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Meal preparation: Why is purchase price per unit below usable cost?

Account for cutting waste or unusable stock before pricing delivery.

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Meal preparation / meal order economics
Answer

Yield must be greater than zero. Keep purchased and usable quantities in the same measurement unit.

Try this with your own numbers

Formula and worked example

Cost per usable unit = purchase cost / (purchased units × usable share)

Example figures
InputExample
Purchased material cost1,000
Purchased units100
Usable share90 %
Calculated result11.1111 per usable unit

Choose reliable inputs

Track purchased quantities, usable yield, labour and waste before deciding on a selling price. For this meal preparation calculation, use recipe sheets, supplier invoices and stock counts and a consistent definition of one meal order.

  • Ingredients: include the portion belonging to this meal order or reporting period, and record where the value came from.
  • Kitchen labour: include the portion belonging to this meal order or reporting period, and record where the value came from.
  • Packaging: include the portion belonging to this meal order or reporting period, and record where the value came from.

Use the same currency for every money input. Do not mix weekly costs with monthly revenue, or count the same expense in both an itemised cost and allocated overhead.

Why is purchase price per unit below usable cost?

Yield must be greater than zero. Keep purchased and usable quantities in the same measurement unit.

Compare a different assumption

What if this input changes?

If purchased material cost rises by 10%, this example changes by 1.1111 per usable unit. This shows the effect of one change; it does not predict what will happen.

Open the calculator, save your baseline, then change the input supported by the least reliable estimate in your records. Compare both scenarios before committing to a price or capacity promise.

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