Food delivery

Customers these days need convenience. Many people will turn their business to a competitor if a new option is more convenient, and many will even pay more for a service that takes more work off their hands.

For cake businesses serving remote customers, this can pose a challenge. Cakes are inherently delicate items, and this can make delivery a very sensitive matter with little room for error. With this in mind, there’s an important question: how much to charge for cake delivery?

How do you deliver a cake?

Cake delivery comes with a lot of considerations, and exactly how you go about delivery will change depending on the cake or cakes being delivered.

For instance, delivering cupcakes can be a simple job that could even be completed on a bicycle or moped. Delivering a birthday or wedding cake, however, needs much more care and a more appropriate vehicle.

Firstly, you need well-made cake boxes to contain your bakes and keep them protected. Windowed cupcake boxes have settings to hold each cupcake securely at its base, and they’re the easiest to transport due to being held against the G-force generated by turning vehicles.

For larger single cakes, the right size of box will brace the cake board and stop the cake from sliding around within the box.

Even with the right boxes and set up, cake delivery should be done with care and not rushed. The biggest risk when delivering a cake is the forces generated by a vehicle when accelerating, turning, and braking.

Should I use a courier or deliver cakes myself?

This can be a tricky question, and it may depend on how busy your business gets. Some bakeries will have absolutely no time to deliver cakes themselves, and if you’re baking as a sole trader, you could find that even just a handful of orders makes it impossible to also get onto the road and deliver the cakes. Additionally, you simply may not have access to an appropriate vehicle.

Using a courier means you potentially gain access to the ideal vehicles and specialism needed to deliver cakes with expertise and due care, but it also takes an aspect of control away from you. It also means paying for their services, meaning extra cost passed on to your customers.

Using a courier also means an extra point of contact to go between when problems with deliveries arise such as missing items or damage.

Still, if there is a lot of business to cover and available profit, paying a delivery company to help out could be the answer for your cake business.

How to charge for delivery of cake

Delivery can be an additional charge added to orders depending on the cake and the type of delivery, or it could be a flat charge included onto every order.

Knowing how much to charge for each delivery is a lot simpler when backed up by your own research. It may help to take note of:

-        What couriers charge for delivery services in your local area

-        What other bakeries charge for cake delivery

-        Current fuel costs

-        How much time and care it takes to deliver an average order

-        How much you pay for cake supplies to enable delivery in the first place

You may want to consider the delivery job as a whole when working out cost, or you might prefer to work out how much to charge per mile for cake delivery, focusing on costs of fuel and labour.

There is no right or wrong way to work out your delivery costs, but it’s generally a good idea to make your charges competitive and fair according to the service being provided.

What should I buy for cake deliveries?

To enable your cakes to be delivered safely and promptly, you’ll need proper cake supplies. Cake boards and drums enable your cake to stay stable on a tough base, and high-quality boxes give them protection with a crumple zone that will hopefully see the box take impact damage before your cake does.

To buy affordable, high-quality cake boxes and supplies, contact Packaging Chimp today.

Have we given you some ideas on how to start a bakery business at home? If so, check out our wide range of cake packaging supplies, available to order with free shipping and next-day delivery!

Whether you want cupcake boxes, cake boxes with lids, eco packaging, or mailing boxes, we have a package to suit.

If you want bespoke packaging, get in touch with our team and we will help to produce a full range of branded packaging options too.