Selling and marketing
Bread Packing Covers Wholesale: Cost per Loaf and Margin
Work out what a case of bread packing covers costs per loaf, so wholesale orders still leave a margin.
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If you sell loaves to a cafe or a market, bread packing covers wholesale is one of the smallest lines on your cost sheet and one of the easiest to get wrong. A case price tells you nothing until you divide it by the loaves it wraps. Do that first, then price the loaf.
What to remember
- Divide the case price by the covers in the case to get your cost per cover.
- Add the label, the tape, and your packing time to every loaf.
- Test one cover on a real loaf before you buy a full case.
- Put the cover cost into the loaf price before you quote.
What you get when you buy bread covers by the case
Wholesale bakery packaging suppliers sell to commercial bakeries, artisan bread shops, pastry brands, cookie companies, and food service operators, according to NFC Bags. That means the case sizes are built for volume, not for a Saturday market table. You can still buy from them. You just need to know what you are ordering and how many loaves one case will wrap.
Types of bakery packaging listed by wholesale suppliers.
| Cover | What it is listed for |
|---|---|
| Micro-perforated bread bags | Keeping crusts crisp |
| Clear poly bags | Cookies and pastries |
| Custom printed boxes | Your choice of shape, size, color, and design |
A cover can be a bag, a sleeve, or a box. Bags close quickly. Boxes hold their shape when you stack them for a delivery run. Pick the one that fits how you hand off your loaves.
Case counts vary by supplier and by cover type, so the only number that travels with you is the cost per cover. Ask for the case count in writing before you order. If you are still deciding between bags and boxes, bread bags for selling breaks down the cost per loaf.
Work out the cost per cover, then the cost per loaf
The math is short. Take the case price, divide by the number of covers in the case, and you have your cost per cover. Then add everything else that touches the loaf before it leaves your kitchen.
Read the case count
Find how many covers are in the case. The case price on its own tells you nothing.
Divide price by count
Case price divided by covers in the case gives your cost per cover. Write it on the invoice so you do not redo it later.
Add the label and the tape
A cover is not the whole package. Add the label, the tape, and anything else that touches the loaf.
Add your packing time
Bagging, labeling, and boxing is labor. Put a dollar figure on it for one loaf.
Subtract from your wholesale price
Wholesale price minus ingredients, minus labor, minus overhead, minus the cover. What is left is your margin.
Overhead is the part most home bakers leave out. It is the electricity for the oven, the rent you pay for your kitchen space, the mileage to the drop off, and the share of your phone bill you spend taking orders. None of it disappears because you bake at home. Put a number on it per loaf before you price.
A worked example you can run on your own invoice
Use your own numbers here. Nobody else’s case price applies to your kitchen, and a made up price will not help you. Pull your last invoice and your last wholesale order, then fill in the four lines below.
For example, write the case price on the first line and the covers in the case on the second. Divide them to get your cost per cover. On the next lines, write your ingredients per loaf, your labor per loaf, and your overhead per loaf. Add all four numbers together. Now subtract that total from your wholesale price per loaf. The number left over is your margin after ingredients, labor, and overhead. If it is thin, the cover is rarely the problem. Your time and your ingredients usually are.
Run the same four lines for every loaf you sell wholesale. A cover that costs a few cents more per loaf is fine if the loaf price already carries it. A cheaper cover that does not fit your loaf is not a saving.
Mistakes that cost you money on covers
The expensive mistakes are quiet ones. They show up as a thin margin at the end of the month, not as a bad invoice. Three of them are common: buying a case before you test one cover, leaving the cover out of the loaf price, and ordering printed boxes before your loaf size is settled.
What to check before you commit to a case
Check the cover size against your actual loaf, not against the size on the website. Check the case count and how long the same size stays available. Check whether the cover suits what you are packing: PrismPak lists micro-perforated bread bags for keeping crusts crisp and clear poly bags for cookies and pastries. If you want printed boxes, settle your loaf size first, because IBEX Packaging customizes shape, size, color, and design, and a change later means a new order.
Where to buy and what to ask
Suppliers set up for volume buyers usually want a case order, so ask three things before you pay: how many covers are in the case, what sizes that case comes in, and whether you can reorder the same size later. Get the answers in writing so you can compare two suppliers on the same terms.
The cover is one line on your cost sheet. The loaf price is the whole page. If your wholesale price per loaf does not cover ingredients, labor, overhead, and the cover, a cheaper case will not save you. Start with the loaf price and work back. Our guide to how to sell bread wholesale walks through the first account, and sourdough bread packaging covers the label fields. For the full set of selling guides, start at selling.
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Common questions
How many covers come in a wholesale case?
It depends on the supplier and the cover type, so read the case count before you compare prices. Two cases at the same price can hold very different numbers of covers. Divide each case price by its own count, then compare the two per cover numbers side by side.
Should I buy printed boxes or plain bags?
Plain bags are simpler when your loaf size may change. Custom printed boxes let you choose shape, size, color, and design, according to IBEX Packaging, but that choice is locked in once you order. If you are still testing loaf sizes, start plain and switch when your sizes settle.
Do covers keep bread fresh?
That depends on the cover. PrismPak lists micro-perforated bread bags in its wholesale bakery bag line and says they keep crusts crisp. Clear poly bags are listed for cookies and pastries. Match the cover to what you are packing instead of buying one type for everything.
How do I put the cover cost into my loaf price?
Divide the case price by the covers in the case to get a cost per cover. Add that to your ingredients, your labor, and your overhead for one loaf. Subtract the total from your wholesale price. The number left is your margin, and it should be positive before you take the order.
Can I buy from a supplier that sells to commercial bakeries?
Yes, if you can meet the case size. NFC Bags supplies wholesale bakery packaging to commercial bakeries, artisan bread shops, pastry brands, cookie companies, and food service operators. Ask about the smallest case they sell and how long the same size stays in stock before you plan a reorder.
Sources
General information about costs and pricing, not legal or tax advice.