How To Set Price For Decorated Cakes
Business By kim34 Updated 16 Aug 2006 , 2:39am by RisqueBusiness
i,m wanting to know how you set a price for decorated cakes? if someone would go in to the gallerie under fathersday contest and look at the block cake i made that says DAD on it, its done in orange and green and teh blocks are white and tell me how much you all would charge for a cake done liek this. its 6 cakes altogether and ea one is a 6in to make the 3 blocks. if ya all could do this i,d really appreciate it someone is wnating me to do a baby cake like this if anyone could help me thanks alot kim
[moderator edited to remove email address]
You need to figure out how much is it going to cost you first. From there you want to atleast double or triple it. Me, I do about x2.5 my cost.
Prices are going to vary depending on where you are. Someone in a large city is probably going to get more than someone in a little town.
Here's how I figure mine - I figure out how much it costs to make each size cake (6", 10", etc.) and then mulitply it by a number - I do by 2, three is a standard for some - it depends on the area you live in and how expensive cakes are around you. This is my base price only. In other words, it includes the cake and buttercream icing. Flowers, intricate designs, fondant, gumpaste, certain fillings, boards, pillars, all are extra. As far as how much you charge will depend on how complicated the design is. You can figure it on how many hours you will spend on each cake. Sculpted cakes (like your "Dad" cake) would cost more. Check out the prices around you and decide what you feel comfortable making a cake for. It gives you something to start with.
I am also in the midst of trying to figure the charges out?
It is easy to calculate the cost of the ingredients but do you take into account the electricity charges for the entire process too?
Let's say it costs you $10 in ingredients, cake boards, boxes and the little extras. When you do the x3 formula, then that's $10 for your ingrendients, $10 for other things like the electricity, and $10 profit.
While I don't include electricity in my pricing (I'd probably be using electricity if I was doing something else.... and if I have enough profit then it is a non issue) I do include everything else. I created an excel spreadsheet that calculates all my costs and then adds that to my per serving cost. If you would like a copy email me at [email protected] and I'll send it to you.
most retail prices are cost x 4. And I use the word most with caution. But depending on the product, it could be anywhere from 2.5-6x cost. 4x falls in the "neutral" comfort area. You should include all your overhead in your prices, especially at the high rate of using gas these days in stoves, oven, hot water heaters. Although, it doesn't or shouldn't amount to over $2 per day usage unless you are running your stove all day for baking. Yes, electricity is needed as well for the usage of mixers, refrigeration to keep ingredients cool and end product fresh. Plus your labor, whatever going rate that someone would make in a bakery.
Hi Littlemissmuffin, thanks for the great tips, I am happy to say that I asked $50 for this cake and got $60 for it, this person was very happy and impressed and he told me that this cake was worth more than the $50 I asked, so he gave me the $60 (I was very surprised). He called that night and asked for a second cake, so I guess he was happy with taste and price! I'm very excited as well! Thanks again!
no problem nefgaby, glad to see he gave you what you asked plus more. Glad I could assist, as a NOOB. LOL.
This has been the biggest hangup for me. My problem is that I know what I should charge, but I feel so guilty for charging money for something that I enjoy doing (I know....it sounds dumb) that I always charge waaaaaaaay too little. I wish I was a more aggressive business person. Everyone tells me I could make money doing this as a business... but asking people for money just kills me.
Believe me.... I've heard it from all my friends.
Every now and then I do make some money. One of the things I did was get the cake prices from my local grocery store, and then I got a price list from one of the better bakeries here in town and just did an average.
Denise[/i]
Somewhere on this site back in the spring someone suggested $15 per cake mix multiplied by 2.5, then add specialty expenses (cake plate, etc. and delivery if appropriate). I have used this and compared it to my expenses (cake mix, milk, eggs, pudding, shortening, etc., etc.) multiplied by 2.5 and it comes out pretty equal every time (within $5). Now on an exceptionally complicated cake or a wedding or the like, certainly I would expect to charge more. I am not there yet in terms of talent for sure, or orders for that matter!
Thanks for all you help.... and as Denise, I need to get more confortable when asking for $ for my work... I do agree that if they want a regular cake, then go to Walmart, but if you want the cake to be the center of attention, that is when you pay a decorator to do it, and it is hard work.... again, I just need to be more confortable with my prices! Thanks for all your help!
FunCakesVT - Wow! $15 per x 2.5 plus? That would make a two layer 11 x 15 at least $150 + board, image, etc. I wish I could get that here! And I thought I was expensive.
I use $15 per mix or 2.5 x cost. That's probably what you were getting at. 
Debbie
I either use $15 per mix x 2.5 or cost x 2.5, not both. What I was saying above, is that either way it seems to come out about the same. So an 8" cake (two layers, using one box of mix) with BC icing and fondant accents would be $37.50...
Still...I just did a 10 3/4 inch oval...2 layer the other night. 2 mixes, buttercream icing w/ FBCT, and I only got $35.00...I think the woman would have fell over if I had told her $75! Am I missing something, or can you really get money like that for cakes? Wow! I really hope I am missing something.
I live in a small and rural area, but so far I have not had anyone balk at my prices...have only done a few, but had two people pay $60 toward silent auction gift certificates valued at $65 last night for custom cakes (with specialty supplies - toppers or such, extra)...For my first customers and very close friends I will discount, up to 50%, but word seems to be getting out, so price does not seem extreme.
I would have a hard time doing this for less, working a full-time+ job, running a house and raising a 4yo, I feel my time is precious, even though I thoroughly enjoy what I do for customers.
My advice - be careful not to undersell yourself!
I need some clarification with pricing. If a person is using the formula "3x" the cost of ingredients for pricing-does that include time? I thought I saw a thread where someone did a multiple of the cost of ingredients PLUS a fee per hour. I am wondering what is more common? I thought the latter seemed excessive. Thanks for any input
Hi Sugarspice, I do the 2.5X or 3X formula, depending on the cake and for wedding cakes, I price by the slice, $2-$3.50 per slice. I don't add any more to that (like labor) as I don't think I would get that kind of money for a cake, in a 12" round cake, I spent close to $20 in ingredients and got $60 for it. If you live in a larger city you might get more for a cake. Good luck!
Quote by @%username% on %date%
%body%