Calculate food cost on the pounds you can sell, not the pounds you bought. Yield comes off the case first, then the markup goes on what is left.
The case as it arrives
$
Landed cost of the case, with freight and handling already in it.
lb
What the scale says at the dock, before anything is trimmed off.
Yield and target margin
%
Share of the case weight you can still sell after trim, bone and drip loss. Weigh a few cases, do not assume it.
%
Margin is measured on your selling price, so a 32% target leaves 68% of it for cost.
Monthly movement
cases
How many cases of this item you cut, portion and sell on in a month.
Price per usable lb
$2.08
Hits a 32% margin on the 34 lb you can sell
Cost per usable lb
$1.41
The $48.00 case spread over 34 usable lb
Usable weight per case
34 lb
40 lb bought at 85% yield, so 6 lb of trim
Price off the weight you bought
$1.76
$1.20 a bought lb at the same margin, $0.32 a lb short
Revenue per case
$70.72
$2.08 across 34 usable lb
Gross profit per case
$22.72
$70.72 less the $48.00 case, a 32.1% margin
Food cost percentage
67.9%
$48.00 of the $70.72 the case sells for
Monthly gross profit
$9,088
At 400 cases a month
Trim is 6 lb of every case. Price off the 40 lb you bought and you are $0.32 a lb short, which is $10.88 a case you never see.
A yield price only holds if the customer orders off the same price list.
VoiceOrder Solutions keeps personalized order guides tied to your current pricing, so the cut that ships is the cut you priced.
Estimates only. Yield moves with the cut, the grade and whoever is on the band saw, so weigh your own cases before you price off these numbers.
$2.08
What a usable lb has to sell for to hit 32%
6 lb
Trim coming off every 40 lb case
$0.32
Short a lb if you price off the weight you bought
Sound Familiar?
A case of food does not weigh what you get to sell
The scale at the dock says 40 lb. The band saw decides how many of those pounds ever leave on an invoice.
We price off the case weight.
40 lb at $48.00 is $1.20 a bought lb. The 34 lb you can sell cost $1.41 each, and pricing off the wrong one leaves you $0.32 a lb short.
Trim is a rounding error.
Trim is 6 lb of every case here. At the same 32% target that gap is $10.88 a case, which is $4,352 a month across 400 cases.
Our yield is about 85%.
About is expensive. Assume 85%, really get 75%, and the case gives 30 usable lb at a price built for 34 lb. It earns $62.40 instead of $70.72, so profit is $14.40 and the margin is 23.1%, not 32.1%.
How It Works
How to use the food markup calculator
Two numbers describe the case, two set the price, and the last one turns a per pound figure into a monthly one.
1
Enter the case as it arrives
A $48.00 landed case at 40 lb is $1.20 a bought lb. Use the landed cost, with freight and handling already counted in it.
2
Put in the yield you actually get
85% of 40 lb is 34 usable lb, so 6 lb is trim. Weigh a few cases over a week instead of taking the number off a spec sheet.
3
Set the margin the line has to carry
A 32% target on 34 usable lb gives $2.08 a lb, $70.72 a case and $22.72 of gross profit. At 400 cases a month that is $9,088.
What You See
What the calculator shows you
The usable price
What a pound has to sell for once trim is out
$48.00 across 34 usable lb is $1.41, and a 32% target takes that to $2.08 a lb. The case sells for $70.72 and earns $22.72.
A yield price holds only if the cut room works the way the number assumes. These nine habits keep it true.
Weigh your own yields in
Set yield by cut, not by category
Reweigh when the grade changes
Price off usable pounds
Keep the trim on the cost line
Check yield by who is cutting
Reprice when the case cost moves
Sell or render the trim
Review every yield quarterly
Six Levers
What really decides the price of a cut case
Three of these six show up in the markup math. The other three happen in the cut room, where nobody is looking at a price.
The yield you really get
85% here. At a 75% yield the case gives 30 usable lb and needs $2.35 a lb, which is $0.27 more than $2.08.
The landed case cost
$48.00 with freight and handling in it. Leave freight out and every pound downstream is priced off a cost you do not actually pay.
The margin you are measuring
A 32% margin leaves 68% of the price for cost. Move the target to 40% and the same case needs $2.35 a usable lb.
Who is on the band saw
Two cutters on the same case can be 10 points of yield apart. 85% against 75% is $0.27 a lb on every pound that leaves.
The cut specification
A closer trim spec sells fewer pounds at a higher price. Price the spec your cut room actually works to, not the one on the sheet.
What happens to the trim
6 lb a case is $7.20 of cost at $1.20 a bought lb. Grind it, render it or sell it on and it stops being a straight loss.
See how VOS confirms the order before your cut room reads it
VoiceOrder Solutions digitizes, confirms and timestamps every order it takes before transmitting it. The item and the quantity an account asked for are then what your cut room reads.
Put the cost on the pounds you can sell, then mark that up. A $48.00 case at 40 lb and an 85% yield gives 34 usable lb, so cost is $1.41 a lb, and a 32% target margin prices it at $2.08. Mark up the $1.20 you paid per bought pound instead and you get $1.76, which leaves the trim unpaid for.
How much mark up should you charge on food?
Enough to cover the trim, not a round number off a chart. On this case $22.72 of gross profit against a $48.00 cost is a 47.3% markup, and the same $22.72 against $70.72 of revenue is a 32.1% margin. Decide the margin the line has to carry, then read off the markup it needs.
Does trim belong in the cost or in the markup?
In the cost, not the markup. Spread the $48.00 case over the 34 lb you can sell and cost is $1.41 a usable lb. Mark that up to $2.08. Price off the 40 lb you bought and the same target gives $1.76, which is $0.32 a lb short.
How do you calculate food cost on product you cut yourself?
Divide the case cost by the usable pounds, not the pounds on the invoice. $48.00 over 34 usable lb is $1.41, against $1.20 over the 40 lb you bought. The food cost percentage then comes off what the case really earns, so $48.00 of $70.72 is 67.9%.
Is trim the same as shrink?
No, and they belong in different places. Shrink is product you lose to spoilage, damage or a short count, and it goes into your landed cost. Trim is weight you never intended to sell, 6 lb of every 40 lb case here, and it belongs in the price per pound. Budgeting for one does not cover the other.
How does yield change the price you need?
Every point of yield you lose is carried by the pounds that are left. At an 85% yield this case needs $2.08 a lb. At 75% it needs $2.35, and at 90% it needs $1.96, a $0.39 spread on the same $48.00 case. Yield moves the price more than the case cost usually does.
What yield should you use on a cut item?
Your own, measured. Weigh the case in, weigh the saleable product out, and do it across a few cases and a few cutters. Assume 85% and really get 75% and you sell 30 lb at a price built for 34, so the case earns $62.40 instead of $70.72 and the margin goes with it.
Price the cut, then make sure that price is what ships
VoiceOrder Solutions keeps personalized order guides tied to your current pricing and SKUs, so the $2.08 a usable lb you worked out is the price an account orders against.
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