Cake Pricing – How to Price your cakes
Cake Pricing – How much to charge for your cakes
Cake pricing or how to price your cakes and cupcakes can be the most challenging and intimidating question to most beginners in the cake decorating world. Cake Pricing is not just about adding ingredients and adding a markup but understanding what should be included in your cake pricing chart. In this post I have shared how to analyze, the methods I use as well as how to calculate the final price for your homemade cake prices.
Cake Pricing – How much to charge for your cakes. A Beginners Guide to Cake Pricing by Veena Azmanov
One of the scariest questions as a beginner for me would have to be –
- how much would you charge for this cake? Cake Pricing!
- If I didn’t quote the right price I’d lose the order.
- or if I overcharge; the customer will go somewhere else,
- and I charge less then I will not make any money.
I’ve done calculating the same cost a zillion times to make sure I was doing it right. Try so hard to bring my price down so that I could bring my cost down and then charge less which means I’d get more orders.
Often time, I’d look at the price and say – I wouldn’t pay that much for a cake! How can I change that?
Does that sound like you? I use to be that person above!!
(yup hiding face in palms here)
Some of the most common questions I get asked or messaged today from beginners are these. And it so resonates with me cause I’ve had the exact same questions in my head all along.
- How should I price my cakes? How to price cakes or cupcakes? Homemade cake pricing.
- Can you share your price-list with me? Cake Pricing Guide. Please send me your cake pricing chart.
- What is the right price for a beginner?
- How much should I charge for this type of cake? Price of cake for this design?
As much as I’d like to say, this is what I charge and you can charge the same; that’s not possible. So I thought I’d write a little post on Cake Pricing – (well, I planned to write a little bit … it’s long lol )
How much should you charge for your cakes? I’ll Share with you what I do and how I go about doing my own pricing.
Now, Having done two degrees and an MBA in marketing – you may find that my method sounds very geeky or rather from the book; but trust me books ain’t wrong and it’s how you apply that knowledge to the practical things that make a huge difference.
So, hang in there – I will try my best to make it as simple as I can for us all to understand. In fact, I’ve given you more than one option on How to price your cakes so grab a cuppa and let’s make it a date with Cake Pricing.
Of course, I’d love to know what you think not just about this post but about cake pricing, about your fears on cake pricing, maybe I might update this post and include some of those to address those specific questions. Just write a comment below and I’m happy to address those questions.
Now, What you charge for your cakes is based on many factors around you. Before you begin to calculate the actual numbers.
In this post, I’m going to share with you my own experience, explore some of those factors using my own market, then use some rough figures as an example to show you how to go about it.
Cake Pricing – How much to charge for cakes/ how to price your cakes
Some of the most important factors for cake Pricing today. (Save/Pin this article for later)
- Where are you located and how much is your community willing to pay? –
For example, the price for a cake in New York is not the same in Texas? (and New York and Texas are both in the US) - What clientele are you serving? (middle-class kids birthday cakes? Elite Wedding Cakes?)
- or What is your expertise? Or what unique value you offer?
- What is your reputation and demand for your product?
Let’s explore these factors on how much to charge for your cakes? How to Price cakes and Cupcakes
1 & 2 – Where are you located and how much is your community willing to pay? What clientele are you serving?
I’m going to use myself as an example so it’s not so geeky.. (wink wink)
My current location – When I first relocated from the US; I regularly made cupcakes, cake balls, and cake pops; but it wasn’t very popular here in Israel and to some, it was something new and fascinating.
As kids, I grew up with a cake for every birthday, weddings and holidays. But; here in Israel custom decorated cake was a luxury item and very rare to find. It was not one of the items listed for a birthday party. The birthday cake was not even in the budget! I was always surprised, some weddings I attended did not have a wedding cake and it was not even missed.
Most birthdays my son attends; have no fancy birthday cakes. What they often had was a simple cake that grandma made in a baking foil, poured some chocolate sauce over and sprinkled some sprinkles around.
So custom decorated cake in 2005 was not part of this culture and it never bothered anyone except me.
Much has changed since then in these last few years but not as much as it is in the rest of the world. And yet this is where I choose to start my business. So as you can see; the level of cake awareness and as a result the value for decorative cakes in my market which eventually affected how much I should charge for my cakes. I knew I had to focus on finding the right market and cake awareness.
Now do the same with your location. Find out what is the trend. What types of cakes are more popular. What are people willing to pay for? In some places, sheet cakes are very popular while in some places like here in no one cares much about them.
