Percy Plate is a web-based food cost calculator for food trucks, caterers, cottage food producers, and small restaurant owners. It lets you enter your ingredients and what you pay for them, build recipes, and instantly see the cost per serving and recommended sell price based on your target food cost percentage.

Yes. Percy Plate has a free plan that lets you create up to 10 ingredients and 5 recipes to calculate food cost. A paid subscription ($14.99/month or $119.99/year) unlocks unlimited ingredients and recipes plus inventory tracking, revenue reporting, menu engineering, Prime Cost, AI invoice scanning, FDA nutrition facts labels, FDA ingredient labels, and label printing.

How does Percy Plate calculate food cost?

You enter each ingredient, the unit you buy it in (lb, oz, gallon, etc.), and what you pay per unit. When you build a recipe, Percy Plate converts the recipe quantities to your purchase units, calculates the cost of each ingredient used, and divides by the number of servings to give you a cost per serving. It also shows the food cost percentage and a suggested sell price.

Can Percy Plate generate nutrition facts labels?

Yes. Percy Plate can look up nutrition data from the USDA FoodData Central database for each ingredient, then automatically calculate the per-serving nutrition for a recipe. It generates an FDA-format Nutrition Facts panel that can be printed directly to thermal labels (Brother, Dymo, Zebra) or Avery sheet labels in sizes 2x4 inch and 3.33x4 inch.

Can Percy Plate generate an ingredient list label?

Yes. Percy Plate generates an FDA-compliant ingredient label that lists ingredients by weight (heaviest first), automatically detects the top 9 FDA allergens, and includes your business name and net weight. Labels can be printed to thermal printers or Avery sheet labels.

What label printers work with Percy Plate?

Percy Plate supports thermal label printers including Brother QL series (DK-1202 2x4 inch labels), Dymo LabelWriter (30334 and similar), and Zebra desktop printers. It also supports Avery 5163 (2x4 inch) and Avery 5164 (3.33x4 inch) sheet labels for standard desktop printers.

Who is Percy Plate designed for?

Percy Plate is designed for small food business owners including food truck operators, cottage food producers, caterers, small restaurant owners, and anyone who sells homemade or prepared food and needs to track ingredient costs, price their menu, and produce product labels.

Does Percy Plate work on mobile?

Yes. Percy Plate is a web application that works on any device with a modern browser, including phones and tablets. You can look up ingredient costs, update recipe quantities, and check your food cost percentage from anywhere.

How do you calculate food cost percentage?

Food cost percentage = (ingredient cost per serving ÷ menu price) × 100. For example, if your ingredients cost $3.50 and you sell the dish for $12.00, your food cost percentage is 29.2%. Most food businesses target 28–35%. To set a price from a target, divide ingredient cost by your target: $3.50 ÷ 0.30 = $11.67 suggested price at 30% food cost.

What is a good food cost percentage for a small food business or bakery?

Most food businesses target a food cost percentage between 28% and 35%. Bakeries and cottage food producers often achieve lower food cost percentages (20–28%) because flour, sugar, and butter are inexpensive relative to retail prices. Full-service restaurants tend to run 30–35%. The right target depends on your labor costs, overhead, and pricing power in your market.

How do I calculate the cost per serving of a recipe?

Add up the ingredient cost for the full batch, then divide by the number of servings. For each ingredient, multiply the quantity used by the cost per unit (converting units as needed). For example: 8 oz flour at $0.89/lb = $0.89 ÷ 16 × 8 = $0.44. Sum all ingredient costs, then divide by servings. Percy Plate does this calculation automatically once you enter your ingredient prices and recipe quantities.

How does yield percentage affect recipe costing?

Yield percentage accounts for trim loss, cooking shrinkage, and waste. If you buy 1 lb of chicken but only 0.75 lb is usable after trimming, your yield is 75%. To get accurate food costs, divide the as-purchased cost by the yield percentage: $4.00/lb ÷ 0.75 = $5.33 per usable pound. Percy Plate lets you set a yield percentage (AP to EP) on any ingredient so your recipe costs reflect what you actually use.

What is the best recipe costing software for a small food business?

The best recipe costing software for a small food business depends on your needs. Percy Plate ($14.99/month) is built specifically for cottage food producers, food trucks, caterers, and small restaurants — it includes recipe costing, menu pricing, FDA ingredient labels, nutrition facts labels, inventory tracking, and revenue reporting. Competitors like meez start at $24/month and scale to $199/month. Square and Toast do not include recipe costing natively.

Is there free recipe costing software for home bakers or cottage food businesses?

Yes. Percy Plate has a free plan that includes recipe food cost calculation and menu pricing suggestions. The free plan lets you create up to 10 ingredients and 5 recipes. For unlimited recipes, FDA labels, nutrition facts, and inventory tracking, the paid plan is $14.99/month or $119.99/year. No credit card is required to start.

