How much do you really earn on a dessert in your café? Let's do the maths

Café owners usually know exactly what their espresso costs them. With desserts it varies: the menu price “seems fine”, but nobody has worked out how much of it is left after VAT and the purchase cost. And yet desserts are often the simplest way to earn - with no extra work for the barista.

The formula in three steps

1. Take the VAT off the menu price. For eat-in sales the VAT rate on desserts is usually 8%, so you divide the gross price by 1.08. For takeaway the rate may be different - check with your accountant.
2. Subtract the net cost per portion. For a tartlet or a cookie it's simply the price per piece. For a cheesecake or a tart you divide the price of the whole cake by the number of slices you cut - from our Ø 24 cm cheesecake we count a maximum of 10.
3. Work out the margin in złoty and as a percentage. Margin % is the margin in zł divided by the net menu price.

Examples from our range

The portion costs are our net prices for businesses (without discount). The menu prices are examples - use your own.

Why cheesecake wins - and when it doesn't

A cake cut into portions usually gives the highest margin - both in złoty and in percentage terms - even with 10 large slices per cheesecake. But it needs cutting, a plate and selling the whole cake within its shelf life. A tartlet, cookie or muffin has a lower percentage margin but zero work: you take it out of the display and serve it. In practice a mixed display works best - one or two cakes cut into portions and a few single-portion desserts.

From one portion to a month

If you sell 10 coffee - tonka tartlets a day at 25 zł, 26 days a month, you keep about 2,300 zł in margin - from one product in your display. Two flavours at 5 pieces a day give the same. It's worth working this out before you decide how much display space to give to desserts.

What quietly eats into your margin

• Waste. Every unsold dessert is the full cost with no revenue. Order more often and in smaller amounts, and watch the shelf life - most of our desserts keep for 48-72 hours.
• Delivery. 40 zł net on a 400 zł order is 10% of the cost. Combine orders or collect them yourself - delivery is free from 1,000 zł net, and collection from selected boutiques and our Pracownia pastry kitchen is always free of charge.
• No discount. With regular cooperation the discount grows to 5%, 7% and 10%. At 10%, the cost of a coffee - tonka tartlet falls from 14.29 to 12.86 zł net, and the margin per portion rises from 8.86 to 10.29 zł.

How to raise your margin without raising prices

• Suggest a pairing. A barista who recommends a specific dessert with a specific coffee sells it more often than the display does on its own.
• A “coffee + dessert” set at a slightly lower price than the two separately usually raises the average bill by more than the discount costs.
• Put the highest-margin items at eye level and closest to the till.

Do the maths with your own numbers

Every dessert page in our B2B catalogue has a margin calculator. You enter your menu price and choose the VAT rate, the number of portions and your daily sales - and it shows the margin per portion, the margin percentage and the monthly profit.

The examples in this article are for illustration only and are not tax advice. Confirm the VAT rate for your sales with your accountant.