Thirty Office Merienda Packs: Price the Snacks, Drinks and Unsold Orders Before Saying Yes

An order for thirty office snacks can sound like a windfall to a home cook until the last cups and unsold boxes are counted. A merienda pack is not just a piece of food. It may include a drink, sauce, spoon, label, takeaway container and transport, and it must reach the office in a condition suitable for eating. The first useful question is what the customer is actually buying: thirty single portions, thirty shared snack plates or an assortment from which people will choose? Lock that specification before giving a price. Then calculate what can be produced reliably in the available kitchen, with a separate plan for anything that needs chilling.

Get the order definition in writing

For an illustrative office order, plan thirty individually packed snacks such as a baked savoury item or a cooked noodle portion and one safe packaged drink. Write the exact portion weight or piece size, dietary or allergen requirements, packaging, delivery address, handover time, payment terms and cancellation deadline. Avoid claiming a food is allergen-free because its visible toppings lack nuts or shrimp; preparation surfaces and hidden sauces matter. Count who supplies cutlery and drinks. Never set a price merely by multiplying the raw food cost by two and calling the result profit. If puto is the snack, the puto-pack costing guide starts with measured mould yield rather than the intended count. Source 2

Turn a promise into a production worksheet

1. Make one trial portion from an established recipe, measure its cooked yield and list each ingredient actually used. A pan that makes twenty-four saleable pieces cannot fulfil thirty without a second planned run, no matter how large the raw mixture looked.
2. Scale the verified recipe by target yield divided by tested yield: a 24-piece batch needs a factor of 30÷24=1.25 to target 30 pieces, before any justified allowance for breakage. Do not multiply a whole-batch ingredient list by 30. Count boxes, lids, cups, labels and bags separately and record the actual delivery charge. The factor scales ingredients while portion size stays fixed; cooking time is not automatically multiplied. Keep the tested pan or steamer load and doneness checks, splitting production into additional runs when capacity requires it.
3. Record preparation time, cooking time, cooling or hot-holding equipment and whether someone must assist with packing. Labour has a cost even when the cook is the owner; contribution before wages is not the same as profit.
4. Plan the hot snack and cold drink separately. Keep hot-held perishable food at 60°C or above and chilled food at 4°C or below, using suitable containers and measured temperatures. Shelf-stable sealed drinks can follow their labels until opened. Confirm that someone will receive and serve the food promptly.
5. Confirm the final order, deposit or payment process and reasonable cancellation terms before buying perishables. Follow the actual contract agreed with the customer, rather than relying on a generic social-media cancellation policy.
6. After service, reconcile packs prepared, packs delivered, packs paid for, refunds, leftovers and any product discarded for quality or safety. Use this record to adjust the next quote, including whether the quoted delivery fee covered the real trip.

Sources: Source 1

The cost of three unsold packs

For a hypothetical batch with ₱2,250 of ingredients, packaging, direct labour and delivery, 30 prepared packs average ₱75 each. Suppose only 27 packs are sold and the other three have no sale or usable remaining value: cost per sold pack is ₱2,250÷27=₱83.33. At ₱100 per sold pack, revenue is ₱2,700, leaving ₱450 after the listed costs, before omitted overhead and applicable taxes. This is a costing exercise, not a current catering price or final-profit claim.

Keep unsold packs separate from unpaid invoices. If the customer accepted an order for 30 packs and has paid for only 27 so far, the outstanding amount remains a collection question under the agreed terms; it is not automatically three unsold packs. Record quantities ordered, delivered, credited, sold and paid as separate fields. Do not change the cost denominator merely because payment arrives later.

A small menu is easier to promise well

For a first customer, two reliably made components are often better than five elaborate snacks, each needing a different appliance. An office wants predictable quality, clean packaging, the correct count and arrival near the agreed time. Keep a separate count of dietary requests so two special packs do not accidentally displace two standard ones. When pricing a hot dish and chilled beverage together, think of them as two food-safety routes even though they share a box or customer. A visually attractive pack that arrives warm and spoiled is not a bargain for either side. Use the food-allergy guide when checking the full recipe, compound ingredients and packing arrangements with the customer.