Cake Pops are bite-size pieces of cake on a stick but they take a long time to make; there are some who consider spending on them a waste of money but there are some who will value the work and effort put into it and are ready to pay for that ball of cake on a stick.
Cake Pricing How to Price your cakes a beginners guide – how much to charge for cakes
3. What is your expertise? Or what value do you offer? and What is your unique value?
It is important that you be honest with yourself when answering this question.
and it is true that anyone who starts a business wants to make money; how much is based on expertise and the value you offer.
and it is true that anyone who starts a business wants to make money; how much is based on expertise and the value you offer.
Almost every cake decorator will tell you she provides a unique value; being freshness, personal consultation, designing, expertise etc. But does this set you apart from the others?
Ask yourself – What about your product is different from the others? Do you bake the cake from scratch? or Do you give free delivery? Are you a special kind of artist? Do you have creative and unique designs? and Do you provide any extra frills? How do you compare your skills to your competitors?
I Know these are just questions and the answers could mean different for different people but what exactly is where your unique and difference come in. So spend some time on this and dig deep, be honest when answering this. If you find you need to add that extra value then do it?
Cake Pricing – how much to charge for cake, how to price cakes – Mushroom inspired Birthday cake
Supermarkets cakes vs Homemade cakes (Homemade cake prices)
One of my mom’s friends uses to take the price-list of a local bakery, mark it up by 30% and use it as her price list. As a kid, I was amazed at how easy pricing was, But after doing my MBA – ah not so impressed.
Never ever compare your product to a supermarket, not even if you are at a basic level of cake decorating.
This is not a good price guideline; why? Because supermarkets have a very different business model than ours.
- A bakery sells something about 300 to 600 cakes a week
- They purchased ingredients in bulk and a fraction of the price that we buy from the supermarket!! So the flour that you pay two dollars for; probably cost a few cents for them.
- and they deal in quantity and bake for the masses. We deal in quality and custom orders. There is no comparison – right?
As a home baker, you use top quality ingredients as compared to generic supermarket brands, you customize each and every cake. While supermarket cakes are flash-frozen; you offer freshness, consultation, designing and much more. Don’t you?
Competitors
There has got to be another home baker not far from you. Check out her cakes, see the value she provides – compare those to your skills and values.
If someone chooses to buy your cake over her – why would that be? You definitely do not want people coming to you because you are cheap? Do you?
Expertise and value
Identify your expertise and use it as your value.
While cake decorating was a new venture for me; baking, on the other hand, is my expertise. I have been baking for more than 20 years and take pride in the fact that I make the best tasting cakes from scratch.
In my present community baking a cake from scratch is considered unique and valuable, so I use it to my best advantage.
4. What is your reputation and demand for your product?
While it is good to start a business, exposure is the most important aspect of getting business.
- Do people know you?
- Have you built a reputation?
- Does your product have a market presence?
- If you have a good reputation; your cakes will be in high demand and so you can charge based on your demand.
Personal example – Most of my business is word of mouth. I do not advertise. As such every client that comes to me, comes thru someone I know or has tasted my cake at an event.
Because I deal with a price sensitive market this was the best way for me to build my business and reputation.
Once people hear about you and your skills from reliable sources their attitude to pricing changes. I have seen that in my price sensitive market people are still willing to pay for good reputation.
Read more about this cake in How to find cake inspiration for your cakes
All the above factors are good considerations for the next step which is the actual exercise of counting numbers. (Cake Pricing / how much to charge for cakes, how to price your cakes)
Here’s what I did when I started, worked well for me so I’ll share it with you.
- Call your local bakery, home bakers and get an estimate.
Most cakes are sold per slice while some novelty cakes are sold per cake.
Say for example the local bakery might say they charge 35 dollars for an 8-inch cake, while the home bakers charge 70 dollars. Keep that in your reference booklet. -
Calculate your direct cake cost (be smart with cake pricing)
You do not need to do this for every cake recipe. Just pick one that falls in between your costing.
Say for example your —
flour, butter; eggs, milk, buttercream, fondant cost you – 20 dollars to make an 8-inch cake. Keep that in your reference booklet.
My Practice – I divide my cakes into three groups depending on the cost. A B & C and set my price per cup for cakes, buttercream, and fondant.
