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 · September 27, 2026

Menu Profitability Matrix: Which Items Earn Their Spot and Which Drag You Down

Your menu is real estate. Every item pays rent in the form of prep time, inventory, and shelf space. Some items earn that rent 10 times over. Others cost you money every day they stay on the menu. Here is how to tell the difference.

What Is a Menu Profitability Matrix?

A menu profitability matrix (also called menu engineering) plots every item on two axes:

Profitability -- how much margin (dollars, not percentage) each sale generates
Popularity -- how many units you sell

This creates four categories:

Stars -- High profit, high popularity. These are your money makers. Protect and promote them.

Plowhorses -- Low profit, high popularity. People love them but they barely make money. Raise the price or reduce the cost.

Challenges -- High profit, low popularity. Great margin but nobody orders them. Re-market, reposition, or cut.

Dogs -- Low profit, low popularity. They do not earn their spot. Remove them.

Why Dollar Margin, Not Percentage

Many operators evaluate menu items by food cost percentage. That is a mistake.

Consider two items:

Item A: Sells for $12, food cost is $4.00 (33% food cost), margin is $8.00
Item B: Sells for $24, food cost is $9.60 (40% food cost), margin is $14.40

Item A has a better food cost percentage (33% vs 40%). But Item B puts $14.40 in your pocket per sale vs $8.00 for Item A. If you optimize for percentage, you would push Item A. If you optimize for profit dollars, you push Item B.

Percentage tells you efficiency. Dollars tell you survival. Always evaluate on both, but rank on dollars.

Building Your Matrix: Step by Step

Step 1: Gather your data. For each menu item, you need:

Menu price
Recipe cost (the actual ingredient cost per portion)
Number sold in the last 4 weeks (minimum time frame for meaningful data)

Step 2: Calculate margin per item. Margin = Menu Price - Recipe Cost

Step 3: Calculate average margin and average popularity. Average margin = sum of all margins / number of items Average popularity = total units sold / number of items

Step 4: Plot each item. Items above average on both axes = Stars. Below average on margin, above on popularity = Plowhorses. Above on margin, below on popularity = Challenges. Below on both = Dogs.

What to Do With Each Category

Stars (protect and promote):

Feature them prominently on the menu (top right quadrant, boxed, with photos)
Train servers to recommend them
Never change the recipe without extensive testing
Consider raising price by $1-2 if competitors allow

Plowhorses (fix the margin):

Reduce portion size by 10-15% (customers rarely notice if the plate still looks full)
Substitute a cheaper ingredient (house-made aioli instead of truffle oil)
Raise price by $0.50-1.00 (a popular item absorbs price increases better)
Redesign the plate to reduce food cost without reducing perceived value

Challenges (fix the sales):

Move them to a more visible menu position
Change the name to be more descriptive ("Slow-Braised Short Rib" sells better than "Beef Special")
Have servers recommend them specifically
Consider bundling with a popular side or drink
If they still do not sell after 4-6 weeks, cut them

Dogs (cut them):

Remove from menu unless they serve a strategic purpose (vegan option, kids menu)
Each Dog ties up inventory, prep time, and menu space
Cutting 3-5 Dogs simplifies your kitchen and improves average ticket

How Often to Re-Evaluate

Run the matrix every 8-12 weeks. Menu items drift between categories as seasons change, trends shift, and costs move. An item that was a Star in winter might be a Plowhorse by summer.

Real-World Example

A 40-seat bistro ran their matrix and found:

6 Stars generating 55% of total profit
8 Plowhorses generating 30% of sales but only 18% of profit
5 Challenges barely selling but with great margins
4 Dogs selling poorly with thin margins

They raised prices $1-2 on the 4 most popular Plowhorses (estimated +$14,000/year), repositioned 2 Challenges with new descriptions (both became Stars within 6 weeks), and cut all 4 Dogs (saving $3,200/year in inventory costs).

Total estimated annual impact: $24,000+ with zero new customers.

The Tool That Does This Automatically

Percy Plate generates your profitability matrix from your recipe costs and sales data. Enter recipes once, connect your POS sales numbers, and the matrix updates automatically. You see exactly which items are Stars, Plowhorses, Challenges, and Dogs -- with margin and volume numbers for each.

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-profitability-matrix-stars-plowhorses-dogs