I started making these little tres leches cakes (8”x6”) and sold them last summer for $10 each. Is that reasonable? I sold them locally to coworkers and friends, but if I wanted to branch out I would like to get a more sustainable idea.
When I look online, I get tips for pricing items but I’m just anxious about making things and selling it to people, hoping it’s worth their money (imposter syndrome?). All the people who have bought from me loved it though and were repeat orders, and I got some for full size cakes. I would love to continue doing this and even making other flavors for order.
TIA!
by exxtrarice
38 Comments
18 reais i think
$15 – actually do $20 inflation is a B
I’d snatch them up for 10-15!! 🤤😋
I usually see them for $10 where I live, but if you need to go a little higher I’d still buy. That looks really good.
$12 but that’s because the local Mexican bakery sells them for that much. They have cake slices for $5 but the trays look better. I’ve also seen them Cary a smaller one that’s loaf size
What’s the weight? My work sells 1 slice of cake for $10 and we sell a lot of them. I’d charge at least $15
I find a little frustrating that people ask this question but do not say how much its cost them to make it.
Work out exactly how much the ingredients and the container cost. Then you know what you have to charge to cover your costs at least. Then decide how much you want to charge for the labour.
Maybe you start by just covering costs to get the word out and then increase form there but at least know what they cost to make and package first.
$15
It’s gorgeous, and the hobby baker in me wants to say $20, but the consumer in me says I wouldn’t consider more than $15. Depends on how many you have to sell!
$15 – $20
I’d think $20…even $15 seems like a treat…especially considering the price of grocery store baked goods.
Time is money, and ingredients are money. There’s a calculator for this issue if you google it.
I think $10 is a steal, but maybe consider increasing to $12?
Sounds reasonable to me. Wegmans in my area has a strawberry shortcake that is $20 and only a bit bigger.
Idk it looks like I’d need to eat the whole thing first and tell you if it’s worth the cost 🤣
$10-12
yeah just depends on where you live. i’d pay $15
Depends where you are. In some areas you can go even 25. $20 seems reasonable, in cheaper areas – $15 but do not undersell yourself.
Instead of berries you can come up with some sort of crumbs, nuts, even jam decorations…
I live in a predominately Hispanic part of the country and I’ve never seen a TL cake that’s not completely covered in a variety of fruits.
1 for $20 2 for $35
$15 if there were more Strawberries and $12 as is
where’s the milk😭
10 is underselling yourself and I live in Oklahoma (one of the most affordable states) I think around 15 without any info
I think experience in baking, selling, packaging, and quality of ingredients plays a huge part too!
If you used nice ingredients I would be willing to pay up to 20 for it as someone with lots of allergies 🙂
[A bakery cost calculator ](https://www.bakecalc.com/)
I would grab one for 10 easy. I’d consider for 15. Higher and it depends on my hungriness levels
I’d say $10 is fair, I bought one about the same size for $15. Looks delicious by the way.
I’d gladly pay $20 for it!
Lucky $13
3 $ max
OP, just some advice from the UK.
Typically, you want a margin of around 40-50% if you were planning to run a healthy business. A margin of under 30% would likely lead to problems down the line.
You’re not doing this as a business (yet). Just a side line that you enjoy.
The food in your photo looks delicious, and is professionally presented.
Not wanting to teach you to suck eggs or anything, but you need to know how much that single pack cost you to make (food and container, energy costs, and so on). Obviously, this depends on how many you make in a batch, but you can work it out.
If that single item cost you, say, $10 to put together, you need to sell at at least $15. If you’re making small batches, then your costs will be higher, so your selling price needs to be higher too to maintain your margin. Obviously, once you establish a selling price, if you can reduce your costs and keep the price the same, you make more profit.
Good luck. You could turn this into something big.
umm maybe $10-15
There is definitely rules and regulations to follow for selling food. Find out the laws in your state.
$10 is the most I would pay
Looks very white made. Where’s the milk? Too dry
$20
Interesting way of gauging how you’ll price an item without stating location, price of ingredients, how long it took to make, how many you’ve made, and how/where you plan to sell the item (if you’re planning on expanding a business).
Asking people on Reddit who live in different parts of the country where cost of living varies is bad business practice as your pricing data will be inconsistent.
A better question to ask would be “how much would you buy this for?” Rather than how much someone would sell it for.
I found a tres leches cake the same size as yours for $9.53 at my local Wegmans. So to answer your question… $9.53
I ran a home bakery for a number of years until I just couldn’t anymore. (I needed a break from people haha.) You aren’t wrong, it is scary to make this kind of leap and there is a lot you’ll end up learning really fast. Out of necessity. Most important, factor in your time and effort. Your time matters. Even if this is your passion.
Calculate price of ingredients per cake. Boxing and packaging. Tools like piping bags and parchment paper. Your time. How simple or complicated the design is. This is an oversimplification, but it’s a good start.
If you’re still leery about pricing, check prices of grocery store bakeries AND other local small business bakeries to give you an idea of range. But please never price your hard work based on what feels fair when it means shortchanging yourself. You already have regulars, so you know people will buy it. I personally wouldn’t charge less than $15, at a glance, but you know your costs better than we do.
$12
$12