$6.00 → $6.60 / kg
$72.00 ÷ 12 kg, compared with $66.00 ÷ 10 kg. The case costs less, but each kilogram costs 10% more.
See the work behind the numbers
One invoice changes.
See what follows.
A chicken case gets cheaper. Tomatoes cost more per case. Neither tells you what each kilogram now costs.
Follow a shared recipe through a fictional central kitchen and three cafés. See the records, check the calculations and inspect the decisions we would bring to the operator.
Cedar Kitchen Group · fictional1 central kitchen + 3 cafésAll costs in USD
The short walkthrough
From a supplier invoice
to the next decision.
An illustrative service walkthrough using fictional records. Every figure can be checked below and in the downloadable workbook.
Jump to a video chapter
Prefer to read? Read the walkthrough transcript or download the English captions (VTT).
01 / The invoice
The total stays the same.
The packs do not.
We start with what the supplier actually billed, then check the pack sizes before accepting a price alert.
The two fictional invoices each contain one case of each ingredient below. Both total $177.00. The mix of weights inside those cases has changed.
Fictional supplier: Example Food SupplyPrevious: DEMO-INV-0901 · 2026-09-01Current: DEMO-INV-1001 · 2026-10-01
| Ingredient | Previous pack | Previous case price | Current pack | Current case price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Raw boneless chicken | 6 × 2 kg | $72.00 | 4 × 2.5 kg | $66.00 |
| Chopped tomatoes | 6 × 2.5 kg | $30.00 | 6 × 3 kg | $36.00 |
| Onions | 1 × 20 kg | $24.00 | 1 × 20 kg | $24.00 |
| Cooking oil by weight | 1 × 10 kg | $40.00 | 1 × 10 kg | $40.00 |
| Spice blend | 1 × 1 kg | $10.00 | 1 × 1 kg | $10.00 |
| Salt | 1 × 2 kg | $1.00 | 1 × 2 kg | $1.00 |
| Invoice subtotal | $177.00 | $177.00 |
Cooking oil is measured by weight. This example makes no litre-to-kilogram conversion. The invoice subtotal alone is not a like-for-like price comparison.
02 / The ingredient cost
Compare the same
amount of food.
Dividing a case price by its total weight gives the cost of one kilogram. That is the comparable unit cost.
Cost per kilogramCase price ÷ total kilograms in the case
$2.00 → $2.00 / kg
$30.00 ÷ 15 kg, compared with $36.00 ÷ 18 kg. The case price is 20% higher because it contains 20% more tomatoes.
Correcting the tomato pack avoids a false alert. It does not itself save cash.
Inspect all six normalized ingredient costs
| Ingredient | Previous $ / kg | Current $ / kg |
|---|---|---|
| Raw boneless chicken | $6.00 | $6.60 |
| Chopped tomatoes | $2.00 | $2.00 |
| Onions | $1.20 | $1.20 |
| Cooking oil by weight | $4.00 | $4.00 |
| Spice blend | $10.00 | $10.00 |
| Salt | $0.50 | $0.50 |
03 / The shared batch
One filling.
One maintained cost.
Both menu items use the same smoky tomato chicken filling. We trace the ingredient change through this shared batch first.
Smoky tomato chicken filling
The fictional production sheet, DEMO-BATCH-01, records 16.32 kg of raw ingredients and 12 kg of usable finished filling.
| Ingredient | Raw kg / batch | Previous cost | Current cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Raw boneless chicken | 12 | $72.00 | $79.20 |
| Chopped tomatoes | 3 | $6.00 | $6.00 |
| Onions | 1 | $1.20 | $1.20 |
| Cooking oil by weight | 0.25 | $1.00 | $1.00 |
| Spice blend | 0.05 | $0.50 | $0.50 |
| Salt | 0.02 | $0.01 | $0.01 |
| Ingredient cost / batch | 16.32 kg | $80.71 | $87.91 |
Use the recorded finished yield once$87.91 ÷ 12 kg = $7.32583 / kg
The previous finished-filling cost was $6.72583 / kg. The increase is exactly $0.60 per usable kilogram.
Cooking loss is already included in the recorded 12 kg finished yield. Applying another cooking-yield deduction would count that loss twice.
04 / The branch recipes
Small per item.
