What Food Cost Percentage Should a Cafe Target? (UK)
The benchmark numbers, why drinks and food differ so much, and what the percentage does not tell you.
The short answer
Most UK cafes target a food cost of 25 to 32 percent, giving a 68 to 75 percent gross profit, while drinks commonly run at 10 to 20 percent food cost. The blended figure is what keeps a cafe alive, which is why a coffee-led site can carry a food GP that would sink a food-led one.
Step by step
- Work out the percentage per item, not per menu. An average hides the dishes that are losing money behind the ones that are not.
- Separate food and drink. They behave completely differently. Blending them makes both numbers meaningless.
- Weight by what actually sells. A brilliant GP on a dish selling twice a week matters less than a poor one on your best seller.
- Treat the percentage as a check, not a target. It tells you whether a price is plausible. It does not tell you whether the dish is profitable once labour and packaging are counted.
A blended day across food and drink
Typical proportions for a small UK cafe taking £800 on the day.
| Line | Amount |
|---|---|
| Drinks sales | £480.00 |
| Drinks food cost at 18% | £86.40 |
| Food sales | £320.00 |
| Food cost at 30% | £96.00 |
| Total cost of goods | £182.40 |
| Blended food cost | 22.8% |
| Blended gross profit | 77.2% |
The food is running at the target and the drinks are carrying the site. Shift the mix towards food without raising food prices and the blended GP falls, even though not a single item changed.
Why it matters
The percentage is the number every supplier, accountant and landlord will ask about, so it is worth getting right. It is also the number most likely to be quoted at a cafe as though it settled the question of profitability, which it does not.