Hello just wondering if anyone has some advice for me...........I have to do a fete with 200 cupcakes for a school. They want to buy the cupcakes off me but i have no idea what to charge them per cupcake so that they will also make a profit when they sell them. Any ideas? I will do half buttercream ones with maybe some lollies on them and the other half fondant with butterflies, spiders, insects etc.

Work out your ingredient cost, supplies, utilities etc and then at least times that by 3 for your price. If I were selling these as an end product, I would be charging at least 3 euros each (about $5 AUD)!!!

Thanks so much for that advice. Do you have any easy way to work all that out. So far i have only charged for friends so have never had to work that out. Is there some sort of formula for doing it?

Just maths I'm afraid. Look at the total price for a bag/box etc of each item you will be using - flour, sugar etc and then divide that by 100g. So if you buy a kilo of flour for a dollar, then 100g is going to cost 10 cents. Work out how much eggs are each. Then work out how much will will use of each item in 100 grams increments and times by your price, so say sugar is 25cts per 100g and you will use a kilo = $2.50 total. Don't forget to add the price of any boxes, cupcake cases, colourings, fondant etc, etc. I generally add a blanket charge for utilities ($5 or whatever you think is realistic). Add gas for delivery. You will be surprised/shocked at just how much it all adds up to - and may even think twice about charging friends what you do (I know I did!). Good luck!

I use Cake Boss for my pricing, but there is a matrix on here somewhere that may help you work it out. Perhaps someone else can give you the link! Anyone?!

Here's the connundrum. Your cupcakes are certainly worth a couple dollars each if you're putting in the time and effort it sounds like you will - however, they want to turn around and sell them for profit, AND to an audience (students) who just are not going to spend several dollars on one cupcake.

My advice? Keep the design very very simple (and less labor-intensive) like chocolate or vanilla cupcake with a quick swirl of buttercream and some sprinkles.

If it's your children's school, you may consider just asking for the cost of ingredients and consider the time spend working on them your donation, but just be aware of the "do it once...do it forever" rule.

And don't forget how much work it is - I made 150 cupcakes for a college function once - several different kinds. I probably spent close to 4-5 hours on them. If I had to do it again? I would DEFINATELY keep it more simple.