For example – I might need 5 cups batter for an 8″cake plus 2 cups buttercream plus 500 grams fondant…calculate! I can then just change the amounts based on the size of the cake. When I have a client I just refer to my folder and be it a vanilla sponge, caramel or rum cake; I have my basic pricing and can give a quote instantly. -
Calculate the indirect cake cost (this helps determine how much to charge for your cakes)
This would include the oven, gas, electricity, even your tools, and extras such as luster dust.
All cost that you associate with your business but are not used directly on each cake are considered indirect cost.
Even your business cards and advertising are part of your business.You can take a rough estimate of how much you think you should charge for this. Or to be more professional make a more detailed analysis like this.
Let’s take electricity for example – take an electricity bill of October before you started your business and a bill of October after you started your business. (this is assuming all other conditions are the same)
Now see the difference in price and check how many orders you had for the month of October. Divide that number by the number of cakes.
Keep that in your reference book. Say for example you said your indirect cost is about 10 dollars.
-
Wages – (yes, this has to go in Cake Pricing Chart )
How much do you think you should be paid for your time, effort and expertise? This is where your earlier analysis of the comparison between the local bakers and home bakers comes in.
Say for example you decide to charge 7 dollars an hour. How long would it take you to decorate a simple to a complex 8-inch cake? If you said 2 to 4 hours then your price would range from 14 to 28 dollars; right? Keep that in your reference booklet. -
Extras – (often forgotten when pricing your cakes)
These usually would include things that are unique to every cake, like sugar models, or flowers or a special ribbon requested for that cake.
Sugar models and other sugar art are priced on your skills, not on cost. So if you made a figure how much you charge is based on how much time you put into it and what you think your figures are worth.
Let’s say for example -the extras cost is 5 dollars. Keep that in your reference booklet.
Note: Delivery and set up are also to be included in your pricing. If you offer free delivery you can add it as indirect cost or charge as an extra cost. Remember; It may be free delivery for the customer but you still have to calculate the gas, time and extra help you use to deliver that cake.
Let’s go see what we have in that reference booklet for cake pricing- shall we? (Save/Pin)
Remember, the local bakery charges 35 dollars & the home baker charges 70 dollars.
You do not want to charge as low as the local bakery and as a beginner, you might not be able to charge as high as the home bakers who has already established her business. However, never under-price your cakes as this is very unethical and a big disservice to your fellow bakers.
You do not want to charge as low as the local bakery and as a beginner, you might not be able to charge as high as the home bakers who has already established her business. However, never under-price your cakes as this is very unethical and a big disservice to your fellow bakers.
Let’s recap from above calculations we just did – cost for an 8-inch cake to determine how much to charge for cakes
Direct cost – 20 .00
Indirect cost – 10.00
Total Cost of your cake = 30 dollars.
So the cost per slice is 1.25 (30 divides by 24 servings)
Direct cost – 20 .00
Indirect cost – 10.00
Total Cost of your cake = 30 dollars.
So the cost per slice is 1.25 (30 divides by 24 servings)
Don’t forget – you still have to add wages and the cost of the extras (5 dollars) at the end of the pricing.
Don’t forget to save this tutorial on Pinterest for later.
You can find a collection of my tutorials and recipes here on Pinterest.
Cake Pricing How to price your cake Cake Pricing a Beginners Guide
Now you have a few options -You could prepare your cake pricing chart or price your cakes based on your Cost Price or Market Price. (Cake Pricing)
Let’s start with based on Cost price.
Remember this works only if you have done a thorough job of your indirect cost or else you would be underpricing your cakes –
A couple of different ways to get to the price using cost price as your base.
- You could take your cost and add the wages you want; in this example, 14 to 28 dollars is your wage (calculated above) so the selling price of your cake is
(30 dollars cost) + (28 dollars wages for 4 hours ) plus (5 for the extras) = 63 dollars - or You could take your cost and add a percentage instead of wages to it. Say you decide that you want to make 35% on your cakes.
So take 30 dollars and add 35% to it. So now your cake selling price is 40.50 dollars/1.68 per slice plus 5 for the extras. - You could take your cost and multiply it by a number of 2 or 3 or 4 depending on the complexity of the design or your skills.
If you multiply by 2 your SP is 60 dollars, if you multiply by 3 your SP is 90 and so on plus 5 for the extras.Pricing your cakes based on Market Value
Price your cakes based on the Market value of your product.
A good example of this would be – designer items. How many of us have paid a big price for a handbag just because we love that brand? You can buy a handbag for as little as 30 dollars or as much as 3000 dollars! Why is that?
