What To Charge For Biscotti?

Business By Starkie Updated 8 May 2013 , 6:38pm by Skullface

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Starkie Posted 17 Mar 2008 , 12:01am
post #1 of 17

I am taking in some biscotti samples (Chocolate Mocha Macadamia and Orange Cranberry) in to the teachers at my kids' school tomorrow. I always get asked "how much would this cost me if I ordered...", so I want to be prepared. Any ideas out there? (I don't usually eat biscotti when I'm at a coffee shop, so I have no idea what the going price is in my area...)

TIA!
<S>

16 replies
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FromScratch Posted 17 Mar 2008 , 1:49am
post #2 of 17

How much do you spend making them? How long do they take to make? I have no idea what goes into biscotti, but this is a good place to start from. You need to make sure you are covering your supplies and your time.

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Starkie Posted 17 Mar 2008 , 2:04am
post #3 of 17

From what I can estimate, they will cost me about $0.30 each in ingredients. Total time spent on mixing, baking, etc. is about an hour. The recipe I have is pretty easy, so I'm not sure how to calculate my time...

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izzybee Posted 17 Mar 2008 , 2:20am
post #4 of 17

I charge $6.00 a dozen for assorted biscotti.

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beemarie Posted 17 Mar 2008 , 2:55am
post #5 of 17

I sold biscotti at a farmer's market several years ago for $2.00 each. Mine are pretty large (about 5" long) and I drizzle white or dark chocolate over them. I think if I were to sell them again I would up my price at least .50., maybe up to $3 each.

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cookieman Posted 17 Mar 2008 , 3:01am
post #6 of 17

Starkie--
This is a good lesson in pricing: If it cost you 30 cents in ingredients for each biscotti and you were to charge $6 a dozen like izzybee does for hers, then you would be making 20 cents "profit" on each biscotti. Now, I put profit in parentheses because this is not factoring in labor (what is your time worth? $10/hour? $15/hour?), electricity and any other overhead (packaging, etc. ) you incur. So even though $6 a dozen sounds like a good price, I bet you would just be breaking even.

You need to remember that labor and overhead are a BIG part of pricing. I hope this helps.

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izzybee Posted 17 Mar 2008 , 3:37am
post #7 of 17

Food costs are relative to where you live. I figured out the cost of each batch, divided by how many biscotti I get from each and multiply by 3.5%. My biscotti only cost approximately .13 - .15 a piece. Are you sure you are figuring out your costs correctly? .30 is a lot for one 1/2 biscotti.

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mezzaluna Posted 17 Mar 2008 , 5:39am
post #8 of 17

I make lots of different biscotti for my shop. I do make them small (I think large biscotti ar vulgar), about 1½-2", and sell them by weight.

I don't decorate them or do anything fancy, and they sell like hotcakes!

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JulieB Posted 17 Mar 2008 , 9:19am
post #9 of 17

I don't make biscotti, but man, I consider them like gold! I love 'em!

My brother in law makes me homemade for Christmas every year, it's the highlight of my holiday. This year, he said he was a little embarrassed giving away his "poor little biscotti". Man, I set him straight! I got a bag this year twice, maybe three times as big as I usually get, and I prayed God grant him many blessings. His next Christmas gift? I found a fabulous little cookbook full of biscotti recipes. I'll sample............

I pay anywhere from as cheap as $1 at Starbucks to as much as $5 for a biscotti. Doesn't bother me one bit to pay $5 for a really good biscotti. I would say, don't take less than $3 apiece.

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playingwithsugar Posted 17 Mar 2008 , 10:01am
post #10 of 17

Ok, here's my theory. The word biscotti means "twice cooked", as in baked twice. For those who have never made them, you bake them once to get the rise from them, then slice them and bake them again to dry them out, as they are a dunking cookie.

I can tell you that my local mini-mart gets $1.00 each for 5 inch biscotti which are, although factory made, very tasty, but very skinny. If I were selling products, I would not take an order for less than a dozen biscotti, because of the extra time involved. And I would charge $15.00 per dozen, minimum.

Theresa icon_smile.gif

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FromScratch Posted 17 Mar 2008 , 12:22pm
post #11 of 17

$6 a dozen isn't enough. You are not factoring in your time. If they cost you $.30 each.. multiply by 3 and add in an hourly wage.. I'd say $1.00 for the ingredient part and $15/hour for a wage.. to figure a dozen.. take $1.00 and multiply by 12 and add the $15 and divide by 12.. That's $2.25 each and then add on for packaging/labeling. I'd say a minimum of $2.50 each. These aren't crappy factory produced biscotti.. they are hand crafted and made with quality ingredients. How big are you making them? Biscotti is something I have always wanted to try making.. you may have just put the spark under my hindquarters to give it a go. Any recipes you recommend?

And what Mezz.. you don't relish the thought of going down on a 9" biscotti?? icon_wink.gif

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mezzaluna Posted 17 Mar 2008 , 12:27pm
post #12 of 17

LOL seester... you is BAD!!!

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FromScratch Posted 17 Mar 2008 , 12:30pm
post #13 of 17

Hehehehe... I try.. icon_wink.gif

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funbun Posted 17 Mar 2008 , 2:18pm
post #14 of 17

And what Mezz.. you don't relish the thought of going down on a 9" biscotti??

OMG!!! You made me fall off my chair laughing. What a great way to top off a full night of baking! icon_lol.gificon_lol.gificon_lol.gif

As to the biscotti ? I charge $25.00 a dozen, that is just over $2.00 a piece and I sell about 40 dozen a week. They mostly go to cafes and bistros and they charge $3.50 to $4.00 a piece. HTH icon_smile.gif

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Starkie Posted 17 Mar 2008 , 8:28pm
post #15 of 17
Quote:
Originally Posted by jkalman



And what Mezz.. you don't relish the thought of going down on a 9" biscotti?? icon_wink.gif




Okay, jkalman, I JUST got that one!!! (I'm a little slow on the uptake! Or downtake, depending on how you are looking at it... shhh.gif )

So it looks like there is quite a big range, from $1 each to $2.50 each. My biscotti are about 4-5" long, and the pre-packaged, individually wrapped Nonni (sp?) brand is selling at the local coffee shop for $1 each (they are 6-7" long). I am thinking of doing $1 each for a dozen of one flavor, and maybe $1.50 each for less than a dozen. Does that sound reasonable?

And, jkalman, I just made this for the first time over the weekend using cake mix and the recipes from The Cake Doctor. Super easy and very tasty! I heard rave reviews from the teachers at the school and, of course, questions about how much they cost! I think switching my kids from private Christian school to Public school has been the best thing for my bakery business! (And a good thing for my kids, too!)

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pureitalian Posted 1 Feb 2013 , 7:30pm
post #16 of 17

Dear Funbun,

Your idea on biscotti selling to local bakery's caught my attention. I started baking biscottis for family members and just for personal baking. However, I have gotten so creative in my recipes that everyone is suggesting I sell them. I am so clueless on how to do so. Can you tell me how you are working your business, how it works, how should I get started and what not..... Thanks and look forward to hearing from you soon...

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Skullface Posted 8 May 2013 , 6:38pm
post #17 of 17

How much do you charge per pound?  And do you charge the same regardless of the ingredients?  For instance, I may include dried cranberries, dark chocolate chips or chocolate coating and/or pistachios which are very expensive now.

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