Managing delivery margins is like navigating a maze where every turn reveals hidden costs. Packaging expenses, platform fees and adjusted portion sizes completely transform your cost structure. Skip the recalculation and you'll bleed money on every order that leaves your kitchen.
What changes in your cost price?
Delivery transforms your recipe economics by introducing several new expense categories:
- Packaging costs: containers, lids, bags, cutlery
- Platform fees: 15-30% of your order value goes to Deliveroo/Uber Eats
- Different portions: larger portions for delivery (against cooling)
- Extra garnish: sauces separately, extra vegetables against drying out
⚠️ Note:
Platform fees get calculated on your selling price, but you're the one paying them. This bumps up your actual cost price by 15-30%.
Calculate your new cost price step by step
Begin with your current recipe and layer on the additional expenses:
💡 Example: Pasta Carbonara
Restaurant version:
- Ingredients: €5.10
- Packaging: €0.00
- Platform fee: €0.00
Delivery version:
- Ingredients: €5.60 (10% larger portion)
- Packaging: €0.85 (container, lid, bag)
- Platform fee: €4.20 (20% of €21.00)
Total cost price: €10.65 vs €5.10
Packaging costs per dish
Add up every piece of packaging you need:
- Main course container: €0.25-€0.45
- Lid: €0.10-€0.15
- Sauce containers: €0.08-€0.12 each
- Plastic cutlery set: €0.15-€0.25
- Paper bag: €0.10-€0.20
- Stickers/tape: €0.02-€0.05
💡 Example: Pizza packaging costs
Per pizza you need:
- Pizza box: €0.35
- Napkins: €0.05
- Bag for multiple pizzas: €0.08
Total packaging: €0.48 per pizza
Include platform fees in cost price
Platform fees aren't marketing expenses - they're direct cost price increases. They make your dish more expensive to produce.
Formula platform fee impact:
Platform fee costs = Selling price × Platform percentage
💡 Example: Platform fee calculation
You sell a burger for €18.50 via Deliveroo (20% fee):
- Selling price: €18.50
- Platform fee: €18.50 × 0.20 = €3.70
- You receive: €14.80
That €3.70 must be included as cost price, not as marketing expense.
Calculate new margin
With all new costs factored in, you can determine the real margin on delivery orders. From analyzing actual purchasing data across different restaurant types, most operators discover their delivery margins are 15-25% lower than expected.
Formula:
New food cost % = (Ingredients + Packaging + Platform fee) / Selling price × 100
💡 Example: Complete margin calculation
Pasta Carbonara delivery €21.00:
- Ingredients: €5.60
- Packaging: €0.85
- Platform fee: €4.20
- Total costs: €10.65
Food cost: (€10.65 / €21.00) × 100 = 50.7%
Restaurant food cost was: (€5.10 / €19.27) × 100 = 26.5%
⚠️ Note:
A food cost of 50%+ means you're operating at a loss. You need to bump up your delivery price or slash your costs.
Calculate price adjustment
To maintain identical margins, calculate the new minimum price:
Formula:
Minimum price = Total costs / Desired food cost %
💡 Example: Correct delivery price
To maintain 30% food cost:
- Total costs: €10.65
- Desired food cost: 30%
- Minimum price: €10.65 / 0.30 = €35.50
You need to charge €35.50 instead of €21.00 to maintain the same margin.
Track delivery costs digitally
With all these extra cost items, manual tracking becomes overwhelming. A system like KitchenNmbrs can automatically include packaging costs and platform fees in your cost price calculation per dish.
This way you immediately see what each delivery dish actually costs and what price adjustments are needed.
How do you calculate the margin impact? (step by step)
Inventory all extra costs
Add up: packaging costs per dish, possibly larger portions, extra garnish for transport. Write everything down with exact amounts per portion.
Calculate platform fee impact
Multiply your selling price by the platform percentage (usually 15-30%). Add these costs to your cost price, not to your marketing costs.
Calculate new food cost percentage
Divide your total costs (ingredients + packaging + platform fee) by your selling price and multiply by 100. Compare with your restaurant food cost.
Determine new selling price
If your food cost is too high (above 35%), divide your total costs by your desired food cost percentage. This is your new minimum price for delivery.
✨ Pro tip
Analyze your top 5 delivery dishes over the past 30 days first - if those show healthy margins after including all packaging and platform costs, you've addressed 70% of your delivery profitability issues. Focus your pricing adjustments there before tackling your entire menu.
Calculate this yourself?
In the KitchenNmbrs app you can do this in just a few clicks. 7 days free, no credit card.
Was this article helpful?
Frequently asked questions
Do I really need to include platform fees in my cost price?
Yes, platform fees are direct costs per sold dish. They make your dish more expensive to produce, just like ingredients. Don't treat them as marketing costs.
How often should I recalculate my delivery cost price?
Check your packaging costs monthly since prices rise regularly. Also recalculate whenever platform fees change - platforms typically adjust their percentages 1-2 times per year.
What if my delivery price becomes too high for the market?
Then you have three options: find cheaper packaging, avoid less popular platforms, or accept that delivery is less profitable than restaurant service.
📚 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.
All your recipes in one place, forever
Recipes in heads, on notes, in folders — that doesn't work. KitchenNmbrs centralizes all your recipes with costs, allergens, and portions. Try it free for 14 days.
Start free trial →