Because we are willing to pay 3000 dollars for a brand? A name? who sets that value? the market!! What we are willing to pay for that name is how the brand sets its market value.
You can charge your cakes based on your branding too! yes!
You still do your costing and keep that as a reference, so you will be able to calculate how much is your profit.
But you price your product based on what the market is willing to pay for it.
As a cake decorator to do this quite simply – find out what other cake decorators are charging. Obviously, they are charging what the market is willing to pay. So they have already established the market value of the cake.
Find the price that works well for you and then evaluate your costing and work your selling price around it. Make sure you check your costing as well.
A Brand Name – A famous cake decorator who has won many awards and has made a brand name can quote her price based on the value she brings to her cake. She may not care what other cake decorators around here are charging.
To her; her cakes are worth XXXX dollars. She may get fewer orders but that is probably what she wants – quality not quantity orders.
A few points to note when pricing based on market value – Cake Pricing
Sometimes the market value is low so you might need to decide if you want to still charge higher than the market value or find a way to bring your cost to match that price. And sometimes the market value is high so you get paid a premium or you can give extra benefits that add value to your product.
Cake Pricing – Learn about cake consultations on the blog
See post on cake consultation Tips and how to here
What’s most important is that you have to charge what feels comfortable to you and what makes it worth your time and effort. When you value what you do and price it accordingly; others will do the same too.
My personal experience (Cake Pricing)
When I began my business I priced my cakes lower than the market value, not because I wanted to get more business. No!
Unlike most professionals that go to courses and learn by practice, my practice was on the job.
While I was very confident of my baking skills, I still had to prove my decorating skills not only to my customers but myself too.
So I made a lot of cakes by just charging for the cost and was very happy about it. I let friends pay me the cost of the cake so I could learn and it was a win-win situation for us all.
The right approach (Cake Pricing)
I looked at it; as if these customers were funding my education.
You know, I needed the skills and gain some experience and they needed the low-cost option. But as my level of skill and expertise grew so did my prices.
You know, I needed the skills and gain some experience and they needed the low-cost option. But as my level of skill and expertise grew so did my prices.
We all have to start somewhere and sometimes we have to make compromises along the way to reach our goals. What’s important is how you feel about it. Charge what you think is right for you and you will attract those people who are willing to pay the price you quote.
The Price Tag vs the Name Tag (Cake Pricing)
To me, it doesn’t matter if the cake has a price tag on it or is for FREE. Once it leaves my hands it’s a work of art made by Veena Azmanov.
People who see the cake don’t ask how much you paid for it… they ask who made the cake. So I take pride in what I do and the value I offer.
Here’s another post that speaks on pricing cakes. I think you’ll find it a good read too. – I bet most of you are underpricing your cakes
New to cake decorating?
You will find more Cake Basic Tutorials, Tip Thursdays, Cake Business articles on this blog. You will find a large collection of recipes to help you get started too.
I hope you find them useful. Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments below – I love to hear from you be it a recommendation or a compliment.
Click here to see some of my Index of all cake tutorials from basic to advance.
You may like to see Business Related Post such as
- Where to find Inspiration for cakes,
- How to start a cake business from home,
- Cake Decorating as a Profession or Hobby ? or you may like to see some
- cake decorating tutorials here.
Thank you so much for this detailed post. I love how simple and easy you make it sound. I think your explanation of getting the price organically rather than copying others is priceless. I’m going to try it.
Thank you, Ashley. Yes, I do love making things simple for myself and then sharing it on the blog too! Glad to hear you found this article useful. Thanks for such a lovely comment. Have a wonderful day.
Veena, You are my cake angel and your blog is my cake heaven. Every time I need any cake information whether it’s a recipe or a tutorial I come to see if your blog has it first. Because your recipes are 100% they always work and your tutorials make it seem so easy that it gives me the confidence to try. I’m now venturing into taking orders, so this post again is priceless. Thank you.
Aww, thank you so much, Carley. What a lovely thing to say. Thank you! I am so happy to hear that you love my blog and find my recipes and tutorials helpful. It’s sentiments like these that make all the efforts worth it. Thank you for such a lovely comment. Wish you a wonderful day. Happy Baking/caking.
Thank you so much for taking the trouble to write this post. I definitely needed this so much.
You are very welcome Baillif. Happy to hear this was helpful
Hello,
I’m having a sort of dilemma and wanted to ask you a question after reading this blog post.
I decided to try a local small pastry shop in my city and the cakes were good but the slice size is tiny or smaller than my perception. I wrote a review on Facebook that the place is great but portions are tiny and the owner decided to invite me so I can share my opinion about there cakes in person.
