Cake Business Software · UK

Recipe costing software for cake businesses — stop guessing your prices

FoodCore calculates the exact cost of every cake, handles custom order pricing, generates Natasha's Law labels, and tracks allergens. One system for your whole cake business. From £55/mo.

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Pricing custom cakes is one of the most common challenges for small cake businesses. The ingredients vary with every order — different flavours, different sizes, different decorations. Most cake makers price by feel: a rough estimate based on experience, adjusted for the complexity of the design. It works until a customer asks how you arrived at the price, or until you realise you've been undercharging for your most time-consuming orders.

The other challenge is compliance. Since Natasha's Law came into force in 2021, every pre-packed cake sold directly to customers needs a compliant label — full ingredients list, allergens in bold. For a cake business with a range of flavours and fillings, that means a label for every product variant. Maintaining those labels manually in Word or Canva is time-consuming and error-prone.

FoodCore handles both. You build your base recipes — sponge, buttercream, ganache, fillings — and FoodCore calculates the cost of each. When you take a custom order, you combine components to build the order recipe and FoodCore calculates the total cost automatically. Change a supplier price and every recipe recalculates. Generate a compliant label for any product in seconds.

FoodCore is built for small food businesses, not enterprise catering operations. At £55/month, you get recipe costing, allergen tracking, food labels, shopping lists, and order management — everything a cake business needs to run professionally, at a price that makes sense for a small operation.

What FoodCore does for cake businesses

Accurate costs, compliant labels, and order management in one system.

Exact ingredient cost per cake

FoodCore calculates the cost per portion of every recipe based on your ingredient prices. Build your base recipes — sponge, buttercream, fillings — and combine them for custom orders. See the exact cost of every cake you make.

Custom order pricing

Log custom orders in FoodCore, build the recipe from your component library, and see the total cost automatically. Price every order accurately based on what it actually costs to make.

Natasha's Law labels

Generate compliant PPDS labels directly from your recipes — full ingredients list in legal order, all 14 allergens highlighted in bold. Labels update automatically when recipes change.

Allergen tracking

Allergens are tracked at the ingredient level and carried through to every recipe automatically. Essential for cake businesses where customers frequently ask about allergens — particularly nuts, dairy, and gluten.

Order management

Log customer orders, track what needs to be produced, and manage your production schedule. See what's due and what's been completed at a glance.

Supplier shopping lists

FoodCore generates a shopping list from your production schedule — aggregated by supplier, with quantities calculated from your recipes. Know exactly what to order before you go shopping.

Who is this for?

FoodCore is built for small UK food businesses — not enterprise kitchens with IT teams.

Custom cake makers

Pricing custom orders accurately requires knowing the exact cost of every component. FoodCore makes this straightforward — build your component recipes once, combine them for each order.

Home bakers selling cakes

Selling cakes from home via Instagram or at markets still requires accurate pricing and compliant labels. FoodCore is affordable enough for a one-person operation.

Wedding cake businesses

Wedding cakes with multiple tiers and components need careful costing. FoodCore lets you build complex recipes from components and see the total cost accurately.

Celebration cake businesses

A range of standard celebration cakes plus custom orders means you need both a recipe library and order management. FoodCore handles both.

FoodCore vs Manual methods

Why small food businesses switch from manual methods to FoodCore.

Feature Manual methods FoodCore
Custom order costing ✗ Rough estimate or manual calculation ✓ Exact cost from recipe components
Price change impact ✗ Must recalculate every recipe manually ✓ One update, all recipes recalculate
Natasha's Law labels ✗ Separate Word/Canva file per product ✓ Generated from recipe, auto-updates
Allergen tracking ✗ Manual check per order ✓ Automatic from ingredient data
Order management ✗ Notebook or separate app ✓ Built in
Monthly cost ✗ Free (but hours of admin) ✓ Essentials from £19/mo · Core from £55/mo

Common questions

How do I work out the cost of a custom cake?

In FoodCore, you build component recipes — sponge, buttercream, ganache, fillings. Each component has an accurate cost per gram based on your ingredient prices. For a custom order, you combine components in the quantities needed and FoodCore calculates the total ingredient cost automatically.

Do I need Natasha's Law labels for my cake business?

If you sell pre-packed cakes — cakes that are packaged before the customer orders them — then yes, Natasha's Law applies. This includes cakes sold at markets, in shops, or delivered pre-packaged. FoodCore generates compliant labels automatically from your recipes.

What is a good food cost percentage for a cake business?

A common target is 25–35% food cost (ingredient cost as a percentage of selling price), though custom cake businesses often target lower food costs to account for the significant labour involved. FoodCore shows you your food cost percentage for every product.

Can FoodCore handle tiered wedding cakes with multiple components?

Yes. You can build component recipes in FoodCore — each tier as a separate recipe, plus fillings, buttercream, and decorations. Combine them for a specific order and FoodCore calculates the total cost.

Can I use FoodCore if I sell on Etsy or Instagram?

Yes. FoodCore works for any cake business regardless of how you sell. If you sell pre-packed products, you'll need compliant labels — FoodCore generates these automatically from your recipes.

Related features & guides

Recipe costing for bakeries →Bakery management software →Home bakery software →Food labelling software →Allergen matrix →

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Every feature included. No card required. Cancel any time. from £19/mo after trial — two plans from £19/month.

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Questions? Contact us or find us on Instagram.