Bake Sale Pricing and Packaging

[leightx]

Our MOMS Club is having a bake sale that I'm in charge of. I was looking at some of the older bake sale threads, and it suddenly hit me - you can sell WHOLE items too! Duh!! I don't know why, but I was fixated on selling individual things, and fretting about wrapping them up. So...now that my mind has been opened up to all new possibilities, I was wondering how you go about pricing stuff? Does anyone have any idea for a fair price for the following:
pies
quick breads (full size or mini)
8x8 pan of brownies
1 dozen cookies
fudge

Any other ideas on "whole" items? Also, I know we just had a thread on this, but what have all of you found to be the best / biggest sellers? Our "market" will be mainly stay-at-home moms, and we're having the event the Friday before Thanksgiving - so I was thinking that Thanksgiving desserts that can be frozen may do well. Any suggestions along those lines?

Also, for the individual items, are ziplocks the way to go? If I had time, I'd do something more creative, but I've learned that my time is better spent on something that won't be immediately thrown away.

Leightx

[pilgrim719]

Oooh that sounds like fun to help out with Leigh! I love bake sales and looking at all the homemade goodies! I don't know if these are good ideas, but what about a batch of Rice Krispie Treats? They're pretty popular and easy/inexpensive to make. I think I've seen the holiday Rice Kripies cereal out in the stores, you could use that and make them more festive-looking. Also, how about some kind of coffeecakes or snack cakes that don't have a frosting. The coffeecakes could be frozen and then people could serve them as a kind of appetizer for holiday dinners, or they'd make a good addition to a brunch. I have to reccommend the Chocolate and Peanut Butter Streusel Cake that was posted a couple weeks ago by Susan -- very yummy and tastes even better after sitting for a couple days!

Kari

[leightx]

Hey Kari,

Thanks for the ideas! Could you happen to point me in the right direction for the Chocolate PB Streusel from Susan? I did a search, but was a little overwhelmed! It sounds like something that wouldn't make it long enough in my house to try "after it sits a few days".

Any other ideas floating around out there?? Pricing tips? Thanks!

Leightx

[valchemist]

I've never participated in a bake sale, so I'm no help. but here is that recipe...


* Exported from MasterCook *

Chocolate and Peanut Butter Streusel Cake

Recipe By : posted by Susan
Serving Size : 16 Preparation Time :0:00
Categories : Desserts

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
2 cups brown sugar -- (packed)
1 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup unsalted butter -- room temperature
3 large eggs
1 cup whole milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 c semisweet chocolate chips -- (12 ounce)

Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter 13x9x2-inch metal baking pan. Combine first 4 ingredients in large bowl. Using electric mixer, beat on low speed until streusel is blended and crumbly. Transfer 1 cup lightly packed streusel to small bowl and reserve. Add eggs, milk, vanilla, baking powder, and baking soda to remaining streusel in large bowl. Beat at low speed until evenly moist. Increase speed to medium and beat until well blended, scraping bowl occasionally, about 3 minutes. Stir in 1 cup chips. Transfer batter to prepared pan. Sprinkle with reserved 1 cup streusel and remaining 1 cup chips.

Bake cake until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 35 minutes. Cool cake in pan on rack.

Makes 12 servings.




Source:
"Bon Appétit May 2001"

[Deanna]

I've participated in many but was never involved in setting the price. People DEFINITELY will buy a whole loaf of quick bread or a whole pie or cake. One of the best sellers every year at one of our bake sales was a Bacardi Rum Cake that one girl was famous for. One of our VP's actually reserved one every year for $20.

I would say, for pricing, maybe check the prices at your local grocery or bakery. Much more than that, people may not buy. A couple dollars for a hefty slice of carrot cake or homemade pie sounds reasonable to me. Cookies and brownies? Really special brownies maybe $1.00 each?

Just my suggestions. Hope this is helpful. Good luck!!

d

[leightx]

Thanks for the recipe Val - man, you're quick! Looks wonderful!

Deanna - I thought about looking at the grocery store, but the last time I looked and couldn't believe how cheap they were! Much cheaper than making it myself (I mean like $3 for a whole pie!!!). I'm hoping people will be willing to pay a little more than that.

You don't by chance happen to have that recipe for the Bacardi Rum Cake do you? That sounds soooo good!!!

Originally posted by Deanna
Really special brownies maybe $1.00 each?

d

Or really, really special brownies for even more?!?

[Deanna]

Oh wow, $3.00 for a whole pie? NO WAY! Since most make 8 servings, I'd say at least $8.00? (This is why I never got involved in pricing; the pricing committee always wanted to GIVE it away!)

