Most restaurant owners think Instagram delivery is pure profit since there's no platform commission. But they're miscalculating their margins by ignoring packaging, delivery time, and handling costs. Your actual profit is probably 20-25% lower than you think.
All costs of delivery meals
Social media delivery creates different expenses than your regular restaurant operations. You must account for every single one:
- Ingredient costs: standard food cost of your dish
- Packaging costs: containers, bags, cutlery, napkins
- Delivery time: staff time spent delivering
- Fuel costs: petrol or electric for delivery
- Extra handling: packing, labeling, communication
⚠️ Watch out:
Many entrepreneurs only calculate ingredient costs. Then your margin looks like 70%, but in reality it's 45%.
Step 1: Calculate your total cost price
Add up every expense per meal:
💡 Example pasta carbonara delivery:
- Ingredients: €5.20
- Packaging (container + bag + cutlery): €0.85
- Delivery time (15 min at €18/hour): €4.50
- Fuel (2 km at €0.30/km): €0.60
- Extra handling (5 min at €18/hour): €1.50
Total cost price: €12.65
Step 2: Determine your selling price
Your selling price needs to cover all expenses and deliver profit. Always work excluding VAT:
- Food delivery = 9% VAT
- Price on Instagram/WhatsApp usually includes VAT
- For margin calculation: divide by 1.09
💡 Example price determination:
Cost price: €12.65. You want 35% margin.
- Minimum price excl. VAT: €12.65 / 0.65 = €19.46
- Price incl. 9% VAT: €19.46 × 1.09 = €21.21
- Round to: €21.50
Actual margin: (€19.72 - €12.65) / €19.72 = 35.9%
Step 3: Compare with alternative sales channels
Check if social media delivery beats other options:
- Delivery platforms: 15-30% commission, but they handle delivery
- Instagram/WhatsApp: no commission, but you deliver
- Pickup at your location: no delivery and packaging costs
💡 Comparison same dish:
- In restaurant: €18.50 → margin 72%
- Delivery platform: €21.50 - 25% commission = €16.13 → margin 22%
- Instagram delivery: €21.50 → margin 36%
Instagram delivery sits between restaurant and platform profitability.
Pitfalls with social media delivery
One of the most common blind spots in kitchen management is underestimating these delivery costs:
- Underestimating delivery time: traffic, finding addresses, return trips
- Forgetting packaging: can eat 5-15% of your margin
- No minimum order: small orders kill profitability
- Promising free delivery: then you must factor it into the price
⚠️ Watch out:
A €15 delivery can lose money due to fixed costs (delivery time, fuel). Use a minimum of €25-30.
Digital support for cost prices
Tracking all costs per dish manually gets messy fast. Tools like KitchenNmbrs help you:
- Automatically calculate ingredient costs
- Record packaging costs per dish
- Compare different selling prices (dine-in vs delivery)
- See your actual margin per channel
You'll instantly spot which dishes work for delivery and which should stay in-house.
How do you calculate the margin on delivery meals? (step by step)
Add up all costs
Calculate ingredients + packaging + delivery time + fuel + extra handling together. Don't forget any cost item, otherwise your margin won't be correct.
Determine minimum selling price
Divide total cost price by desired margin (for example 0.65 for 35% profit). Multiply by 1.09 for price including 9% VAT.
Compare with other channels
Check whether delivery via social media is more profitable than platforms or pickup. Choose the channel with the best margin for each dish.
✨ Pro tip
Track your delivery costs for 2 weeks, then set your minimum order at €28-32. Orders below this threshold almost always lose money once you factor in the 25 minutes of total handling time.
Calculate this yourself?
In the KitchenNmbrs app you can do this in just a few clicks. 7 days free, no credit card.
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Frequently asked questions
Should I include VAT in my margin calculation?
Never calculate margin with VAT included. Food delivery carries 9% VAT. Divide your Instagram price by 1.09 to get the VAT-free amount for accurate calculations.
How do I convert delivery time into costs?
Multiply total travel time (round trip) by your hourly wage rate. At €18/hour with 20 minutes delivery time, you're spending €6.00 per order on labor alone.
What if I deliver multiple orders at the same time?
Split delivery and fuel costs across all orders in that trip. Two orders delivered together cuts your delivery expense per order in half.
Are packaging costs really that important?
Absolutely. Packaging runs €0.50-€1.50 per order. For a €20 dish, that's 2.5-7.5% of revenue disappearing before you even consider profit.
When is Instagram delivery more profitable than a delivery platform?
Your delivery costs must stay below the platform's commission rate. With 25% platform fees, your delivery expenses need to stay under €5.25 per €21 order.
How do I price dishes that travel poorly?
Factor in quality loss and potential complaints. Crispy items that go soggy need higher margins to cover occasional refunds and reputation management.
📚 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
- Warenwetbesluit Bereiding en behandeling van levensmiddelen (2024) — Official source
- WHO — Foodborne diseases estimates (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.
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