Most restaurant owners mess up fruit costing and bleed money without knowing it. You grab a 6-kilo crate of apples for €12, thinking you've got a deal. But what's the real cost per portion once you factor in peels, cores, and spoilage?
Why portion-level costing matters
That 6-kilo crate looks like a bargain until you break it down. If you're making 40 portions of fruit salad from it, each portion carries €0.30 in fruit costs. Skip this calculation and you're flying blind on your margins.
💡 Example:
Orange crate breakdown:
- Crate 6 kilos: €15.00
- Price per kilo: €15.00 ÷ 6 = €2.50/kg
- Per portion fresh orange juice (200ml = 2 oranges = 300g): €0.75
Cost price per portion juice: €0.75
Factor in cutting loss and waste
Here's where most operators get burned. Fruit comes with unavoidable waste - peels, pits, bruised sections. From years of working in professional kitchens, I've seen restaurants underestimate this by 15% or more.
- Citrus fruits: 25-35% loss (peel, pits)
- Apples/pears: 15-20% loss (peel, core)
- Pineapple: 45-55% loss (peel, heart)
- Melon: 35-45% loss (peel, seeds)
💡 Example cutting loss:
Pineapple crate 6 pieces for €18.00:
- Purchase price: €3.00 per pineapple
- Cutting loss: 50%
- Actual price: €3.00 ÷ 0.50 = €6.00 per usable pineapple
Remember: less usable product means higher cost per serving!
⚠️ Common mistake:
Don't multiply by the loss percentage - that's backwards math. Always divide by your yield percentage.
The complete costing formula
Here's your roadmap from crate to plate:
Cost price per portion = (Crate price ÷ Kilos per crate) ÷ Yield × Portion weight
💡 Step-by-step calculation:
Apples for fruit salad:
- Crate 6 kilos: €12.00
- Price per kilo: €12.00 ÷ 6 = €2.00/kg
- Cutting loss: 18% (yield: 82%)
- Actual price: €2.00 ÷ 0.82 = €2.44/kg usable
- Per portion 120g: €2.44 × 0.12 = €0.29
Final cost: €0.29 per fruit salad portion
Handle seasonal price swings
Fruit pricing is all over the map depending on season and weather. Your strawberry cost can triple between summer and winter.
- Summer fruits: cheap June-August, expensive in winter
- Citrus: cheap November-March, expensive in summer
- Apples/pears: cheap September-December
Update your costs monthly minimum. And adjust menu prices accordingly - or watch your margins disappear. Tools like KitchenNmbrs can automatically recalculate when you update purchase prices.
⚠️ Price shock example:
Strawberries jump from €3/kg in June to €12/kg in December. That's an extra €0.54 per 60-gram portion eating into your profits.
Account for spoilage losses
Fresh fruit doesn't wait around. If 10% goes bad each week, that's real money down the drain.
Cost price including waste = Cost price × (100% ÷ (100% - Waste%))
💡 Waste calculation:
Raspberries for dessert:
- Cost price per portion (calculated): €0.80
- Weekly waste: 15%
- True cost price: €0.80 ÷ 0.85 = €0.94
Spoilage adds €0.14 per portion to your costs!
How do you calculate purchase price per portion? (step by step)
Calculate the price per kilo
Divide the crate price by the number of kilos in the crate. A crate of 6 kilos for €15 costs €2.50 per kilo. This is your base price.
Account for cutting loss
Measure how much usable fruit you have left after peeling and cutting. Divide your kilo price by this yield. With 20% loss: €2.50 ÷ 0.80 = €3.13 per kilo usable.
Calculate cost price per portion
Multiply your actual kilo price by the weight per portion. For 150 grams per portion: €3.13 × 0.15 = €0.47 per portion.
✨ Pro tip
Track your actual pineapple yields for 2 weeks straight - most kitchens assume 50% loss but actually hit 60% once you account for overripe cores and deep trimming. That's an extra €0.30 per portion you're not accounting for.
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 fruit cost price?
No, always calculate excluding VAT. You pay 9% VAT on fruit, but for cost price calculation use the price excluding VAT.
How often should I update my fruit prices?
At least monthly, especially for seasonal fruits. Some fruits double in price outside the season.
Can I estimate cutting loss or do I need to measure it?
Measure it a few times for each fruit type. Cutting loss varies by supplier, season, and who's doing the prep work. Estimates are usually way off.
What if I use different fruit types in one dish?
Calculate each fruit separately and add the costs together. A mixed fruit salad with 3 types means tracking 3 different cost components.
📚 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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