All is good but I wanted to ask are there any standard weight or size measurements for cake slices?
I only find info for cutting cakes. 8″ cake – 8-10 or 12 slices. But what if the slice is just too small or too light as of weight?
Is there any industry standard that a cheesecake slice must be “x” inches tall or must weight some precise value as 140-180 grams?
I want to give them the best feedback and since I’m going to say their cake slices are small I want to know if there is any standard I can base my opinion on?
Everyone cuts cakes differently but we chatted a bit on Facebook about the appointment date and time and they mentioned that they did research and feel that the devil chocolate cake slice for example must be 140 grams. Is there any standard?
Thanks for your time and sorry for the broad question. After the blog post it seemed like you could give me some direction. 😀
Mirobg – There are industry standards for everything these days. Dessert cakes have their own size charts and wedding cakes have a different chart. Here we price per serving but in some places they price per weight. Not sure what the guidelines for these weights are in India. Perhaps check with a cake shop close to you, one that has cake slices with a size that you like. Ask them how much the weight is and what is the guideline. Sorry I’m not much help on the weight part.
Hi Veena
Thank you very much for such a wonderful and detailed article on pricing of cakes. This is something i was really looking for.
Veena, could you please tell me how to weigh a cake. Is a cake weighed by adding up the weight of all ingredients or is it done post baking. Could you please enlighten me about the same.
Thank You
Thank you Marina. Happy to hear that this post has been useful to you. Here I don’t sell cakes by weight but by servings.
I think in India and some other places they sell by weight so I’m not very familiar with that. I know you have to weigh it after it’s baked so you can sell based on that cake weight.
For example an 8′ inch cake weighs between 1 to 1.3 kgs depending on what cake it is. A chocolate cake is lighter but a vanilla pound is heavier and a fruit cake is every heavier so I think it would be difficult to set a standard price based on just weight.
I highly recommend calling a local cake shop and checking their prices, size guide and weights. Sorry could not help much
Thank you for this detailed post. It really answered all my questions. I still have to figure out how to do my own pricing but at least now I know how to go about it. I love your blog and have learned so much from you. God Bless
Thank you Fellen. Yes this post is so you can figure out how to use it for your own business. Happy to hear that my blog is helpful and that it has helped you learn. Enjoy cake decorating.
Thank you for explaining it all so well in detail Veena. I really love the way you write your blog tutorials and recipes. It really is helpful for newbies like me.
You are very welcome Mable. Happy to hear you found this infor useful. Have fun decorating.
Thank you so much for this article. I love how detailed it is. You really have addressed it for a beginner. Thank you so much.
Thank you so much Noreen. Happy to hear you found it useful.
Thank you for this wonderful post. This so helpful to new cake decorators who have no clue where to start. Thank you. Appreciate you sharing your knowledge
Thank you Amparo. Happy to know that you found my post useful.
Hi, I’m trying to find out what would be a reasonable price to ask my cousin’s cousin to make a cake. A 6inch (or even smaller since I want a cake for just one person) chocolate mousse that says Welcome Home. She’s not a professional but she’s made cakes and cupcakes for family functions and I think she’d do a good job. I don’t know want to offer her too low of a price but I am kinda tight on funds. Should I go with her or through like Safeway?
Hey Chloe, This is a very small cake but also a personalized cake. You may bot want to offer her the safeway price but perhaps what a custom cake decorator would charge. I suggest look at custom cake business price list around you and use that as a guide. Thanks
Hi Veena, Thanjs for sharing all the information
It’s very helpful
I am a bit confused about how many eggs, flour, butter etc I should use for a 1 lb cake with butter cream
Or cream
Also Does a 2 lb cake mean It should weigh 2 LBS for example? How many ingredients would I require
Please explain the ratio thanks
Rifka.. I think in India you guys sell cakes by weight.. here we sell cakes by servings.. that’s how we price cakes. So Not sure how it works. I’d highly recommend asking this advise from a local cake decorator. Thanks
Thank you for sharing your experience. I am not a decorator, but do enjoy making carrot cake to share with friends and coworkers. For the first time someome asked to make a cake and asked about price. I decided just to make the cake for free since, at the moment, I did not know how to go about pricing the cake (not even cost), and because I considered it a one-off. I treat cake baking as an occasional treat, both for the exlerience and the praise. However, thanks to this post I now have a starting point if I ever decided to take orders regularly. Thank you again for your post. I must say: your cakes look beautiful, and, from your description of raw material quality, I am sure that they taste delicious too! Happy baking and may your business continue to grow.
