May 31, 2011 - 7:30am
Selling rye bread
I have been making rye bread for years and just giving it away. It has become pretty popular and people now want to order it and buy it. How much do you think I should sell a 2 lb. loaf for?
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I have been making rye bread for years and just giving it away. It has become pretty popular and people now want to order it and buy it. How much do you think I should sell a 2 lb. loaf for?
Depends on your clientele, the cost of ingredients, amount of labor put into it and your acceptable markup price.
A 2lb loaf could be anywhere from $4.25 to $6.00.
.... like electricity and other utilities.
and whatever you consider a reasonable price ... as long as you are fairly compensated for your costs, including ingredients, transportation, overhead and labor ...
Stan Ginsberg
www.nybakers.com
Calculate the cost of your ingredients plus other costs and add the cost of your labor. Not sure of how much to charge for labor? Check out the following link. http://www.payscale.com/research/US/Job=Baker/Hourly_Rate. You can click the various tabs and have it sort by state, city, experience, etc. Of course it only gives a few examples but it will give you an idea. When you count labor only count the time you are actually working with the bread. Don't count the time the dough is resting or proofing.
http://www.flournwater.com/food_014.htm
When I remember right she said calculate the cost of ingredients x4 for retail, x3 for whole sale. That would then include all your other costs. I am selling my bread $3.50 to $4.00 /lb loaf. I live in the mountains in NC. People are willing to pay this price. I don't make a lot of money but it is my hobby and I enjoy doing it, learn a lot, enjoy meeting people and also barter for diffenrent things like yoga, massage, haircut and more. It is fun, go for it!
You might want to check with your state before you start selling as in many states you can get in trouble selling out of your home without a commercial kitchen/license.
Thanks for all the feedback. I think I'll keep giving it away until I figure it out. Maybe a little bartering, I like that idea.
Great memory, bread basket! One of the standard bakery industry pricing methods is to find the cost of ingredients and multiply 3x for wholesale or 4x for retail. This method assumes there is volume production and not making one or two products at a time. Once you know the cost of each loaf, adjustments can be made from there. (If artisan products in your area are sold at a premium, you can increase your price. If there are numerous bread bakeries selling the same type loaf for less, decide if you're willing to decrease your price or market your products as special.)
Mukoseev, if you're interested, MA allows for home-based food businesses. Check with your state department of ag and markets.