Food Truck Menu Pricing Calculator

This calculator works backward from a target food cost percentage to a menu price, the same method restaurants and food trucks use to price a plate rather than just guessing a round number. It first adjusts your raw ingredient cost upward for expected waste and spoilage (ingredient cost multiplied by 1 plus the waste percentage), then adds packaging cost to get total plate cost. The recommended menu price is plate cost divided by your target food cost percentage expressed as a fraction — so a $3.85 plate cost at a 30% target food cost yields a price a little under $13, because plate cost is meant to represent 30% of the final price, not 30% added on top. From there it also reports what your actual food cost percentage would be if you priced at your competitor's price instead, letting you see immediately whether matching the competitor would run your food cost dangerously high or leave you room below target.

Profit per item, and daily revenue/food cost/profit at your expected volume, all follow directly from the recommended price. Industry-standard food cost targets for food trucks run 28-32%, tighter than many sit-down restaurants because trucks carry lower labor and rent overhead but still need margin for fuel, permits, and generator costs a fixed kitchen doesn't have. The waste/spoilage percentage matters more than it looks — a well-run truck holds this to 3-5%, but pushing it to 15-20% (over-portioning, tossing unsold prep) can move effective food cost several points above target even if recipe costing was accurate on paper. If the calculated price comes in well above competitors, the fix is almost always to reduce ingredient cost or tighten portions — not to accept a lower margin, since food cost above target eats directly into a food truck's thin margins.