How to use this recipe cost calculator
1. Add your ingredients. For each ingredient, enter the name, the quantity you use in this recipe, and the cost of that quantity — not the full pack price. If you use 250g of flour and a 1kg bag costs £1.20, enter £0.30.
2. Set servings. Enter how many portions this recipe makes — e.g. 12 cupcakes, 1 loaf, 8 portions.
3. Add packaging and overhead. Optional — add packaging cost per batch and any other overhead (energy, labels, etc.).
4. Set your target food cost %. Most bakeries and food businesses target 25–35%. A lower % means a higher margin.
5. Enter your sell price to see your actual food cost % and profit per serving — or use the recommended sell price to hit your target.
6. Use the batch slider to see total production cost and revenue for multiple batches.
What is food cost percentage?
Food cost % is your ingredient cost as a percentage of your selling price. If a cake costs £1.50 to make and you sell it for £5.00, your food cost % is 30%.
Food cost % = (Cost per serving ÷ Sell price) × 100
How do I calculate a sell price?
Divide your cost per serving by your target food cost % (as a decimal):
Sell price = Cost per serving ÷ (Target % ÷ 100)
Example: £0.90 cost ÷ 0.30 = £3.00 sell price at 30% food cost
Beyond the calculator
This calculator gives you a snapshot. The problem with snapshots is they go stale — ingredient prices change and the cost you calculated last month may not reflect today's reality. FoodCore keeps your recipe costs live: update a supplier price once and every recipe recalculates automatically.