How do I price homemade baked goods to make a profit?

Start with your ingredient cost per batch, then divide by the number of units to get ingredient cost per item. Add packaging (boxes, bags, labels) as a per-unit cost. Then set a target food cost percentage — most cottage food bakers aim for 25–35% — and divide your total ingredient cost by that percentage to get a minimum price. For example: $0.85 ingredient cost per cookie ÷ 0.30 = $2.83 minimum price at 30% food cost. Factor in your time and overhead to ensure you are actually profitable, not just covering ingredients.

What are the labeling requirements for cottage food products?

Most states require cottage food labels to include: (1) the product name, (2) your name and home address, (3) a list of ingredients in descending order by weight, (4) a disclosure statement such as 'Made in a home kitchen not inspected by the state or local health department,' and (5) allergen declarations for any of the 9 major FDA allergens present. Some states also require net weight. Requirements vary by state — check your state's cottage food law for specifics. Nutrition Facts panels are generally not required for cottage food operations below a certain revenue threshold.

Do I need a nutrition facts label on my cottage food products?

Most cottage food producers are exempt from FDA Nutrition Facts label requirements under the small business exemption (fewer than 100 full-time employees and fewer than 100,000 units sold annually). However, you must still list ingredients in descending order by weight and declare all major allergens. Some states impose additional requirements. When in doubt, check your state's cottage food law and the FDA's small business labeling exemptions.

What allergens must I disclose on a homemade food label?

FDA requires disclosure of 9 major food allergens: milk, eggs, fish, shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, soybeans, and sesame. These must be declared on all food labels, including cottage food products — even if a full Nutrition Facts panel is not required. The standard format is a 'Contains:' statement after the ingredient list, for example: 'Contains: Wheat, Eggs, Milk.' Percy Plate detects all 9 allergens automatically from your ingredient names.

How do I create a nutrition facts label for homemade food?

To create a Nutrition Facts label for homemade food: (1) look up the nutrition data for each ingredient using the USDA FoodData Central database, (2) calculate the per-serving amounts for calories, fat, carbohydrates, protein, sodium, and other nutrients, (3) format the panel according to FDA guidelines with serving size, servings per container, and daily value percentages. Percy Plate automates this — it looks up USDA nutrition data for your ingredients, calculates per-serving totals, and generates a print-ready FDA-format Nutrition Facts label for thermal or sheet labels.

How do I list ingredients in the correct order on a food label?

FDA regulations require ingredients to be listed in descending order by weight — the ingredient present in the greatest amount by weight must appear first. For example, if your muffin contains more flour than sugar, flour must be listed first. Sub-ingredients (like those in a chocolate chip) must be listed in parentheses immediately after the component. Percy Plate sorts ingredients automatically by weight when generating your label.

What information is required on a homemade food product label?

A complete homemade food label generally requires: (1) the name of the food, (2) the net quantity (weight or count), (3) an ingredient list in descending order by weight, (4) allergen declarations for all 9 major FDA allergens, (5) your business name and address, and (6) for cottage food specifically, a state-required disclosure statement such as 'Made in a home kitchen not inspected by the state health department.' Nutrition Facts panels are usually optional for small cottage food producers below certain revenue thresholds.

By Heidi Macomber · July 14, 2026 (updated July 28, 2026)

Menu Engineering: How to Make Your Menu More Profitable

Menu engineering sorts your dishes into four categories based on profitability and popularity. Your stars (high profit, high popularity) should dominate your menu. Your dogs (low profit, low popularity) should be cut. This guide shows you how to do it with your own numbers in under an hour.

What Is Menu Engineering?

Menu engineering is the process of analyzing every item on your menu using two metrics:

Profitability -- how much money each dish makes (menu price minus plate cost)
Popularity -- how many units you sell in a given period

Plot every dish on those two axes, and four categories emerge:

	High Popularity	Low Popularity
High Profit	Stars -- Keep, promote	Puzzles -- Fix the problem
Low Profit	Plowhorses -- Reposition	Dogs -- Cut or replace

Step 1: Gather Your Numbers

You need three pieces of data for each menu item:

Plate cost (ingredient cost per serving)
Menu price (what you charge)
Units sold (over a representative period, usually 4 weeks)

Profit per unit = Menu Price - Plate Cost.

