Baikely
TL;DR
- Food cost percentage = ingredient cost ÷ selling price.
- Track it two ways: per product (from recipes) and for the whole bakery (from purchases and stock counts).
- The gap between the two is waste, plus theft and portioning drift. It is usually the most useful number.
- Food cost is only part of the cost: in bakeries labor is often larger. A low food cost percentage does not mean a product makes money.
How do you calculate bakery food cost percentage?
Divide the ingredient cost of a product by its selling price. A croissant with $0.30 of ingredients selling for $3.75 has a food cost of 8%. For the whole bakery, divide the cost of ingredients used in a period by sales in that period.
Per-product food cost
From the recipe:
| Product | Ingredient cost | Price | Food cost % |
|---|---|---|---|
| Butter croissant | $0.30 | $3.75 | 8% |
| Baguette | $0.42 | $3.95 | 11% |
| Sourdough loaf | $1.10 | $8.50 | 13% |
| Fruit tart (slice) | $1.45 | $6.25 | 23% |
Illustrative numbers. Our recipe costing guide shows how to get the ingredient cost.
Whole-bakery food cost
For a period, usually a month:
Food cost % = (opening stock + purchases − closing stock) ÷ sales
Illustrative month:
- Opening stock: $3,200
- Purchases: $9,800
- Closing stock: $3,000
- Ingredients used: $3,200 + $9,800 − $3,000 = $10,000
- Sales: $48,000
- Food cost: 20.8%
The gap is the most useful number
If your recipes say the products you sold should have used about $7,600 of ingredients, but the stock count says $10,000 was used, the $2,400 gap is ingredients that left without being sold: leftovers, rejected batches, over-portioning, spoilage, staff food.
In most bakeries, leftovers are the biggest part of that gap. Counting leftovers per product per day tells you where it is coming from. See bakery waste.
Why food cost percentage can mislead bakeries
Bakery products are labor-heavy. Our croissant has an 8% food cost, yet in our pricing example its full cost is $2.00, more than half the price. A product can have a very low food cost and still lose money if it takes a long time to make.
Use food cost percentage to:
- Spot price drift when ingredient prices rise.
- Compare products of similar labor.
- Track waste through the gap above.
Do not use it alone to set prices.
How to lower food cost
- Re-check supplier prices on your highest-volume ingredients.
- Standardize portions for fillings, toppings and glazes.
- Cut leftovers, which shows up directly in the gap.
- Review prices for products whose food cost has crept up.
How Baikely helps
Baikely attacks the biggest part of the gap, leftovers, by suggesting how many of each product to bake each day from your sales history and tracking sell-outs and leftovers.
Frequently asked questions
What is a good food cost percentage for a bakery?
It varies widely with the product mix: bread and viennoiserie usually run lower than pastry with expensive ingredients. Track your own trend over time rather than chasing a benchmark.
Is food cost the same as cost of goods sold?
Close. Cost of goods sold may also include packaging, and in some accounting setups production labor. Be consistent in what you include.
How often should I calculate food cost?
Per product when prices change; for the whole bakery monthly, after a stock count.