Selling and marketing
Frozen Croissants Wholesale: Cost per Dozen and Margin
How to buy frozen croissants wholesale and price a dozen so the margin holds after your time and monthly costs.
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What to remember
- Ask for the case price, the count per case, and the smallest order.
- Price a dozen from the case cost, your time, and your monthly costs.
- Quote per dozen and set a minimum order.
- Order the smallest case you can sell through.
Frozen croissants wholesale lets you sell a bakery item you did not mix and shape yourself. The case price is only one line in the math, and the other lines are the ones that decide your profit. This guide covers what to ask a supplier, how to price a dozen, and what to check before you commit.
What to ask a supplier before you order
A wholesale case is a commitment, so get the basics in writing before you pay. Ask for the price per case, how many croissants are in it, the smallest order they will take, and how the case reaches you. The same questions apply to any wholesale frozen baked goods, not just croissants.
Ask how the case ships and what it costs to get it to your door. Shipping is part of your cost per croissant, so it belongs in the math before you set a price, not after. Ask about lead time too, because a long wait changes how you take orders.
A wholesale case should taste the same every time, and that takes tight control at the factory. Scaling croissant production to industrial levels demands precision, consistency, and total process control, according to Puratos. That part is the supplier’s job. Your job is to know exactly what you are paying for it.
The three numbers that set your price
Your price per dozen has to cover three things: what the croissants cost you, what your time is worth, and the costs that run whether you sell or not. Leave any one of them out and the margin you see is not real. The same math works for any frozen dough you buy by the case.
Cost the croissants
Divide the case price by the number of croissants in the case. That gives your cost per piece, and twelve pieces gives your cost per dozen.
Pay yourself
Pick an hourly rate and time how long a dozen takes to bake, cool, and pack. Multiply the rate by the hours.
Add your monthly costs
Add up what you pay each month and divide it by the dozens you expect to sell. Brevl is one flat $20 a month with no cut of your sales, so that line is simple to work out.
For example, if you sell 40 dozen a month, the $20 flat monthly fee adds 50 cents to every dozen. Add that to your case cost per dozen and your time per dozen, then subtract the total from your price. What is left is your margin.
If the margin is still thin after all three lines, you have three levers: a smaller case size, a higher price, or fewer minutes per dozen. Change one at a time so you can see which one worked.
Mistakes that cost you money
The first mistake is ordering a case bigger than you can sell through. Order the smallest case that still gets you the wholesale price, so your cash is not sitting in a freezer. The second is quoting a customer before you know the count per case.
The third is forgetting your own time. If a dozen takes you an hour and you pay yourself nothing, you are working for free and calling it profit. The fourth is guessing at your monthly costs instead of adding them up. For more on pricing and selling, see the selling guides.
The fifth is treating a wholesale price as fixed. Ask what the price is at a bigger case size, and ask again before you reprint your menu. A supplier who will not tell you the count per case is not one to build a menu around.
How to quote a price and hold it
Quote per dozen, not per croissant, because that is how your customer thinks and how your case divides. Set a minimum order so a single dozen does not eat your whole morning. If you deliver, add the drive time to your labor line before you quote.
Write the price down and keep it. If the case price goes up, you raise your price at the next order, not in the middle of one. Customers forgive a price change they were told about in advance.
Selling them and getting paid
Once you know your cost per dozen, you need somewhere to take orders. Brevl gives you a shop with your photos, your colors, and your own web address. You take card payments through your own Stripe or Square account, plus Venmo, Cash App, Zelle, and cash.
It is one flat $20 a month with no cut of your sales, and there is a 14 day free trial. It works on a computer and on a phone, so you can answer an order from the kitchen. Recipes with real costing, ingredient inventory, and a weekly planner are built in, and we set it up with you and move your old shop over.
If you sell to a coffee shop or a corner store, they will ask for a price per dozen and a delivery day. Give them both in writing. A standing weekly order is easier to plan than one big order you cannot repeat.
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When frozen croissants wholesale is the wrong call
Wholesale is not automatically cheaper than baking from scratch, and it is not right for every customer. If people buy from you for something they cannot get anywhere else, a case of the same croissants every shop sells may not be what they want. If the minimum order is more cash than you can tie up, start smaller.
If you sell other frozen items, the same questions apply. Frozen cinnamon rolls wholesale runs on the same case price, count, and margin math. And if you sell to shops as well as families, what a shop pays per dozen shows how a wholesale buyer looks at your price.
Common questions
How do I work out the cost per dozen from a wholesale case?
Divide the case price by the number of croissants in the case. That is your cost per piece. Multiply it by twelve for your cost per dozen. Add shipping if you paid it, then add your time and your monthly costs before you set a price.
What is the smallest order I should take from a supplier?
The smallest case that still gets you the wholesale price. A bigger case lowers your cost per croissant but ties up cash in stock you have not sold yet. Start small, sell through it, then move up a size when you know your weekly volume.
Should I charge the same price to families and to shops?
No. A shop buys by the dozen on a schedule and expects a lower price than a family at a market table. Work out your cost per dozen first, then decide the lowest price you will take from a shop without losing money.
How long can I keep frozen croissants before baking?
That depends on the supplier and the case, so ask them for the storage instructions and the date on the box. Write the date on the case when it arrives. Bake to order where you can, so you are not holding stock longer than you planned.
What if the case price goes up after I quote a customer?
Honor the quote you already gave, then raise your price at the next order. Tell regular customers before the change takes effect. A price change they were warned about is easier to accept than a surprise on pickup day.
Do I need to bake them all at once?
No. Bake what you have orders for and keep the rest frozen. That is one of the reasons to buy frozen instead of baking from scratch. It also means you can take a last minute order without a wasted tray.
Sources
General information, not legal or tax advice.