Let us walk through a sample food truck menu:

Menu Item	Plate Cost	Menu Price	Profit/Unit	Units Sold (4 wk)	Total Profit
Classic Cheeseburger	$2.80	$9.00	$6.20	420	$2,604
BBQ Pulled Pork Sandwich	$3.40	$10.00	$6.60	85	$561
Buffalo Chicken Tenders	$2.50	$8.50	$6.00	380	$2,280
Veggie Wrap	$1.90	$7.50	$5.60	45	$252
Loaded Fries	$1.20	$5.00	$3.80	290	$1,102
Grilled Cheese	$1.10	$5.50	$4.40	180	$792
Onion Rings	$0.90	$4.50	$3.60	120	$432
Fruit Cup	$1.60	$4.00	$2.40	60	$144

Step 2: Calculate the Averages

To categorize each item, you need two averages:

Average Profit Per Unit: Add up all profit/unit values and divide by number of items. ($6.20 + $6.60 + $6.00 + $5.60 + $3.80 + $4.40 + $3.60 + $2.40) / 8 = $4.58

Average Units Sold: Add up all units sold and divide by number of items. (420 + 85 + 380 + 45 + 290 + 180 + 120 + 60) / 8 = 197.5

Step 3: Plot Each Item

Now classify every item:

Menu Item	Profit/Unit	Above Avg?	Units Sold	Above Avg?	Category
Classic Cheeseburger	$6.20	Yes	420	Yes	Star
BBQ Pulled Pork	$6.60	Yes	85	No	Puzzle
Buffalo Chicken Tenders	$6.00	Yes	380	Yes	Star
Veggie Wrap	$5.60	Yes	45	No	Puzzle
Loaded Fries	$3.80	No	290	Yes	Plowhorse
Grilled Cheese	$4.40	No	180	No	Dog
Onion Rings	$3.60	No	120	No	Dog
Fruit Cup	$2.40	No	60	No	Dog

Step 4: Take Action by Category

Stars (High Profit + High Popularity)

Your Classic Cheeseburger and Buffalo Chicken Tenders generate $4,884 combined profit in 4 weeks. Protect them:

Feature them prominently on your menu board
Train staff to recommend them
Ensure consistent quality -- a bad experience here kills your best item
Do not raise prices too aggressively; these items sell themselves

Puzzles (High Profit + Low Popularity)

Your BBQ Pulled Pork Sandwich makes $6.60 per unit but only sells 85 times. Something is wrong:

Is the description unclear?
Is it priced too high?
Is it buried on the menu?
Is the taste inconsistent?

Puzzles have the highest upside. If you move BBQ Pulled Pork from 85 to 200 units, that is an extra $759 per period at the same profit margin. Try repositioning on the menu, lowering price slightly, or offering it as a combo.

Plowhorses (Low Profit + High Popularity)

Loaded Fries sell great ($1,102/period) but only make $3.80 per unit. These are your traffic drivers. Options:

Raise the price slightly (from $5.00 to $5.50)
Reduce portion size slightly (less cheese, same price)
Find a cheaper supplier for the core ingredients
Bundle with a Star item to increase ticket average

Dogs (Low Profit + Low Popularity)

Grilled Cheese, Onion Rings, and Fruit Cup combined generate only $1,368. They take up kitchen space, inventory, and menu real estate. Options:

Cut them entirely (simplest -- frees up prep time)
Replace with a new item that has higher profit potential
Keep only if they serve a strategic purpose (e.g., a kid menu item)

The 80/20 Rule of Menus

In most food businesses, 20% of menu items generate 80% of profit. Your job in menu engineering is to identify that 20%, protect it, and expand it.

If you have more than 12-15 menu items, you almost certainly have Dogs dragging down your operation. A smaller, more focused menu with higher margins beats a large menu every time -- for food cost, prep efficiency, and customer decision-making.

How Often Should You Engineer Your Menu?

Quarterly review: Re-run the analysis every 3 months. Menu mix shifts, costs change, and items move between categories.
After price changes: If you raise or lower prices, reanalyze to see if popularity shifted.
Seasonally: Some items perform differently in summer vs. winter.

Tools for Menu Engineering

To do this analysis, you need accurate plate costs and unit sales data. Percy Plate gives you both:

Recipe costs update automatically as ingredient prices change
Revenue tracking shows units sold per item
Plate cost vs. menu price profit margins are calculated for you
Export your data anytime for deeper analysis

Start free at percyplate.com and engineer your menu this week.

Related Guides

Restaurant Menu Pricing Strategy: How to Price for Profit Not Guesswork — Full menu pricing strategy
How to Price a Menu Item — Four-step item pricing method
Happy Hour Promo Math That Protects Your Margins — Promo math that protects margins
How to Calculate Food Cost Percentage: A Complete Guide for Restaurants — Food cost percentage foundation

Stop guessing what your dishes cost.

Percy Plate calculates recipe costs, menu prices, and FDA-compliant labels for food businesses. Free to start.

Create your free account

View this article in the app: https://percyplate.com/blog/menu-engineering-maximize-profit