PRIYANKA's BAKERY: THE CAKERY

PRICING A CAKE: A GUIDE FOR HOME BAKERS

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On what basis should one price cakes?

A good way of pricing a cake is to consider all the costs. Ingredients and overheads are the ones we will factor in regardless of anything but one should also never forget to value their time and skill. This is a very commonly made mistake. Also, we should add delivery charges to our costs if our client is not able to pick up the cake from us.

Ingredients are directly considered in pricing, as we can find the price we pay for all the ingredients. Overheads expenses includes electricity, gas and water. We should also add prices of special tools, purchased specially for a particular order. Delivery charges are charged based on the distance.

Other factors to be considered?

Valuing one's time and skill is the hardest part. This varies depending on whether you’re a beginner or an established baker. It also depends on the kind of cake you are making for the order. The price of a chocolate cake will not be counted as a premium for skill, but making flowers out of sugar paste will. Find a fair price for your time, and skill depending on the difficulty level of your order.

After taking this into account, you will arrive at a total cost price of all the factors. Also, you should at least add a margin of 25-30%. For example, if you are popular for cupcakes in your locality, you can charge a higher price because customers knows you for your cupcakes and will be willing to pay higher.(It is fair to charge higher if you know you can make the best cupcakes in your area).

How can one learn more about prices in their area?

The best way to learn about local prices to help you with pricing cake is to look at how your fellow bakers price their cakes. You can compare prices on homebakers.co.in, where  you can find over a thousand bakers across India listing their products and prices. You will surely find many bakers from your city or even your area, and you can better understand how to price locally.

Another good platform for the same is social media. Many bakers have a basic price list uploaded onto their social media profiles, mostly on Facebook or Instagram. Do not compare your prices to bakers who run studios or have their own bakery storefront, because their overheads are higher than yours. Also, don’t compare your prices to local bakeries as they do not use quality ingredients.