And yes, REALLY special brownies, more than $1.00 apiece. Definitely. There were always some little dried up box-mix brownies that went for a quarter apiece or some such amount.

Pricing is a difficult subject!

As for the Bacardi Rum Cake, I'll bet you can find it on their website. I don't THINK I have it...hold on, let me check...nope, don't have it. Sorry!

d

[aggie94]

Originally posted by leightx
I thought about looking at the grocery store, but the last time I looked and couldn't believe how cheap they were! Much cheaper than making it myself (I mean like $3 for a whole pie!!!). I'm hoping people will be willing to pay a little more than that.

A whole pie, cheesecake, or cake from a nice bakery can run you between $30-40. I definitely think people will pay more than $3 for a homemade pie.

[leightx]

Could this be it?? It looks almost TOO easy! May have to give it a try... $20 huh??

Yep - HEB sells their pies for $3 (that may be a sale price though - I haven't fully investigated since I never by grocery bakery stuff - too fake tasting for me). I know - isn't that just ridiculously cheap? Maybe $8 - $10 for a pie then...

* Exported from MasterCook *

Bacardi Rum Cake 1

Recipe By :
Serving Size : 0 Preparation Time :0:00
Categories :

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
For Cake:
1 cup pecans -- chopped
1 package yellow cake mix -- no pudding mix
1 package instant vanilla pudding mix
4 eggs
1/4 cup cold water
1/2 cup Vegetable oil
1/2 cup Bacardi rum
For Glaze:
1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup water
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup Bacardi Rum

Preheat oven to 325F degrees. Grease and flour 10-inch
tube or 12-cup Bundt pan. Sprinkle nuts over bottom of
pan. Mix all cake ingredients together. Pour batter over
nuts. Bake about one hour. Cool for approximately 30
minutes and invert onto serving plate.

Make glaze while cake is cooling. ***** all over the top of cake with a
toothpick. Drizzle and smooth glaze evenly over top and
sides, allowing glaze to soak into cake. Keep spooning
the glaze over cake until all glaze has been absorbed.

Glaze: Melt butter in a medium size saucepan. Stir in water
and sugar. Boil for 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove
from heat and cool slightly. Stir in rum slowly. While warm,
spoon over cake.


- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 5768 Calories; 352g Fat (53.8% calories from fat); 54g Protein; 626g Carbohydrate; 14g Dietary Fiber; 1007mg Cholesterol; 4564mg Sodium. Exchanges: 1 1/2 Grain(Starch); 3 1/2 Lean Meat; 68 1/2 Fat; 40 1/2 Other Carbohydrates.


Nutr. Assoc. : 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

[muriel3002]

Just to chime in here. Our former church (in Ontario) sells apple pies at the end of the September for $5.00 each.

[valchemist]

That rum cake is probably yummy. Here is another one, with a coconut twist. I have made it twice and I couldn't get enough of it. I will post my notes below.


* Exported from MasterCook *

Piña Colada Cake

Recipe By : posted by mom (maizeyoats)
Serving Size : 12 Preparation Time :0:00
Categories :

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
1 package yellow cake mix
1 package instant vanilla pudding and pie filling
15 oz Coco Lopez® Cream of Coconut
1/2 cup rum -- plus 2 tbsps
1/3 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
8 oz crushed pineapple -- well drained


Preheat oven to 350°. In large mixer bowl, combine cake mix, pudding mix, ½ cup cream of coconut, ½ cup rum, oil and eggs. Beat on medium speed 2 minutes. Stir in pineapple. Pour into well-greased and floured 10-inch fluted tube or tube pan. Bake 50 to 55 minutes. Cool 10 minutes. Remove from pan. With a table knife or skewer, poke holes about 1 inch apart in cake almost to bottom. Combine remaining cream of coconut and remaining 2 tablespoons rum; slowly spoon over cake. Chill thoroughly. Garnish as desired. Store in refrigerator.

*If cake mix with "pudding in" is used, omit pudding mix.



Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 446 Calories; 19g Fat (39.8% calories from fat); 4g Protein; 61g Carbohydrate; 1g Dietary Fiber; 64mg Cholesterol; 355mg Sodium. Exchanges: 1/2 Lean Meat; 0 Fruit; 3 1/2 Fat; 4 Other Carbohydrates.

NOTES :
excellent!! so moist. Be sure to make a lot of holes and use a turkey baster to apply the syrup that falls off the cake. Keeps well. best after it sits a day.

