Bride Needs A Premade Expensive Icing... How Do I Charge?
Decorating By luvscakes Updated 23 May 2007 , 8:11pm by daltonam
Hi,
I met with and signed a contract with a bride who has a dairy intolerance. She wants poured ganache and has found a company that makes it dairy free. (It IS wonderful!!) The problem comes in the fact that I have to buy at least 25 lbs of it at a time, and it is more expenisve then if I were to buy all my normal ingrediants for the stuff.
Normally i would charge about $2.50 a slice for this, but I am usure about how much extra to charge becasue of the iceing I must buy... I don't need all of it for her cake, only a little more then half......
Also she wants a fresh berries that will be out of season.. how do i figure those?
Any ideas on how I can figure this in??
Thanks!!
I think I would charge your regular price per serving, PLUS the full cost of the icing, and any shipping charges you may incur. Yup, the whole thing. And also charge additional for whatever the berries cost. Maybe your local produce supplier could estimate what they might cost off-season for you.
Or if you really want to be technical about it, you could deduct the cost of your usual icing from the per serving price, then add on the cost for the special icing?
I would tell her the truth re cost/min quantity and charge her for it, letting her know that any unused portion would be given to her, if this is possible or desired. (Can it be frozen?) Special dietary items are usually more expensive; she probably already knows this.
For the out-of-season berries, I would charge the cost plus 2x-3x the cost. Check with your supplier re berries and see if you can get an estimate on the costs.
Whatever yiou do, I don't recommend any freebies.
Unless you can use the balance of the 25 lbs, you charge her for the whole thing. This happens frequently in business. I'd have a customer who wanted 1500 lbs of something, but my min buy from my supplier was 2000 lbs. I had no use for the 500 lbs and it would sit in my warehouse until doomsday. So the 1500-lb customer had to buy the 2000 lbs. It's the cost of business .... it's the cost of needing special materials.
So you can figure it into the per person cost .... or invoice her showing your regular $2.50 / serving plus another line item for "special ingredient requirement" and however you want to charge her for it (cost + shipping + any mark-up you put on it).
Do you buy from Sysco or GFS or any other large food distributor? If so, they can give you an idea of what the cost will be during the off season. Not exact .... but an idea. I bought a flat of strawberries in March and they were $27 a flat. I bought a flat in May and they were down to $18 a flat. In the summer, they are even lower than that. (And regardless of the cost, they are always HUGE berries!)
We occasionally get quests for egg free cakes, cherry brook kitchen makes a great mix but it is 5.50 per box. So yes we charge 5x the normal price!
If you can freeze or use the ingredient in another order then OK charge her only for the amount she will be using. Or maybe you could share the order with another local baker. Will this stuff work in a chocolate fountain? Maybe she could use the extra in a fountain for her reception. She could rent one and you can supply the chocolate!
Hope this helps.... do give it away!
PS who makes this and wear can I get some?
egg free cakes, cherry brook kitchen makes a great mix
thanks for the tip 
i agree that if you can't use it, charge full price for it, maybe take off your normal icing cost (like someone else has already said)
& i would also like info on the ganache
Hi guys, Thanks for the imput. For those who wanted to know, here is the info. I got to order it, and here is the company webiste:
http://www.auiswiss.com/index.cfm?CFID=6513114&CFTOKEN=84903069
which I found to be quite confusing. I will tell you that this is the best ganache I have ever tasted in my life!! (and it's only sold 25 lbs at a time...)
and I am still not sure how to price her!!!
Product number: 500017
Ingredients: Sugar, cocoa paste, hydrogenated peanut, sunflower and rapeseed oils, low-fat cocoa
Minimum selling unit: 12.5 kg (27.6 lbs) / bucket
Preparation: Ready to use; simply melt or soften
Applications: Use to fill truffle and praline shells; as a filling for pastries, cake layers, petit fours, tartlet shells and sandwich cookies; melt and use as a soft shiny glaze for cakes, pastries, petit fours and frozen desserts; whip with soft, unsalted butter for a lighter consistency; fold in roasted nuts, coconut flakes, raisins, etc. for added texture; flavor with nut pastes, coffee paste or caramel paste
Advantages: Highly versatile; time and labor saving; excellent flavor and consistency; uniform texture
Shelf life: 12 months
Storage: In a dark, dry place at 59-65ºF (15-18ºC)
Complementary
products: Läderach truffle, praline, nougatine and tartlet shells; Fassbind liqueur concentrates; Hug tartlet shells; Confiseur dOr nut pastes, coffee paste, caramel paste
Link to recipes: www.auiswiss.com/recipe_main.cfm
Chris Fahnestock
Albert Uster Imports
816-786-7693 (Cell)
[email protected]
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