COGS & MARGIN CALCULATOR
COGS & product margin calculator.
Numbers that work.
A good product needs a budget you understand. Your manufacturing quote is one piece of the budget. Add the rest, then see what is left after a sale.
COGS is the cost of the product you sell. For a useful planning view, include manufacturing, ingredients, packaging and landed costs. Then separate selling fees, fulfillment and acquisition to see contribution. A healthy gross margin alone does not tell you whether the whole business makes money.
Follow the money.
Example values are illustrative. Replace every amount with your own costs. Keep all amounts on the same retail-unit basis.
THE MATH, IN PLAIN ENGLISH
What does a $40 retail sale leave you?
This is an illustrative budget for one retail unit, such as a pouch of sticks. These are the tool’s starting assumptions, not StickPax prices. Keep every input on the same retail-unit basis.
| Budget line | Amount |
|---|---|
| Manufacturing labor | $12.00 |
| Ingredients and flavors | $3.00 |
| Packaging materials | $2.00 |
| Inbound freight / landed costs | $1.00 |
| Landed product cost | $18.00 |
| Selling price | $40.00 |
| Gross profit | $22.00 |
| Selling fees (3%) | $1.20 |
| Fulfillment | $5.00 |
| Customer acquisition | $8.00 |
| Contribution after these costs | $7.80 |
Margin and markup use different denominators.
- Gross margin: 55%
- ($40.00 selling price − $18.00 landed cost) ÷ $40.00 selling price. You have $22.00 before selling costs.
- Markup on landed cost: 122.22%
- The same $22.00 gross profit ÷ $18.00 landed cost. A markup percentage is not the same as a margin percentage.
- Contribution: $7.80 per sale / 19.5%
- Gross profit less the fees, fulfillment and acquisition inputs above. This still has to cover overhead and any omitted costs; it is not net profit.
Use the budget for a real run.
Need an ingredient allowance first? Build your per-stick ingredient budget, then use the consumption cost for your retail-unit model and keep excess inventory in your cash budget.
A 30,000-stick run makes 1,000 retail packs at 30 sticks each before flavor-specific allocations or project adjustments. Divide the manufacturing line by those retail units, then add ingredient and packaging costs once. Customer-supplied materials still cost your business money.
At these assumptions, variable-cost break-even is $31.96: landed cost plus fulfillment and acquisition, divided by one minus the selling-fee rate. Inventory spend is $18,000.00 for 1,000 units. Unsold inventory, fixed overhead, taxes and one-time development are not covered by that break-even figure.
Review manufacturing prices and payment timing, then configure an itemized estimate. Below 25,000 total sticks, you supply the complete production ingredients and flavor system; sourcing is separately quoted at 25,000+. Packaging support is available for smaller runs.
GET CLEAR BEFORE YOU START
Good questions. Straight answers.
Should I enter costs per stick or per retail pack?
Use the same unit everywhere. If customers buy a 30-stick pouch, enter that pouch's selling price and the costs of 30 sticks plus its retail packaging. Do not compare a pouch selling price with one stick's manufacturing cost.
Can I paste the total from the pricing calculator into manufacturing?
First divide the relevant manufacturing line by your sellable retail units. Enter ingredient and packaging costs in their own fields. Avoid counting any included cost twice. Decide separately how to allocate one-time development or analysis expenses.
What is the difference between gross profit and contribution?
This tool subtracts landed product cost from sales to show gross profit. It then subtracts the selling fees, fulfillment and acquisition amounts you entered to show contribution. Fixed overhead and other omitted costs still need to be paid.
Does the break-even selling price mean my company is profitable?
No. It is the price needed to cover only the variable costs in your scenario, after percentage fees. It does not cover fixed overhead, taxes, unsold inventory, financing or any omitted expenses.
Are the example costs StickPax prices?
No. They are illustrative inputs for explaining the calculation. Use the manufacturing quote calculator for a current directional estimate and replace these assumptions with your actual budget.