How Much Do I Charge For A Birthday Cake That Serves 130 People

Business By missconfectionality Updated 14 Jan 2013 , 1:56pm by venuscakes

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missconfectionality Posted 14 Jan 2013 , 8:50am
post #1 of 4

My friend just ordered a Dr.Suess cake that would serve around 130 people. I also got a request for a wedding cake for 150 people, priced at $500.  The servings are almost the same so wouldn't it be unreasonable for someone to spend $450-$500 for a birthday cake?! I'm really lost on how I should go about this as far as prices go icon_sad.gif

 

And the cake he asked for looks like a 3-4 layer sheet cake with the hat on top, do you think this would be enough for 100-130 people?  I haven't done any sort of carved cakes yet, so just to be safe, I was going to recommend him to go with a cake similar to the second image.  What should I price these at?

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I would appreciate any advice.  I don't know what I would do without all the helpful members of cakecentral!!! THANK YOU SO MUCH! icon_smile.gif

3 replies
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leah_s Posted 14 Jan 2013 , 10:44am
post #2 of 4

AFirst you have to get permission to use those images, otherwise its a copyright violation.

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Evoir Posted 14 Jan 2013 , 12:15pm
post #3 of 4

AOP... Whether its a birthday cake or wedding cake is irrelevant. You just need to work out the cost of your ingredients, materials, overheads, labor and other costs in making the cake. Then add in your profit. You should be doing this for every cake you make, thus avoiding asking others who have no idea of your business practices etc. The key message is costs should be independent of event type, unless you spend more money and time with wedding consults, samples, and overheads such as bridal fairs etc.

Secondly...what Leah said, you cannot sell cakes using copyrighted images or other IP, unless you receive permission from the copyright owner first.

Lastly, you will never get an accurate answer as to how many portions a cake will serve, by showing a photo only. Use your standard serving charts of choice to work out how many portions a cake will serve. This will also easily allow you to calculate a large portion of your costs.

I hope this helps with your planning. Good luck :-)

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venuscakes Posted 14 Jan 2013 , 1:56pm
post #4 of 4

I have a chart with edible/raw materials for each size sponge/fruit/dummy and then a standard cost for drums, ribbon, dowels etc. I then have a daily rate and all of these costs together give me the complete cake cost to the client.

 

I have never had any issues with seeking permission to use images - perhaps it is more stringent in the US than in the UK

 

Amanda

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