How to price your bakery work: counter bakes, celebration cakes and wholesale

TL;DR: Cost each recipe per unit, add your time and a share of overheads, then add margin, separately for counter, celebration and wholesale. Build waste into counter prices. We haven't found a dated, citable UK price survey for bakeries, so instead of an "average" this guide shows you how to build your own prices, and suggests checking three or four local bakeries' published prices and noting the date.

• Ingredients per unit: cost each recipe by weight, then divide by the yield.
• Packaging: boxes, bags, labels, cake boards.
• Your time: prep, bake, decorate, consultation for custom cakes.
• Energy and overheads: oven time, rent, equipment, insurance.
• Waste: unsold counter stock; build it in.

1. Cost every recipe per unit.
2. Time each product, including decoration.
3. Add overhead per hour of production.
4. Add your margin; wholesale lower, celebration higher.
5. Set minimum order values for custom work and delivery.
6. Check the result: a celebration cake's price minus ingredients and packaging, ÷ the hours it took (including consultation and delivery), shows what you really earn per hour.

• Per item: counter bread and bakes.
• Per portion: celebration cakes priced by servings plus design.
• Wholesale rate card: per-unit prices with minimum orders.
• Consultation or design fee: for complex custom cakes.

As sales grow, check GOV.UK's Register for VAT guidance to see when it applies to you; for how VAT treats individual bakery items, see HMRC's VAT Notice 701/14, and talk to an accountant.

Review when ingredient or energy costs move, and give wholesale customers written notice of the new price list and its start date.

The Bakery Price List & Service Menu (£4.99) lays out counter, celebration and wholesale prices. The Bakery Pricing Calculator — Premium (£14.99) is an 8-sheet Excel workbook covering hours, materials and a printable quote.

To keep the money side in order once your prices are set, the Bakery Financial Forms Bundle — Premium (£19.99) has 15 financial record templates (fillable PDF, editable DOCX, or fill in online).

See every bakery product on the Bakery hub. Before you sell, read Bakery insurance UK.

Cost the ingredients and boards, add your design and decorating time at your hourly rate, then add overheads and margin. Many bakers price by portions plus design.

Usually, in exchange for volume and minimum orders. Make sure they still cover your costs.

Whenever a big ingredient, packaging or energy cost changes, and at least once a year.

All accessed 16 October 2026.

• GOV.UK, "Register for VAT"
• HMRC, "Food products (VAT Notice 701/14)"
• LaunchKit product pages linked above (checked live, HTTP 200, 16 Oct 2026; prices as shown on the page).

This article is general information, not financial or tax advice. We don't set prices for you. Check your own costs and figures before you decide.