I just took over my grandma's bakery and I'm fixing prices and wanted your opinion on if they are good prices, to low, or to high. My grandma hasn't done pricing of her cakes since 1976 or when ever she got a new pan and I need to get the prices fixed. Thank You.
Prices:
Tiered cakes: $2/ serving
Mini cakes/ petit fours: $2 each
Cupcake: $2 each
Cookies: $2 each
Candy: $2 each
Brownies: $2 each
Pies: $8-$16
RCT: $2-$6
Shaped cakes: $15-$30
4" round: $8
6" round/square/heart/petal/hexagon: $10
8" round/square/heart: $12
9" round/heart/petal/hexagon:$13
10" round/square/heart: $14
12" round/square/heart/petal/hexagon: $16
14" round/square/heart: $18
15" petal/hexagon: $19
16" round/square/heart: $20
18" round: $22
7.75"x 5.5" oval: $12
10.75"x7.8" oval: $15
13.5"x 9.8" oval: $18
16.5"x 12.4" oval: $21
9"x6" paisley: $12
12.5"x 9.5" paisley: $15
16.5"x 12.5" paisley: $18
10.25"x 7.4" diamond:$15
15"x11" diamond: $20
19.25"x14.25" diamond: $25
6.75"x6.75" pillow: $12
10"x10" pillow: $15
13.25"x13.35 pillow: $18
9"x13" sheet: $20
11"x15" sheet: $25
12"x18" sheet: $30
22"x15" sheet:$50
24"x18" sheet: $60
Fondant decorations
Small decorations: $5-$10 extra
Medium decorations: $15-$20 extra
Large decorations: $25- $30 extra
Are these your prices or your Grandmothers?
If they are yours, you're way too low. Your cupcakes, cookies, candies, brownies and pies look to be okay. But the cakes, I think are way off. You've got an 12x18 sheet cake, which I believe serves 54, at $30. That's $0.55/serving. Are you making any money doing this? Have you included all of your costs, including your time (which isn't profit) and a profit margin? At the bare minimum I'd be starting at $2/serving but I don't know what your overhead etc is. Your 10x10 pillow serves 30 but you're charging $15 That's $0.50 per serving.. I don't think you're going to be making any money. I can't speak to the fondant items at the bottom of your list.
These links might help in determing number of servings.
http://www.wilton.com/cakes/making-cakes/baking-party-cake-2-inch-pans.cfm
http://www.wilton.com/cakes/making-cakes/baking-wedding-cake-2-inch-pans.cfm
Start with your cost for each product, including ingredients, labor (your hourly wage) and allocated overhead. Then do research in your area to determine what market prices are, aim for a 15-40% markup.
Ballpark for the cakes will probably be at least 3-4 times your current prices. It might be simpler to just have a per-serving starting price for non-tiered cakes as well (for example, $3/serving for a single tier and $5/serving for tiered) so you don't need to maintain each shape and size as a separate price point.
You should also take this opportunity to revisit your product assortment (removing products you don't want to make and/or adding new ones) as well as your marketing strategy.
It seems really complicated to have separate prices for so many different pans. I am a bit confused why there is such a price difference between a tiered cake, which is $2 per serving and the individual cake prices. For example if I bought a 6-8 tiered round cake it would cost me $72. 36 servings times 2. If I bought a 6 inch cake and an 8 inch cake it would cost me $22. I don't see that there is really anything to justify such a price difference between the single cakes and tiered prices. I don't see how you can even cover all your expenses at the individual cake prices. Another thought is that there is a big difference in number of servings depending on the shape of the pan. For example there are 24 servings in an 8 inch round pan and 32 servings in an 8 inch square pan yet you charge the same. But you have to use more batter, filling, icing in the square pan.
JLynne93~~Hi again. I saw and responded to your post over on the Wilton forum.
I looked up the population statistics and found that your county has about 15,000 total population and your town about 2,200 population.
Population density and average income play a big part in how much a baker can charge.
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