Thank you so much for your lovely comment Saul. I do believe that no matter how your cake looks – the ultimate test is the taste. To me it starts with quality of ingredients. Glad to know this post was helpful. Happy Baking .
Thnks for this post.. It is very useful for a people like me who willing to start cake making business. But i m confused regarding cake business in India, especially Mumbai Suburban Area where I stay..?? Can u please guide me
I know Alisha.. the beginning cake be tough but it’s a phase we all have to get thru. Every place is different I know there are many cake decorators in Mumbai – I bet if you contacted them and introduced yourself they’d be happy to share some advice that is local. In fact I would suggest joining a Facebook group that has local CD.
Thanks for another very important post, Veena.
I took a lot away from this. One point I particularly liked – charge cost until you are confident you’ve got the experience, and can consistently produce the quality to charge more. It’s as though I’m paying to go to school for baking and decorating. Great point. Up to now, I’ve been doing cakes for free. (Shame on me, right?)
Thanks again.
Don’t be hard on yourself Marcia.. We all are like this.. We doubt our self and our talent which is a shame. I’m sure now that you realize it you will start charging your worth. Glad you found this post useful <3 Thanks for commenting
I have my first customer for a tres leches cake I made for a birthday party. They actually want the cake for this 4th of July. I don’t really know yet what to charge the person. I know I’m not a professional but when I bake I put my heart into baking. Also I don’t use cheap products I like using quality products, like organic. I recently spent about $50 in products. Any suggestions.
I always had a love for baking and always intrigued about these beautiful cakes. I only tried my hand at it very recently for my dads surprise 60th party. Ever since I caught the bug and never pass the chance to learn new things on everything cake and cake decorating. Thank you for sharing your wealth of knowledge.
Thank you Yachna… Have fun with your new venture
Thanks Veena for throwing more light on this topic. Actually my problem I can say is based on recipes for cupcakes and Sponge cakes. At the onset you mention doing cupcakes, cake balls and cakes pops and all that. I am an upcoming baker anyway and a self learning baker too. I would love it if you would help me out with cupcakes and Sponge cakes recipes for vanilla, red velvet, strawberry, chocolate if you wouldn’t mind. My mail addy: [email protected]. Thank you and God bless. Do have a blessed week ahead.
Hi Lizzy – I have lots of recipes on my blog. Some in the FREE section – look under recipes – cakes or cupcakes. And some in my online shop. Most of the recipes in my online shop are calculated for you for many sizes so you have less hassle when baking. I hope you find what you looking for.
All the best. I know the beginning is tough but hang in there – things will get better as you move ahead
have fun <3
Wowwwww!!!!!!! I love that!!! To be happy on everything you do,,, what a passion,,I luv it,,,
Thank you !
hello my name is Hope not speak English use the Google translate. I liked the Turorial the Fondant. where I live it is a very hot climate and I liked how it handles see your Fondant: I have doubts you say 900 to 1 kg. Glass sugar and 700 grams then you say that ?. Whipping Cream you say what function the Fondant? Meringue powder is in the Fondant function? I did and I loved it very much. a question cream can be replaced by water? I thank you very much for your help.
Hi Esperanaza I think I already replied to your question on the message. I hope you have managed to figure it out <3
Thank u for sharing…
Welcome
Exactly the business info I was searching for! Thank you so much for your advice!
You are very welcome <3
I was having this problem and reading your advice has really helped. Thank you so much.
I just quoted a cake and the fur just told me I was wayyyyy out of her price range, the problem is people want their cakes for nothing!
That is true… people always want things for nothing if they can have it.. <3 Glad I could help.
Thank u. I luv all of ur tutorials. Very helpful information
I'm not a baker, but your pricing strategy is helpful for anyone starting a new business. Thank you for sharing.
Veena,
Thank you so much for this post and for sharing your insight! It really helped me decide how to start pricing my cakes. It's still a battle, as sometimes I give a quote before I realize how much work I'm putting into a new cake. I am still learning, but your post really gave me a better handle on things!
Thank u for ur help n guidance
Thanks for the guideline
Thank you for thr information it wss very helpful
Thank you so very much for this post. I was trying to figure out just how to come up with prices now that I’ve got clients coming to me for cakes and this was so very insightful. Again thank you
I found this article and IT’S SO ME!!
