Chocolate Wholesale and Trade Pricing (UK)
Setting a trade price for delis and hampers that still clears the batch costs.
The short answer
Set a trade price from the same cost per piece, with a lower margin than direct sales, and check it still clears your batch costs at the volumes being ordered. Trade is worth taking when the larger runs cut your cost per piece, and not worth taking when it simply moves the same pieces at a thinner margin.
Step by step
- Start from the same cost per piece. Trade does not change what a chocolate costs to make. It changes what you keep.
- Set a separate trade target. Many chocolatiers work to around 70 percent direct and 45 to 55 percent trade. Measure each against its own target, not one blanket figure.
- Re-cost at the trade batch size. A standing wholesale order usually means larger batches, which lowers the cost per piece and can make a lower price genuinely profitable.
- Set a minimum order. Below a certain quantity, trade pricing on a small batch earns less than selling direct, and it uses the same hours.
The same piece, direct and trade
Cost per piece falls at trade volumes because the tempering is spread further.
| Line | Amount |
|---|---|
| Direct: 48 piece batch, cost | £1.05 |
| Direct at 70% margin | £3.50 |
| Trade: 96 piece batch, cost | £0.82 |
| Trade at 50% margin | £1.64 |
| That same £1.64 on a 48 piece batch | 36% margin, not 50% |
The trade price only works at the larger batch. Quoting £1.64 while still making 48 piece runs earns 36 percent rather than 50, which is the mistake that makes wholesale feel unprofitable.
Why it matters
Wholesale is where a chocolatier's margin is most often lost, because the price is agreed once and the batch size that justified it quietly reverts. Measuring the trade tier against its own target is what makes the erosion visible.