Know which pizzas on my menu have

Quick answer

Your bestselling pizzas could be destroying your profits right now. Most pizzeria owners get excited about volume while their popular items quietly bleed cash. Identifying your actual money-makers transforms everything about how you price and promote your menu.

Your bestselling pizzas could be destroying your profits right now. Most pizzeria owners get excited about volume while their popular items quietly bleed cash. Identifying your actual money-makers transforms everything about how you price and promote your menu.

What is margin and why does it matter more than revenue?

Margin reveals the real money left after ingredient costs hit. A pizza bringing in €20 but costing €15 to make delivers way less profit than a €16 pizza that only costs €5 in ingredients.

? Example:

Pizza Quattro Stagioni vs. Pizza Margherita:

Quattro Stagioni: €18 sales, €8.50 ingredients = €9.50 margin
Margherita: €13 sales, €3.80 ingredients = €9.20 margin

That premium pizza only nets €0.30 more!

Calculate ingredient costs per pizza

Write down every single ingredient that goes into each pizza. Don't skip these small items that destroy margins:

Pizza dough: flour, yeast, oil, salt
Tomato sauce: tomatoes, herbs, oil
Cheese: mozzarella, parmesan, specialty cheeses
Toppings: meat, vegetables, seafood
Olive oil: for finishing
Herbs: basil, oregano, pepper

? Example Salami Pizza:

Pizza dough (300g): €0.45
Tomato sauce (80g): €0.35
Mozzarella (120g): €1.80
Salami (60g): €2.10
Olive oil + herbs: €0.15

Total ingredient costs: €4.85

Calculate food cost percentage and margin

You need both numbers for every pizza on your menu:

Food cost percentage = (Ingredient costs ÷ Sales price excl. VAT) × 100

Margin in euros = Sales price excl. VAT - Ingredient costs

⚠️ Note:

Always work with prices excluding VAT. Pizzas carry 9% VAT, so €16.00 menu price equals €14.68 excl. VAT (€16.00 ÷ 1.09).

? Example calculation:

Salami Pizza for €16.00 (incl. VAT):

Sales price excl. VAT: €16.00 ÷ 1.09 = €14.68
Ingredient costs: €4.85
Food cost: (€4.85 ÷ €14.68) × 100 = 33.0%
Margin: €14.68 - €4.85 = €9.83

Compare all pizzas in a single overview

Build a master spreadsheet showing each pizza's real performance:

Pizza name
Sales price excl. VAT
Ingredient costs
Food cost percentage
Margin in euros
Weekly sales volume

Sort by individual margin first to find your winners. Then sort by total weekly margin (margin × units sold) - this reveals which pizzas actually fuel your bottom line.

What to do with the results

High margin + popular: These are your goldmine pizzas. Push them through menu placement and server training.

High margin + unpopular: Find ways to increase sales through repositioning or targeted promotions.

Low margin + popular: This combination kills profits fast. Raise prices gradually or find cheaper suppliers.

Low margin + unpopular: Remove these menu items immediately.

⚠️ Note:

Food costs above 35% create serious problems for most pizzerias. Target 25-30% to maintain profitability - the kind of thing you only learn after closing your first month at a loss.

Track your margins automatically

Manual calculations eat time and breed errors. Restaurant software computes each pizza's margin instantly after you enter your recipes. You'll catch profit leaks before they damage your cash flow.

How do you calculate pizza margins? (step by step)

Gather all ingredient costs

Note exactly which ingredients go on each pizza and what they cost. Also include dough, sauce, oil and herbs - not just the toppings.

Calculate food cost percentage

Divide the total ingredient costs by the sales price excluding VAT and multiply by 100. For pizzas, 25-30% is a good food cost.

Calculate margin per pizza

Subtract the ingredient costs from the sales price excluding VAT. This is your margin per pizza in euros.

Create a comparison overview

Put all pizzas in a list sorted by margin. Also look at total contribution (margin × number sold per week).

✨ Pro tip

Track margins for your 8 highest-volume pizzas over the next 72 hours. These specific items determine if your pizzeria actually generates profit or just covers rent each month.

Calculate this yourself?

In the KitchenNmbrs app you can do this in just a few clicks. 7 days free, no credit card.

Try KitchenNmbrs free →

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Frequently asked questions

Should I include VAT in my margin calculation?

Never use VAT-inclusive prices for margin calculations. Pizzas carry 9% VAT, so that €16 menu price becomes €14.68 excluding VAT for accurate math.

What's a healthy food cost percentage for pizzas?

Target 25-30% food cost in your pizzeria. Once you hit 35% or higher, profitability becomes nearly impossible after covering rent, labor, and utilities.

How often should I check my pizza margins?

Review margins monthly to catch ingredient price increases. Suppliers raise costs quietly, slowly destroying your profits without obvious warning signs.

My bestselling pizza has terrible margins - now what?

You're losing money on every sale. Either raise the price by €0.50-€1.00 carefully, or source cheaper ingredients through different suppliers immediately.

kennisbank.ingredients_in_article

Tomato kennisbank.ingredient_card_meta Mozzarella kennisbank.ingredient_card_meta Parmesan kennisbank.ingredient_card_meta Oregano kennisbank.ingredient_card_meta Basil kennisbank.ingredient_card_meta

ℹ️ This article was prepared based on official sources and professional expertise. While we strive for current and accurate information, the content may differ from the most recent regulations. Always consult the official authorities for binding standards.

Sources consulted

EU Verordening 852/2004 — Levensmiddelenhygiëne (2004) — Official source
EU Verordening 853/2004 — Hygiënevoorschriften voor levensmiddelen van dierlijke oorsprong (2004) — Official source
EU Verordening 1169/2011 — Voedselinformatie aan consumenten (2011) — Official source
NVWA — Hygiënecode voor de horeca (2024) — Official source
NVWA — Allergenen in voedsel (2024) — Official source
Codex Alimentarius — International Food Standards (2024) — Official source
FSA — Safer food, better business (HACCP) (2024) — Official source
BVL — Lebensmittelhygiene (HACCP) (2024) — Official source

Food Standards Agency (FSA) — https://www.food.gov.uk

The HACCP standards shown in this application are for informational purposes only. KitchenNmbrs does not guarantee that displayed values are current or complete. Always consult the FSA or your local authority for the latest regulations.

Written by

Jeffrey Smit

Founder & CEO of KitchenNmbrs

Jeffrey Smit built KitchenNmbrs from 8 years of hands-on experience as kitchen manager at 1NUL8 Group in Rotterdam. His mission: give every restaurant owner control over food cost.

8 years kitchen manager at 1NUL8 Group Rotterdam

Expertise: food cost management HACCP kitchen management restaurant operations food safety compliance

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