I always think that i better charge cheap just to do a lot of cake then i can gain experience, learn new skill from different cakes and after i feel confident i also did my prices.
Thanks for share. Its really help me 🙂
Thank you for your advice it was helpful
Smiles don't pay my bills.
Vow ! A good insight into all aspects for consideration
One man's meat, another man's poison. There will always be people either finding your cake cheap or expensive. To me, the most important thing is, the satisfaction one get when a cake is done. We are paid with smiles, which is priceless….
Veena, this was so helpful and very interesting! I have been baking for well over 20 years but I would only do it as a hobby and would only charge the bare minimum such a $15 or $20 and people love my cakes and pies, so I have built an awesome reputation and clientele for my products. I am now at a crossroad as to whether or not I really want to pursue it as a business. You have really answered all of the questions that I had and I appreciate you for all of the information that you have shared. Than you again Veena!!
Thank you for the tips o really enjoyed reading about how you go about pricing cakes so thank you
I want to start a small home-based cake business such as the one described. I’ve always loved baking, and in the past two years, I’ve gotten much better at it. The problem is, I’m only 16, have not taken any classes for this, and have no clue if people will feel comfortable buying my products. That is why I was thinking of charging very little, until I realized the cost of making the cake might break even with the price I’ve set. Should I still try?
Thank you for sharing!!!
Thank you. This is very helpful 🙂
Thank you for sharing all your knowledge with us!! ;O) Greetz from Germany
this post was very informative and helped me very much thank you
Very well sais Veena. Thanks for generously sharing this. I’m a newbie and designing cakes is for now just a hobby as I still want to gain experience. This is exactly what i need.
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Great advice for those just starting out! It can be very tricky but never under value your worth as a cake maker and decorator. Thanks Veena 🙂
tanks veena, dis information is just wat i nid.tanks again
Thanks!
thanks for sharing, very true, as a beginner , i just charge the cost for my cakes, my gain is experience and practice .
Wow. This is so sweet. Such a cute idea and love the photography by the way.
Oh my goodness!
Gorgeous Birthday Cake.
These look wonderful!
Thank you so much for this !!!!!
Excellent blog, I love baking and I am a fanatic at trying to find the best cake recipe! Have not found it yet 🙁 I do not have time to go back to school and get another degree in baking or cake decorating. I am a counselor who loves to bake and make sweet creations. I google a lot to find information to help me be a better baker and this blog already gave me so much information without going
I suck at cake decorating, I am new to baking, and have no plans whatsoever to sell my cakes or start any kind of bakery. But I came across your blog today and have been reading one post after another. I love how you explain, detailed and helpful, yet straightforward and to the point.
I can imagine how useful this post is for those really looking for this topic. Great work 🙂
Thank you veena, your information is wonderful… Helps a lot….
very enlightening blog! ive been baking for years now and just started making cakes for profit recently, while ive had lots of likes on my cake page and lots of inquiries, ive had many would be customers go with walmart for their cakes, im assuming because of price, but i specialize in fondant and i am a perfectionist, so while it make take me a long time to do the cakes, the attention to detail
That was an eye-opener. What I do is take the cost of my ingredients, and then multiply that figure by 3. So I guess it pretty much covers the cost of overheads, electricity, boxes,labor, etc., and gives me a little profit as well. What do u think about that….?
What ever works for you.. as long as you take everything into account.
Thanks Veena! I'm a twelve year old cake prodigy, my dad says we could charge like 45-50 dollars for my cakes!!! That's insane. I look forward to using fondant, so my cakes look even more professional. I spent more than an hour decorating a cake I was just baking for my family. I do flowers, roses, piping, ribbons, and 2 layer 8in. Cakes from scratch. 🙂
Hi Veena….Thank You so much for this article! It helps us first time bakers a lot. If someone could please clarify this for me i would be grateful….when you say its a 1 kg cake, should the cake weigh 1 kg with icing or without?
Hi Veena
What a great and honest topic in relation to us newbies in the busines….I feel my cakes are a little over cost at the moment but as my orders come in I do say to my potential customers…due to me never having done this type or particular style etc ie: car cakes(grrrr) I'm willing to offer you a first time design price of such n such….my delivery fee is free within a radius
All the best – I’m sure it will work for you .
Hi,
Very interesting and informative artile. I am going to start my homemade cake business. You have nicely explained not only pricing strategy but how to start from scratch.
I am working on some eggless recipes. If youncan help me out some good recipes.
