A chicken wrap sells for €8.50, costs €2.11 to make, but your actual food cost is 40% instead of the expected 27%. Most food truck owners forget the hidden costs - sauces, garnish, and packaging that quietly eat away at profits. You need every ingredient accounted for to price wraps correctly.
What's included in the cost price of a wrap?
Every single item that touches your wrap counts toward the cost. You can't skip the small stuff:
- Tortilla wrap
- Main filling (meat, fish, vegetarian)
- Vegetables and salad
- Sauces (mayo, garlic sauce, sweet chili)
- Garnish (tomato, cucumber, onion)
- Oil for cooking
- Packaging (aluminum foil, container)
⚠️ Note:
Many food truck owners forget sauces and packaging. That can easily make a difference of €0.50 to €1.00 per wrap. With 100 wraps per day you're missing out on €50-€100.
Calculate the quantity per ingredient
Grab a scale and measure everything. Guessing portions is how profits disappear:
- Tortilla: 1 piece (weigh it, usually 50-70 grams)
- Meat: portion you scoop (weigh 10 portions, divide by 10)
- Sauces: add up all the sauces you use
- Vegetables: weigh the total garnish
💡 Example: Chicken wrap quantities
- Tortilla: 60 grams
- Grilled chicken: 120 grams
- Lettuce mix: 30 grams
- Tomato: 25 grams
- Cucumber: 20 grams
- Garlic sauce: 15 ml
- Mayo: 10 ml
- Oil for cooking: 5 ml
- Packaging: 1 piece
Convert purchase prices to portion prices
Your suppliers sell by the kilo, but you serve by the gram. Break down those bulk prices:
Formula: (Purchase price / Total weight) × Weight per portion = Cost price per portion
💡 Example: Chicken wrap cost price
- Tortilla: €2.50/10 pieces = €0.25
- Chicken fillet: €12/kg → 120g = €1.44
- Lettuce mix: €3/kg → 30g = €0.09
- Tomato: €2/kg → 25g = €0.05
- Cucumber: €1.50/kg → 20g = €0.03
- Garlic sauce: €4/liter → 15ml = €0.06
- Mayo: €3/liter → 10ml = €0.03
- Oil: €2/liter → 5ml = €0.01
- Packaging: €0.15/piece = €0.15
Total cost price: €2.11
Check your food cost percentage
Now you'll see if your wrap actually makes money. Food cost percentage reveals the truth:
Formula: (Cost price / Selling price excl. VAT) × 100 = Food cost %
💡 Example: Food cost calculation
Chicken wrap selling price: €8.50 incl. 9% VAT
- Selling price excl. VAT: €8.50 / 1.09 = €7.80
- Cost price ingredients: €2.11
- Food cost: (€2.11 / €7.80) × 100 = 27.1%
That's a healthy food cost for a food truck!
Account for waste
From years of working in professional kitchens, I've learned that theoretical costs never match reality. Vegetables spoil, sauces get tossed, wraps tear. Build in 5-10% for waste:
- Conservative: +5% (€2.11 becomes €2.22)
- Realistic: +8% (€2.11 becomes €2.28)
- Cautious: +10% (€2.11 becomes €2.32)
⚠️ Note:
Always calculate with your selling price excl. VAT. The €8.50 on your menu is incl. 9% VAT. For food cost you use €7.80.
Digital help with cost price calculation
Manual math gets messy fast, especially with multiple menu items. Food cost calculators save hours and prevent errors:
- Store all ingredients and prices in one database
- Auto-calculate cost price per wrap
- Track food cost percentages instantly
- Update prices when suppliers raise costs
Tools like KitchenNmbrs handle the calculations so you can focus on serving customers instead of spreadsheets.
How do you calculate the cost price of a wrap? (step by step)
Make an ingredients list
Write down all the ingredients that go into your wrap: tortilla, filling, vegetables, sauces, oil and packaging. Don't forget anything, not even the 'small' things like spices or cooking oil.
Measure the exact quantities
Weigh or measure each ingredient that goes into one wrap. Do this a few times to be sure of the average amount. Write everything down in grams or milliliters.
Calculate the cost price per ingredient
Divide the purchase price by the total weight, multiply by the weight per portion. For example: chicken fillet €12/kg, you use 120g, so €12 ÷ 1000g × 120g = €1.44.
Add all ingredients together
Sum all individual cost prices into one total amount. This is your cost price per wrap. Don't forget to add 5-10% waste for a realistic picture.
Check your food cost percentage
Divide your cost price by your selling price excl. VAT and multiply by 100. For food trucks, 25-35% food cost is standard. Higher than 35%? Then you're not earning enough.
✨ Pro tip
Weigh your first 20 wraps every Tuesday for 3 weeks to catch portion creep. Staff unconsciously adds extra filling over time, turning your 27% food cost into 35% without anyone noticing.
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 packaging in the cost price?
Yes, absolutely. Aluminum foil, containers and bags cost money and are part of your cost price. For a food truck this can be €0.10 to €0.25 per wrap.
How often should I update my cost prices?
Check your purchase prices at least once a month. Suppliers regularly raise their prices. If you don't pass this on, your profit slowly disappears without you noticing.
What is a healthy food cost for a food truck?
For food trucks, 25-35% food cost is standard. Lower than 25% can mean you're too expensive. Higher than 35% and you're probably not earning enough on your wraps.
Should I include VAT in my cost price calculation?
No, always calculate excl. VAT. Your menu price of €8.50 is incl. 9% VAT. For food cost you use €8.50 ÷ 1.09 = €7.80.
How do I convert from purchase price to portion price?
Divide the purchase price by the total weight and multiply by your portion weight. Example: €12/kg chicken fillet, 120g portion = €12 ÷ 1000g × 120g = €1.44.
What if my sauces have different portion sizes throughout the day?
Measure sauce portions during your busiest 2-hour window and use that average. Staff tends to be more generous with sauces during slower periods, which inflates your actual food cost.
📚 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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