Am I making profit or loss in my cake business?
I don't know how to charge my customers.
Here are some questions young bakers ask
Now, let me address the issue " The pricing of a cake "
In pricing a cake, First, you have to consider " The cake" , when i say the cake am not referring to the decoration
In considering the cake, you ask, What type of cake do you want? Is it vanilla cake, red velvet cake, fruit cake, chocolate cake, carrot cake, coconut cake, etc.
After that, you ask what size do you want? How many inches am i baking? In how many steps? The steps are they same type of cake or different types? What shape of pan do you want? (Because some pans consume more batter than the other). When you consider all these, you will be able to know the required quantity of materials needed to get the cake your customer wants, you write it down.
Second point, you will consider "The baking process ", in baking this cake, what amount of energy will be used up in creaming and baking? If am using a mixer, how many minutes will it take? If there is no electricity supply, calculate the cost of fuel to be used, If you are using the manuel method, what amount of energy will i use to get the right result? After creaming, how many kg of gas will be used to get the cake done? Calculate all these and write them down.
Third, Consider " The decoration", What type of decoration do you want? What are the materials needed ? How many kg of these materials do i need? Materials here includes icing sugar, eggs, gelatin, glucose, flavour, margarine, colours, corn flour, vegetable shortening, cmc, whipping cream, etc. Calculate the cost of all the materials needed and write it down.
How simple or complex is the decoration? How many days will it take me to finish the decoration? Does it include lots of drawings, sketching, carving? Are there any special effects to the decoration for example, edible prints, frozen character, stickers, crowns, soccer players, biscuits, chocolate bars, fruits, cherries, etc, calculate the cost all these and write it down. Also, you have to consider the price of the cake boards, box, wrapping paper, etc. If am delivering, how much will it cost me,to go comfortably and drop the cake without altering the design of the cake,then the fee to come back to my shop, write the cost down as well, but if your customer is coming to pick up the cake in your shop, you will not charge transportation fee.
How much does my time,energy,intellect in putting all these together to satisfy you cost? Be careful in this aspect because you have to consider your environment. If you are in the environment of the high class, who can pay well for your services,then cost according to that, helps you get more profit 😉 ,but if you are with the middle class, student area or in the village, where much people are not even interested in cakes, but will like it if it comes for free, please cost accordingly as well. Finally, add all these together and arrive at your price.
Important information : Do not inflate your price unnecessarily, do proper costing and give your customers something good, so that they will come to you again. Also, do not compromise your quality to please or get more customers. Have a standard and maintain your standard. Do not allow people with cheap quality to influence your standard and pricing.
Your cakes and products should be affordable but not cheap.
I think i have made my points clear on how to charge your customers.
Note: Buy your materials in bulk, it helps to save cost and helps to get more profit.
Photo credit: Google
0 Comments