Selling and marketing
Brownie Slab Wholesale: Cost per Pan and Your Margin
How to cost one pan of brownies, price a slab for wholesale, and keep a margin after labor and overhead.
On this page
What to remember
- Cost the whole pan, then divide by the slabs you cut.
- Your time is a cost line, not what is left over.
- Plain fudgy slabs carry the best margin.
- A standing order at a thin margin is worse than no order.
Wholesale is a different sale from a market table. One buyer takes a whole pan, pays once, and wants the same slab next week. That is why brownie slab wholesale math starts at the pan, not at the piece, and why brownie pricing by the dozen is only half the picture.
Decide what a slab is before you quote
A slab is whatever you say it is, as long as you write it down. Pick your pan size, the number of cuts, and the weight of one slab. Then keep all three the same for every order. A buyer ordering 12 slabs needs to know they will match.
Cut count is the part people skip. A pan cut into 12 gives a bigger slab than the same pan cut into 20, and the cost per slab changes with it. If you sell smaller cuts, brownie pieces wholesale walks through the per unit math.
Buyers care about three things: the size, the taste, and that it arrives the same every time. A shop that cuts your slab into portions needs those portions to match. Write the pan size and cut count on the invoice so there is no argument later.
Cost one pan, line by line
Three lines go into the cost of a pan: ingredients, your labor, and overhead. Overhead is everything that runs whether or not you bake that day. Power, liners, boxes, labels, delivery, and your monthly Brevl fee all belong there. Leave one out and your margin is a guess.
Your labor is the line home bakers skip, and it is the one that decides whether the order was worth taking. If you do not pay yourself yet, pick a rate and use it anyway. A number you chose on purpose beats a blank line.
Add the ingredients for one pan
Price the whole pan, not one slab. Cocoa, butter, eggs, sugar, and any add ins, at what you actually paid.
Put a dollar figure on your time
Time the mixing, baking, cooling, and cutting. Multiply those hours by the rate you pay yourself.
Add overhead per pan
Power, liner, box, label, and delivery. Brevl is a flat $20 a month with no cut of your sales, so divide $20 by the slabs you sell in a month and add that share.
Divide by the slabs you cut
Pan cost divided by cut count gives your cost per slab. That number is your floor, not your price.
Set the price above the floor
Add the margin you want, then check the price against what your buyer already pays for a similar slab.
A worked example you can copy
Here is the shape of the math with simple numbers in it. Swap in your own and the answer changes, but the order of the lines does not.
Say one pan costs $9 in ingredients, $12 for the half hour you spend on it, and $3 in overhead for power, a liner, and a box. That is $24 a pan. Cut 12 slabs and each slab costs $2. Quote $3.20 and you keep $1.20 a slab, a margin of 37.5 percent after ingredients, labor, and overhead.
At 200 slabs a month, the $20 Brevl fee works out to 10 cents a slab, so it fits inside that $3 overhead line. If the margin comes out thinner than you want, change something before you quote. A bigger cut, a simpler topping, or a higher price all move the same number.
Plain fudgy or loaded: which slab pays better
According to bakemargin.com’s brownie cost calculator, plain fudgy brownies have the best margin because they cost the least to make and demand stays steady. Loaded slabs, such as salted caramel, s’mores, and peanut butter, run a slightly lower margin but bring in more revenue per unit.
Plain fudgy slabs carry the best margin. Loaded slabs bring in more revenue per unit.
| Plain fudgy | Loaded | |
|---|---|---|
| Margin | Best margin | Slightly lower margin |
| Cost | Lowest cost | Higher than plain |
| Revenue per unit | Not compared | Higher |
That does not make loaded slabs a bad order. It means the same pan has to sell for more to hold the same margin. If your buyer wants a loaded slab at the plain slab price, you are paying for their upgrade.
What to check before you commit
Three questions before you say yes to a standing order. Can you bake that many pans in the hours you have. Does the price still work if butter or cocoa goes up. And does the buyer pay on delivery or on terms.
Try one order before you agree to a weekly one. Bake the pans, pack them, deliver them, and time the whole thing. Then run the numbers again with the real hours. If the margin still holds, you have a price you can trust.
Delivery is part of overhead, so count the drive. A weekly run across town costs you time and gas that a pickup order does not. More on pricing and orders sits in the selling guides.
Get paid and keep the order straight
Wholesale buyers often want to pay by card, and some pay by Venmo, Cash App, or Zelle. Brevl takes card payments through your own Stripe or Square account, plus those apps and cash, for one flat $20 a month with no cut of your sales.
Ask for payment on delivery for the first few orders. Once the buyer is reliable, you can agree on terms. A deposit on a large custom order protects you from buying ingredients for a pan nobody collects.
Boxes and liners are part of your overhead, so buy them once and count them properly. Brownie packaging checks covers what to look at before you order a case.
Try the free bake pricing calculator
Free, no signup.
- Average money made for a small brownie delivery: the 5 costs
- Wholesale cakes for cafes: price, cost, and margin
Common questions
How many slabs should I cut from one pan?
That is your call, but pick one number and keep it. A pan cut into 12 slabs gives a bigger slab than the same pan cut into 20, and the cost per slab changes with it. Write the cut count on your price list so the buyer knows what to expect.
Should I charge less per slab on a big order?
Only if the bigger order lowers your cost per slab. Baking 10 pans in one session spreads your time and your $20 Brevl fee across more slabs. If the order does not lower your cost, a discount just cuts your own pay.
What is the difference between a slab and a piece?
A slab is a whole cut section you sell to a shop. A piece is a single serving. Shops often want slabs they can cut or display themselves. Price the slab from the pan cost, then check that the shop's per piece price still leaves you a margin.
How do I price a loaded brownie slab?
Start from your plain slab cost and add the extra ingredients. Loaded slabs bring in more revenue per unit but carry a slightly lower margin, according to bakemargin.com. Raise the slab price enough to hold your margin, or keep loaded slabs as a special order.
What if my buyer wants a lower price?
Shrink the slab or simplify the recipe before you cut your own pay. A smaller slab at the same price per ounce can work for both of you. If the buyer still wants the old size at the old price, that order is not worth taking.
Sources
This is general information about pricing, not legal or tax advice.