Coffee roasters must account for green bean sourcing, roasting time, energy costs, and packaging. Set wholesale and retail prices that sustain your roastery.
Optimize your pricing strategy with AI-powered insights
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How many items do you expect to sell each month?
π‘ Why needed? Fixed costs (Rent/Labor) must be split by each item. Lower sales = Higher cost per item. We need this to calculate your min break-even price.
Percentage of items that are wasted or unsold.
β Price is above break-even $18.35. You are making profit!
How much will you charge for one item?
Net Profit
$3325
per month
Margin
26.6%
profit margin
Break-Even
312
units/month
β Margin Detected: Your 26.6% profit margin is healthy for the cafe industry. You need to sell 312 units to break even, currently projecting 500 units.
Required Volume Growth β₯17% to break even
Current Expectation: 30% β
Roasting prices in two things buyers forget: roast loss and time. Green beans lose 15β20% of their weight in the roast, so a pound of roasted coffee starts from more than a pound of green cost. Specialty retail bags (12oz) commonly sell for $15β22 and wholesale at 40β50% off; price from your true post-roast cost plus packaging, not the green bean price alone.
A pound of green yields only ~0.8 lb roasted after 15β20% loss. Pricing as if a pound in equals a pound out understates your real cost.
Roasting, cooling, resting and packing take time and gas or power per batch. Spread that across the batch yield in your price.
Cafes expect 40β50% off so they can mark up. Quoting wholesale without a high enough retail base means losing on every bag.
Bags with one-way valves, labels and stickers add real per-unit cost. Include them or your margin per bag is lower than it looks.
Once your pricing works, these are the tools small operators use to take payments, keep books, and market.
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Start from your green bean cost, scale it up for 15β20% roast loss, add labor, energy and packaging, then mark up to retail. A 12oz specialty bag commonly sells for $15β22. The calculator above handles the cost build-up.
Beans lose 15β20% of their weight as moisture during roasting, so a pound of green yields only about 0.8 lb roasted. Your cost per roasted pound is therefore higher than the green price suggests.
Wholesale is typically 40β50% off retail so cafes and shops can mark it up. Set your retail price high enough that this discount still leaves a margin.
After roast loss, labor, energy and packaging, healthy specialty roasters keep a solid gross margin on retail bags, but wholesale is thinner β model both with the calculator above.
Often yes. Single-origin and micro-lot greens cost more per pound and carry a story buyers pay for, so they typically command a higher retail price than house blends.
Many small business owners use the "3x material cost" rule or simply match competitor prices. The problem? This ignores your unique cost structure. Your rent might be higher, your waste rate different, or your labor costs vary by location. This calculator reveals your true break-even point and ensures sustainable pricing.
Download a clean, shareable PDF of your pricing breakdown β cost structure, break-even point, and profit scenarios β completely free, with no sign-up. Useful for partners, lenders, or your own records.