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Cookies Brand Wholesale: Price per Case and Margin
How to price a wholesale cookie case so a shop order still pays you after labor and overhead.
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What to remember
- Price the case from ingredients, packaging, labor, and overhead, not from your market price.
- Set a minimum case count so a small order still covers your time.
- Put the case size, lead time, and payment terms on one page.
- Say no to a price that pays you less than your hourly rate.
A wholesale account is a different business from a market table. With a cookies brand wholesale order, the shop picks what to stock and you set the case size, the lead time, and the smallest order you will take. Get those three on paper before you quote a price. If you are still working out your first prices, start with how to start selling cookies.
What a shop wants from a wholesale cookie brand
A shop buying by the case needs the same cookie every time. Same size, same pack count, same label, same delivery day. If your case holds 48 cookies one week and 40 the next, the shop cannot plan its shelf and will not reorder.
Expect questions about shelf life, labeling, and how you handle a damaged box. Answer them in writing before the first order. A short one page sheet with your case size, your lead time, your prices, and your payment terms saves a lot of back and forth.
Your first order from a shop is a test on both sides. Deliver on the day you promised, count the case twice, and include the invoice. A clean first order is what turns into a standing weekly account.
How to price a wholesale case so you still make money
Start from the cost of one case, not the cost of one cookie. Add ingredients, packaging, your time, and a share of overhead like power and mileage. Then divide by the number of cookies so you can compare a case price to your market price.
Write the wholesale price per case, not per cookie. Shops order cases, and a per cookie price invites haggling over counts. Keep the per cookie math in your own notes.
For example, say a 48 cookie case uses $9.60 of ingredients and $3.40 of boxes and labels. Your hands on time is 1.5 hours at $18 an hour, which is $27.00. Power and a share of the delivery drive add $4.00. The case costs you $44.00, or $11.00 a dozen.
At $18 a dozen the case sells for $72.00. Take off the $44.00 cost and you keep $28.00, about 39 percent of the sale. If the shop asks for $15 a dozen, the case brings $60.00 and your profit falls to $16.00. That is the number to argue with, not the sticker price.
When the shop’s number is below your cost, change the case before you cut the price. A smaller cookie, a simpler box, or a 36 count case can bring the cost down without touching your hourly rate. Cutting your own pay to win the account is the one move you cannot undo. The business plan for homemade cookies walks through the same math for a full month.
Set a case size, a minimum, and a lead time
A minimum order protects the hours you spend baking, packing, and driving. Pick a number that covers at least one full tray and one trip. Then hold it, even when a shop asks for half.
Lead time is the number that keeps you sane. Count the baking, the cooling, the packing, and the drive, then add a day. A shop that wants cookies tomorrow is asking you to drop everything, and that cost belongs in your price.
Cost one case
Add ingredients, packaging, labor, and overhead for a full case. Write the total down.
Pick the case count
Choose a number that fills your tray and divides cleanly into dozens, like 24 or 48.
Set the minimum and lead time
Decide the smallest order you will take and how many days you need. Put both on the sheet.
Write a one page wholesale sheet
Case size, price per case, minimum, lead time, payment terms, and how to order.
Quote, sample, then invoice
Send the sheet with a small sample. After the first order, invoice the same day with a due date.
Keep the sheet to one page. A shop owner reading it on a phone should see the case size, the price, the minimum, and the delivery day without scrolling twice.
Mistakes that cost you money on a wholesale order
The first mistake is quoting your market price minus a discount. That number has no room for a second trip or a reprinted label. Build the wholesale price from the case cost instead, then decide if the shop’s price works. The cookies business plan shows what break even looks like before you sign an account.
Watch the extras too. A printed label for every cookie, a ribbon on every box, and a second trip across town all come out of the same margin. Price the case with those in it, or leave them out of the offer. Buying boxes and labels in bulk is covered in baking equipment and supplies wholesale.
The second mistake is taking an order you cannot repeat. If a shop wants 200 cookies every Friday and you bake alone, test one month at that volume before you sign up for it.
What to check before you say yes
Ask your state agriculture department or local health department whether your home operation can sell to a shop. The answer is set by your state, so get it in writing before you quote. Do not promise a case until you know.
Ask the shop how they will display the cookies and who writes the label. If the shop needs your label to carry information you do not have, that is a conversation to have before the first case, not after.
Then check the money side. Add up what the shop order costs you in extra trips, extra labels, and slower weeks. If the wholesale account only works when nothing goes wrong, it is too thin.
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- Cookies Business Plan: Cost per Dozen and Break Even
- Baking Equipment and Supplies Wholesale: $200 to $1,200
Common questions
How many cookies should be in a wholesale case?
Pick a count that fills your tray and divides into dozens, like 24 or 48. The number matters less than keeping it the same every order. A shop plans shelf space around your case, so a changing count makes you hard to reorder.
Should I charge shops less than my market price?
Yes, a case price is usually lower per cookie than a market table price, because the shop buys volume and handles the last sale. The question is whether the case still covers ingredients, packaging, labor, and overhead. If it does not, the account is not worth taking.
Do I need a minimum order for wholesale cookies?
Set one. A minimum covers the baking, packing, and delivery time that a small order still costs you. Choose a number that fills at least one tray and one trip, then hold it. Waiving the minimum once teaches the shop that it is negotiable.
How do I get paid on a wholesale order?
Agree the terms before the first delivery and put them on the invoice. Card, transfer, or cash on delivery all work if the date is clear. Brevl takes card payments through your own Stripe or Square account, plus Venmo, Cash App, Zelle, and cash.
Can I sell cookies wholesale from my home kitchen?
That depends on your state. Ask your state agriculture department or local health department whether your home operation can sell to a shop, and get the answer in writing. Rules differ by state and by product, so do not quote a shop until you know.
Sources
General information, not legal, tax, or food safety advice. Check your state rules before you sell to a shop.