my customers are not Hispanic, so I charge by the serving anyways.

Not only Dominican cakes are sold by the pound, it's also a very old-school way of selling basic pound cakes. There's a bakery here, definitely not Dominican, that still prices by the pound. Just tell the guy that you don't price that way, but that you'd be happy to give him a chart based on the serving count.

I told my mom if I ever go into business I'm not selling Dominican cake (sacrilegious in her eyes). Not only is Dominican cake sold too cheaply by the pound, but there's none of that pricing flowers separately- you basically price it for $40/lb. including all of the decorations including the topper. But there's no cake mix for Dominican cake to make your job easier, it tastes like crap if you freeze it (so there goes the idea of baking ahead of time), and the ingredients are expensive- a dozen eggs, a lb of butter. Plus the meringue frosting is a PITA (to me at least) to make and work with. I believe a lb. is enough cake for a 10" cake (I'm talking about 2 2" cakes).

Shopgrl- you have the right idea. Find your market. Not everyone has to buy your cakes. lol BTW: they're having a Dominican cake festival I think next month. I might go just to see what's new. lol

For any of you interested in the dominican cake recipe check out dominicancake.blogspot.com. Cindy, the creator just posted the recipes in English.

Costume- the Dominican cake is based on the pound cake. so maybe that's what that comes from.

One thing is that it is delicious...

I'm dominican and I started a cake business and let me tell you that it is true the dominican cakes are charged by the pounds no matter what the occasions are... and their business are very successful. but I wanted to do something different so I do charge by the slice but for family and close friends I charge by the pound... anyone else pays by the slices... I have charged from $2 up to $7 per slice and there are people that are willing to pay and then you get the ones that don't but thats normal... what I do on my cakes is not a traditional dominican cake the actual cake is the dominican mix but I don't do the dominican frosting and it seems to work... people always complement me on that... I just think that when it comes to any business you have to find a way that works for you as an individual because what works for someone else may no work for you in my case both ways work I get paid selling by the pound or by the slices and in the end I have happy clients...

Hello Bell Please reply i also live in indianapolis and am looking for a Dominican cake! thanks you can email me at infinityqnz1414@gmail

I live near indianapolis and i am looking for someone who can make dominican cakes.  I have a friend who would like one for his sons birthday on 8/17.  i want dominican cakes for pretty much every birthday and special ocasion in my home :)  if any of the bakers on this post who make dominican cakes are still active please contact me asap.  email address is [email protected].

Thanks!