Thanks for sparring time for us.
I have lots of recipes both in my Free and Shop. I hope you find something you like.
I just want to thank you for taking the time to share your experise. I really learned a lot by reading all your wonderful tips. I have been learning as I go as you did. I've been baking and decorating cakes for about 21 years now. Of course, my skills have gotten a lot better over the years. I have been building my portfolio and my confidence at the same time. I've made so many
You are very welcome.
Hi Veena,
I found your article very helpful. I am also new in baking and I found it really hard pricing my cake. My old friend just gave me the recipe few months ago, it was her personal recipe. The other day, I celebrated my birthday and some of my classmates had tasted my cake. Then last night, somebody was placing an order for my home made cake.
Thanks a lot for the
Great to hear that.. All the best!
Dear Veena,finding your blog was an answer to my prayers! I recently decided that I should pursue what I love and learn on the job like you did. So here's what I thought I'd share with you and your readers about pricing my cakes.I'll tell my family and very close friends plus some colleagues in the office that I'll be happy to make their cakes and they pay what a bakery shop in
Thank you so much!
How much do you normally charge a chocolate cake?
Excellent article.I just wanted to know what if u get a phone call and ur customer says i think the price is too much why is it so.While outside u get a few dollars less and not even a decent cake with all chemicals possible.Do u think that u would come down ur price .Have u faced any similar problems?
No matter how low you price your cakes, there will always be people in the market who will find your cakes expensive.
Some customers will value your cake with the list of ingredients in mind, while others will value your cake decorating skills.
You price your cakes based on the time, effort and skills you deem fit; not based on the cost. The cost is only a guideline. You can also
Hi Veena,
I am from Australia. Your website is lovely and it is good that you have your You Tube demonstrations, too. I am not confident enough to do demonstrations, so I admire you for what you have done. I find with wedding cake clients, that many of them refer to their "budget" and can I make the cake cheaper? I have reduced my price for them and effectively made the cake at a
Barbara, Thank you for your compliments.
Do not take this the wrong way, but it sounds like you need to convince your self that you are charging a fair price first.
It is very important that you believe in the prices you quote to your customers only then you will be able to assure people that you find your prices fair. That is why it is very important to do the pricing exercise.
Thanks. Appreciate the support
I love this article.. it really helps.
Thanks
Thanks Veena, thanks for replying so quickly. I think i'll be upfront with this lady. Tell her that i give no guarantees other than she will get a cake like the one i made for the wedding. If she feels its dry oh well, i will do everything i can to prevent a dry cake :-/, i dont think anyone sets out to bake a dry cake. I did add meringue powder which gives a cake body to withstand all the
Thanks for the help. My problem is i'm an artist and not a baker. Never ever have the intentions of being a baker. But, for my sons wedding, i made the grooms cake. Its unique, custom and took hours to make. Its a work of art and not really a cake you'd make ever again. At the wedding, i had several people wanting me to make the cake for them. Time went on and i hoped they'd forgotten
Cowgirl8,
Thank you for your comment. It took me time to reply because I could not find the right words to say to you.
As I said in my post it is up to you to decide what you think is a fare price. Some people charge the cost price and are happy with it because it gives them the opportunity to explore their creativity. Some people need to make money as it is their business. And some
really good article..best of all.
Dee
Thanks – glad you think so.
Veena
thanks a lot. this was so helpful to me.
auguste
Thanks for taking the time to share this with us. I was wondering how to go about it. You explained everything so well. I kind of wanted to do the multiply by 2 option but I see the things that you mentioned and now I realised that I would have underpriced my cakes. I will add my business cards and delivery pricing too. Thanks for this post. Really helpful.
Ruth
This is the best post on the topice. I've read a lot of articles out that speak of charging high prices for your work but for the first time I feel that someone understands how I feel. Now I do not feeel guilty about charging less, you are right I need the prcatise and so I'm not doing anything wrong. Thank you so muhc. I love your blog.
This is so ture…
For the first dozen cakes I too charged around 25% less than I would have liked, until i was happy that the finish of my cakes. Still in the process of establishing my brand Perseverance does pay off!
<3
Hi Veena.
I am into cake baking and decorating and so I follow ur posts and articles regularly. These are very informative especially for a person like me who is planning to start her baking business. Pricing has always been my concern and this article has certainly been very useful in this regard.
Thank-you so very much for sharing this information.
Best regards
Sofia
Thank you so much Sofia. I’m so glad that this has helped you.