[Julie A]

Leightx,

I'm planning a bake sale for next Monday at work, proceeds for a local food pantry. (this is to kick off the food drive).
I got a price list from someone who did the Rays of Hope bake sale, here's some of the prices she gave:
Quick breads - $3.00
Bagged cookies (3 or 4 per bag) - $1.00
" " (2 per bag) - $ .50
Pies - $5.00
Cake and Pie slices - $1.00


Usually, it's during lunch time. but I've been thinking of having a morning one, so that when people go for their coffee, they'd be able to buy a muffin or a slice of bread.

It's fun, but a lot of work! I'll be anxious to here how it goes.
good luck!

[claire797]

Leigh,

That looks like the Cake Mix Doctor's rum cake. I've made it and its' REALLY good! Make sure you use Duncan Hines Cake Mix.

[jphilg]

We are having a bake sale at work as a fundraiser for some of the holiday giving that the firm does.....these prices reflect the fact that it is a fund raiser, everything is sold whole, and that most of the people doing the purchasing are highly paid professionals.

Quickbreads: $7.00/loaf
Pies: 15/whole pie
Frosted cakes: 20 dollars/cake
Cheesecakes/Specialty cakes: $25/cake

The bake sale committee is really strict about the fact that everything has to be from scratch, no pre-bought pie crusts, no cake mixes (although I bet you could sneak in a Cake Doctor recipe), no canned frosting.

They also get cake boxes/pie boxes from a bakery to package things. The breads are in ziplock bags.

I am donating a peanut butter mousse cake. It will make someone very happy, I am sure.

Jen

[BeachBum]

I think that if you can convince people that the pies are a "gourmet item" vs. just a box mix, or something they are totally taking a chance on then you can get about $20 for a pie, maybe $8-$10 for bread, maybe $8-10 for special brownies etc. You may also want to consider doing some samples.
I think you may want to explore some nice packaging options for the items sold whole. Unfortunately it makes such a big difference in how people view your product. For example, if you made the crust for your pie--how do you remove the pie from your glass pan? I don't know if they make temporary or throw away type pans for pies? But if they did, perhaps they would be worth it? Otherwise you get the typical bought crust look...Not that I have anything against bought crust really I'm just saying it makes it harder to make the case for it being a particularly good pie.

I think loaves of bread would also be a good seller, maybe cinnamon buns? biscotti?

Do your customers know you, or the people working the booth? Appearances are everything! You want to make sure the people selling are people that have a good reputation for being not only good cooks but also very clean

Good Luck.

[donleyk]

I just picked up a flyer (?) for our food service provider here at work. They're selling for:

Pumpkin pies $4.99 (sheesh, why not just say $5???)
Dutch Apple 4.99
Pecan 5.99
Cherry 5.99
Blackberry 6.50
Blueberry 6.50

New York cheesecake 16.95
Homestyle cheescake 12.95

Double choc. cake 11.95
Carrot 12.25
German choc 12.95

Freshly bake cinnamon rolls

1/2 doz 5.95
doz 10.95

Gourmet brownies
1/2 doz 4.95
doz 8.95

Oh, and cookies are 4.95/dozen

[kbucky]

Hey--our Mothers of Preschoolers group just had a bakesale for election day (our church is a polling location)--so this is fresh on my mind...our pies went very quickly, priced at $7--we could have easily asked for $10 and I'm sure they would have sold. A pie is a lot of work! Although the wrapping can be a little annoying, I think you're likely to make more money individually wrapping bundt cake slices or pound cakes than selling the whole cake, unless you're charging the big bucks for the cake. Individually saran wrapped big cookies went well too, at 50 cents/each (I have a good giant chewy ginger cookie recipe, that's cheap and easy to make--let me know if you're interested. I made the Eating well died and went to heaven chocolate cake in mini bundt pans, with chocolate glaze on top, and also made the cake in 9 in. round pans, drizzled with the same glaze, and cut into quarters to sell...they also went quickly.

Another idea is not to price at all...to make it a donation thing. It's a little risky, but it only takes a couple people throwing in fives and tens to really boost your sales (they quickly compensate for the cheapskates!) If we had to do it again, I'd go the donation route (sure saves time for the organizers, too!)

[Julie A]

Originally posted by kbucky
I have a good giant chewy ginger cookie recipe, that's cheap and easy to make--let me know if you're interested

I would LOVE that recipe! I've been on a ginger cookie kick, I'm trying to find one I like best.

I also like the donation idea very much...my bake sale is Monday, so I have to make this decision soon.

[kbucky]

Here you go, Julie! Hope your sale goes well--let us know!

