How to calculate the price of your product without shooting in the dark
Most restaurants price by intuition — and lose margin without knowing it. Learn the COGS formula, forgotten costs and how to adjust prices without scaring the customer.
If you set the price of your product by looking at what your competitor charges and guessing a similar price, you're not alone — most restaurant owners do just that. The problem is that the competitor may also be making mistakes. And when the two make mistakes together, they both lose margin without realizing it.
Pricing well is not complicated. You need three numbers and a simple formula.
What is COGS and why does it control your price
COGS is the Cost of Goods Sold — the percentage of the sales price that goes towards the ingredients for the dish. It is the restaurant's financial health thermometer.
ideal COGS by segment:
| Segment | Healthy COGS |
|---|---|
| Pizza | 28% – 35% |
| Burger / snack | 30% – 38% |
| Açaí | 20% – 28% |
| Lunchbox | 32% – 40% |
| Japanese | 28% – 35% |
| Pastry | 22% – 30% |
If your COGS is above the range ceiling, you sell and have no margin. If it's much lower, you may be charging more than the market accepts — or underestimating costs.
The basic pricing formula
Sale price = Recipe cost ÷ Target COGS %
Example for a pizza:
- Cost of ingredients (recipe card): R$ 18.00
- Target COGS: 32%
- Minimum price: R$ 18 ÷ 0.32 = R$ 56.25
This is the equilibrium price. Below that, you pay to work.
How to assemble the recipe card
The recipe card is the list of all the ingredients in the dish with the cost of each one. Many people don't do it because it seems laborious — but it takes 10 minutes per product and is worth every second.
For each item:
| Ingredient | Quantity | Cost per unit | Total cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pizza dough | 300g | R$ 0.04/g | R$ 12.00 |
| Sauce | 80g | R$ 0.03/g | R$ 2.40 |
| Mozzarella | 150g | R$ 0.05/g | R$ 7.50 |
| Chicken | 120g | R$ 0.06/g | R$ 7.20 |
| Total | R$ 29.10 |
Price with COGS of 32%: R$29.10 ÷ 0.32 = R$90.93 → rounds to R$89.90 or R$92.00.
The costs that many people forget
The recipe card covers the ingredients. But there are costs that are included in the final price and almost no one includes in the bill:
Packaging: pizza box, kraft bag, disposable cup, label. For delivery, this costs between R$2 and R$8 per order depending on the product. Add it to the recipe card or adjust the target COGS downwards.
Gas and energy: Every hour the oven runs has a cost. It's difficult to calculate per dish, but it's possible to estimate: if you spend R$400/month on gas and make 600 pizzas, it's R$0.67 per pizza. It seems little, but in volume it makes a difference.
Waste: ingredients that spoil before use, portions that come out wrong, leftover production. Typical waste in a restaurant is between 5% and 15% of the cost. Apply a factor of 1.08 to 1.15 on the cost of the recipe card.
Labor: the team's salary must fit within your contribution margin. If COGS is 32% and fixed costs (rent, salaries, bills) add up to 50% of revenue, you need at least an 18% margin to make a profit. If this account doesn't close, the price is wrong — not the salary.
Pricing by channel: delivery costs more
The same product may have different prices in the salon and for delivery — and this is legitimate, as long as you are transparent.
With delivery, you have additional costs that the salon does not have:
- Reinforced packaging for transport
- Cost of the delivery person (own) or platform fee
- Prep time tuned to arrive in good condition (product that cools quickly needs extra care)
Common practice is to charge 10% to 20% more for delivery. Some chains do this explicitly on the menu ("Prices for delivery may vary"). Others simply have separate menus.
In the digital menu, you can configure different prices per channel without any complications.
How to adjust the price when input increases
Food inflation in Brazil is real and frequent. The strategy of not passing on the increase to the customer ends up being more expensive than passing it on — you absorb the cost and compress the margin to the point of unfeasibility.
Ways to readjust without generating a complaint:
Gradual readjustment: increasing R$2 to R$3 every 3 months generates less reaction than an increase of R$8 at once.
Reduce portion before increasing price: discreetly reducing the amount of a more expensive ingredient is a common practice. There is an ethical limit — it cannot compromise the perception of value — but it is better than harming the margin.
Ingredient substitution: when an input increases too much, evaluate a substitute of similar quality. This requires testing and validation with customers, but can preserve margin without changing the price.
Communicate the reason: "Due to the increase in input costs, we have adjusted the price of product X" generates more understanding than a silent increase that the customer discovers when paying.
Quarterly menu review
Pricing is not an event — it is a process. The ideal is to review the recipe card of all products at least once a quarter:
- Update input costs based on recent invoices
- Recalculate the current COGS of each product
- Identify products with COGS above the target
- Adjust price, portion or ingredient
With the digital menu, you can update the price in seconds. At Quickap, the change is reflected instantly for all customers — no graphics, no waiting, no additional cost.
Where to start
Choose the 5 best-selling products on your menu. Build each one's recipe card today. Compare the current COGS with the ideal COGS for your segment.
If the majority is above the target, you have an opportunity to increase margin without having to sell more — just price better.
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Crie seu cardápio digital grátis e comece a receber pedidos hoje.