Visible across the group.
We apply the shared filling cost to the portion each recipe uses, then show the effect at the same fictional sales mix.
| Menu item | Filling / item | Other ingredients* | Previous cost | Current cost | Change / item |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken wrap | 120 g | $1.20 | $2.00710 | $2.07910 | +$0.072 |
| Chicken rice bowl | 180 g | $1.80 | $3.01065 | $3.11865 | +$0.108 |
*Other ingredient costs are fixed assumptions, not derived from the six invoice lines. Costs are ingredient-only. Selling prices stay at $8.50 for the wrap and $11.00 for the bowl.
| Café | Chicken wraps | Chicken rice bowls | Modeled monthly cost increase |
|---|---|---|---|
| North Cafe | 5,000 | 3,000 | $684.00 |
| Park Cafe | 4,000 | 2,500 | $558.00 |
| River Cafe | 3,000 | 2,500 | $486.00 |
| Group total | 12,000 | 8,000 | $1,728.00 |
Keep the full calculation, not rounded item costs2,880 kg of finished filling × $0.60 = $1,728.00
12,000 wraps × 0.12 kg + 8,000 bowls × 0.18 kg = 2,880 kg. That is 240 batch equivalents.
This is modeled ingredient cost exposure at the displayed volume. It is not a measured loss or a forecast of profit.
05 / Operator actions
A clear finding.
An owner. A next step.
Our team prepares the comparison and maintains the records. The operator approves purchasing and operational changes.
- 01
MenuCosting team
Correct and verify pack weights before accepting price alerts. Tomatoes are unchanged at $2 per kg despite a 20 percent higher case price.
Illustrated validation step - 02
Operator approves; MenuCosting team prepares comparison
Check the $6.15 per kg chicken quotation for equivalent specification, quality, terms and availability. Approve only after verification.
Proposed decision, not implemented - 03
MenuCosting team
Maintain the shared filling and both menu recipe costs, show the exposure by cafe, and follow up on the approved purchasing decision.
Illustrated ongoing service
An unaccepted fictional quote · DEMO-QUOTE-1102
What if chicken were $6.15 / kg?
The quote is $61.50 for a 10 kg case. It must be checked for equivalent specification, quality, delivery terms and availability. No supplier change has been approved in this example.
- Current modeled monthly exposure
- $1,728.00
- Quote-based opportunity, before fees and implementation costs
- $1,296.00
- Exposure remaining versus the previous prices
- $432.00
($6.60 − $6.15) × 2,880 kg raw chicken = $1,296.00. The quantity is based on 240 batches × 12 kg of raw chicken.
A proposed opportunity, not money saved.Keep the working papers
Open the report.
Check the numbers.
No form to complete. These fictional sample files show the evidence, calculation trail and operator actions together.
PDF · Sample food-control reportThe findings and next decisionsDownload report Excel · Calculation workbookThe records behind every totalDownload workbook
Prefer the source data? Download the fictional example JSON.
Read the boundaries
What this example
does and does not show.
Fictional demonstration. All businesses, invoices, quantities, prices and quotations are invented for this example. This is not a customer result.
- All records are fictional, not anonymized customer data.
- Costs are USD and ingredient-only, excluding taxes, packaging, labor, overhead, freight and MenuCosting fees.
- Other ingredient costs in the wrap and bowl are explicit fixed assumptions, held constant to isolate the filling change; they are not supported by the six sample invoice lines.
- The comparison holds the displayed monthly sales mix, portions, raw quantities and usable batch yield constant.
- Monthly exposure is a modeled ingredient cost difference at that sales mix, not evidence of actual incurred loss or a forecast of profit.
- The quote-based opportunity assumes equivalent chicken specification and fulfillment terms. It is before service fees and implementation costs, and is not a realized saving.
- Correcting the tomato pack avoids a false alert; it does not itself save cash and must not be added to the quote-based opportunity.
- Calculations retain full precision until display. Rounded per-item costs must not be multiplied to derive monthly totals.
- Physical counts, actual waste, staffing costs and realized profit are not measured in this demonstration.
In real work, we agree the records, recurring tasks and responsibilities with you first. Your team keeps physical control of stock, production and business decisions. This example does not promise the same outcome for another operation.
Your records. Your next decision.
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