Giant Ginger Cookies (Better Homes and Gardens)
Ingredients

4-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
4 teaspoons ground ginger
2 teaspoons baking soda
1-1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon salt
1-1/2 cups shortening
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup molasses
3/4 cup sugar

Directions:

1. In a medium bowl stir together flour, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, and salt; set aside. In a large mixing bowl beat shortening with an electric mixer on low speed for 30 seconds. Add the 2 cups sugar. Beat until combined, scraping sides of bowl occasionally. Beat in eggs and molasses until combined. Beat in as much of the flour mixture as you can with the mixer. Stir in any remaining flour mixture.
2. Shape dough into 2-inch balls by using a 1/4-cup measure or scoop. Roll balls in the 3/4 cup sugar. Place 2-1/2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet.
3. Bake in a 350 degree F oven for 11 to 13 minutes or until bottoms are lightly browned and tops are puffed (do not overbake). Cool for 2 minutes on cookie sheet. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool. Makes about 24 cookies.
Ginger Cookies: Prepare as above, except shape dough into 1-inch balls; roll in sugar. Place 1 1/2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake in a 350 degree F oven for 8 to 9 minutes or until bottoms are lightly browned and tops are puffed (do not overbake). Cool for 1 minute on cookie sheet. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool. Makes about 120 cookies.

Nutrition Facts per cookie: 61 cal., 3 g total fat (1 g sat. fat), 4 mg chol., 28 mg sodium, 9 g carbo., 0 g fiber, 1 g pro.
Daily Values: 0% vit. A, 0% vit. C, 1% calcium, 2% iron
Exchanges: 1/2 Other Carbo., 1/2 Fat

Nutritional facts per serving

calories: 306 , total fat: 13g , saturated fat: 3g , monounsaturated fat: 4g , polyunsaturated fat: 3g , cholesterol: 18mg , sodium: 138mg , carbohydrate: 45g , total sugar: 26g , fiber: 1g , protein: 3g , vitamin A: 0% , vitamin C: 1% , calcium: 3% , iron: 10% , other carb: 3diabetic exchange , fat: 2.5diabetic exchange

[Julie A]

Thank you kbucky. I'm psyched to make these.
One thing, though - I don't have any shortening (I try never to use it).
Can anyone tell me if there's an acceptable substitute? Would butter work?

[schuh]

Julie, In general you can substitute butter for shortening but it does change the texture. Generally butter results in a more crispy texture while the shortening is chewy. My guess is that the ginger cooking would be big, chewy cookie and I'd go for the shortening.

As for the rest of this thread, we had a bake sale at our MOMS Club. It was years ago so I don't remember the pricing at all (I'm not a member any more). I do remember that the big sellers were "special" things that took some effort to bake at home. The everyday things that are easy to make didn't go at all.

[valchemist]

I agree with tracy. for a cookie like that, you need shortening. I have a very similar recipe that specifically says not to use butter/margarine.


* Exported from MasterCook *

Ox Tongues

Recipe By :
Serving Size : 48 Preparation Time :0:00
Categories : Cookies

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
1 1/2 c shortening -- don't use butter or margarine
2 cups brown sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup molasses -- like green label Brer Rabbit
4 cups flour
2 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp. ginger
2 tsp baking soda

Cream shortening and sugar. add eggs and molasses and mix well. combine dry ingredients and add them to the shortening mixture. stir until combined. (sometimes we refrigerate the dough before shaping.)

Roll small portions lengthwise like rope and roll in granulated sugar. The "ropes" should be about 2 inches long, I guess.

Put on a greased pan. Bake 15 minutes @ 375º. remove from pan and cool on a wire rack. (we have actually done them 12 minutes @350º -- but it all depends on how big they are and how soft you like them. you can't really tell when they are done becasue they are brown to begin with. so err on the side of baking them a little less, at first.)

Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 130 Calories; 7g Fat (46.1% calories from fat); 1g Protein; 16g Carbohydrate; trace Dietary Fiber; 8mg Cholesterol; 59mg Sodium. Exchanges: 1/2 Grain(Starch); 0 Lean Meat; 1 1/2 Fat; 1/2 Other Carbohydrates.

[kbucky]

They're right, Julie--the shortening is a must for a chewy cookie like that...

Val...those ox tongues look tasty too. There's a sentence I never thought I'd write!

[Julie A]

I wanted to give results - the bake sale went really well. I put some items out in the am, with an "Honor System" sign (an idea I got from this BB), listing the prices, and people were really honorable. I was there from 12-2 (some people didnt feel comfortable with the honor system) and we sold almost everything. The prices weren't that high, but there was plenty of food.
I was the only one who baked "low fat" items, I marked them as such, and they all went! Some people were very interested in buying lighter food (some weren't) so everyone was happy.

Thanks everyone for your help.