Any cafe owners/cake makers out there?

[drumandthebass]

I have been asked to provide a couple of sample cakes for a local cafe and hopefully they like them and will want me to make more on a regular basis. My question to anyone out there is, as a cafe owner how much would you be prepared to pay for a cake you are buying in, or how much as a cake maker, do you sell yours for?

At the moment we're just talking Victoria sponge and coffee and walnut

Thank you for taking the time to read this

[BricksInTheWall]

You'll need a licence from your council to bake at home and sell to the public, along with a food hygiene certificate and you'll need to make sure a list of all ingredients used delivered with your cakes for allergy info. I wouldn't buy cakes to sell off anyone without those because if anyone got sick from them, my insurance wouldn't be too happy. Highly unlikely but we live in a compo culture!

Labour + Ingredients Costs + Sundry Costs + Utility
Costs) = Total cake price

Labour is your hourly wage. So decide what hourly wage you'd like be it minimum or add 20% on etc. That starts from the minute you take an order, right through to washing your last dishes and delivering it if you will be.

Ingredients cost is self explanatory, if you buy a 1kg bag of flour and will be using 1/4 of that for one cake then 1/4 of its cost is added onto that cakes expense.

Sundry costs are things like boxes for transport, cake boards etc.

Utility costs - sounds petty but you will be using electricity and gas baking these regularly so if you can decide on an amount per week you will be using extra and then split it between your say 6 cake orders.

The worst thing you can do is underestimate your costing. There is nothing more soul destroying than spending 4 hours baking and decorating a cake, selling it for pretty much cost price and then them cutting 10 slices and selling only 3 to make their cost back.

Make sure you give yourself an hourly wage unless you're happy to do it as a hobby. You need to be making money at the end of the day otherwise it is just that. Homemade doesn't always mean cheaper so don't cheat yourself out of money. Good luck! I miss my baking days 🙂

[BricksInTheWall]

Jesus I promise I used paragraphs! 😂 bloody app!

[drumandthebass]

Thanks Bricks, I appreciate you taking the time to give me advice