Pricing Beyond Basic

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Permalink Reply by Jeanne on May 19, 2010 at 6:44pm

My answer would be... it depends.

Gumpaste flowers I charge by the flower or by the job. If it's, say, a full cascade down a three tiered cake, it would start at $250.00 and topper arrangements start at $100.00 for a 4" cake, but if it is just a couple flowers on each tier then I'll charge by the flower. Figures start at $30.00 and go up. I don't make cakes with buttercream roses, so I can't give you advice on things like that, but side piping and such would add to the per serving price for me. I include fondant ribbon at the base of the tiers in my base price. Generally I start price upgrade at $0.50 per serving, but really detailed piping and lots of cutouts will definitely drive the per serving price up.

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Permalink Reply by Sherry Qualls on May 19, 2010 at 7:12pm

Dia

Just my opinion but.................I believe that buttercream decos should be factored into the price per slice. If a design is intricate this will be reflected in the "how much do you want to make"...the more intricate the more you charge...more time, more materials, more supplies = more per slice.

I think it is kind of the same with basic fondant decos...they should be factored into price per slice.

For more elaborate gumpaste or fondant pieces (ie: figure modelling, gum paste flowers, custom cake toppers) those should be a cost in addition to price per slice...but figuring out how much to charge for those is entirely up to you. I do believe that I read (and someone correct me if I am wrong) that Lorraine McKay charges a minimum $40.00 for a single fondant/gumpaste custom figure model...so that could be a jumping off point for you.

Hope this helped a little.
Sherry

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Permalink Reply by Laura Smith on May 19, 2010 at 10:36pm

Really good advice! Do you have any idea what Lorraine would charge for a full gumpaste topper (like the 'scenes' she creates)?

Sherry Qualls said:

Dia


For more elaborate gumpaste or fondant pieces (ie: figure modelling, gum paste flowers, custom cake toppers) those should be a cost in addition to price per slice...but figuring out how much to charge for those is entirely up to you. I do believe that I read (and someone correct me if I am wrong) that Lorraine McKay charges a minimum $40.00 for a single fondant/gumpaste custom figure model...so that could be a jumping off point for you.

Hope this helped a little.
Sherry

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Permalink Reply by jeri c on May 20, 2010 at 1:04am

Jeanne... great info! I charge by what kind of flower etc...and what kind of detail is in the cake... I don't do buttercream flowers either so not something I can comment on. I am getting more into the gumpaste flowers and have a couple cakes this summer that I am doing the flowers for no extra charge because I want to try them out and told the bride that I won't charge her extra if I can make them for her.. She was excited. I will show the flowers to her ahead of time to be sure it is what her vision is though. The gumpaste flowers are very time consuming if you do them on wires and make sprays so you need to be sure to practice some, figure out your time and charge accordingly.

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Permalink Reply by Dia on May 20, 2010 at 10:11am

Thanks, everyone! That helps a lot :o)

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Permalink Reply by Jeanne on May 20, 2010 at 3:34pm

Definitely... A good place to start is looking at price lists for florists. Then you have to sit and see how much time it takes you and think about the kind of work you do. I make very realistic flowers and they take time and skill. Sugar flowers shouldn't be cheap. If they want cheap they can get silks.



jeri c said:

Jeanne... great info! I charge by what kind of flower etc...and what kind of detail is in the cake... I don't do buttercream flowers either so not something I can comment on. I am getting more into the gumpaste flowers and have a couple cakes this summer that I am doing the flowers for no extra charge because I want to try them out and told the bride that I won't charge her extra if I can make them for her.. She was excited. I will show the flowers to her ahead of time to be sure it is what her vision is though. The gumpaste flowers are very time consuming if you do them on wires and make sprays so you need to be sure to practice some, figure out your time and charge accordingly.

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Permalink Reply by Pamela Brown on May 28, 2010 at 12:51am

Hi,
I'm glad I saw this post. I have been having the same question about pricing for flowers. I too just started getting into making fondant flowers. I need to learn how to work more in gumpaste. I can pipe buttercream and royal icing flowers. The problem I'm having is pricing too. When I had a full time job, I didn't charge for the flowers at all. If you have seen my pictures some of my cakes have a lot of flowers. I'm not working now and living off just 1 income, I can't do the things I use to do for free. Now people have a problem with my prices. I charged per slice, but didn't for flowers or other decorations, especially, if I like some you was perfecting or learning a new technique. I now charge 3 cents/per RI rosebuds, .27cents per large(tip104) RI roses and .15 cents per small(tip101/102) RI roses when I have to make over a dozen. Do these prices sound about right? I need to know how to charge for my fondant flowers which most are made on skewers and not wires in case people eat them. Thanks for any suggestions.
Pam Brown

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Permalink Reply by Kimberly Brooks on August 30, 2011 at 11:55am

Hi,

I'm a single mom who's unemployed at the moment. I have never charged for my cakes. People don't realize how much time and cost are put into cakes. What would you charge for a fondant figure?

Thank you in advance for any suggestions,

Kimberly Brooks

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