Meal kits look like simple margin math. They are not.
Your real costs include portion drift, packaging, cold-chain materials, and fulfillment time. This guide gives you a pricing framework that protects margin and keeps subscriptions healthy.
Quick Summary
- Price per serving, not per box
- Treat packaging and ice packs as COGS
- Use 2-3 price tiers for high-cost proteins
- Reprice monthly when grocery costs move
The Core Pricing Formula
Price per serving = (Recipe cost + Packaging + Fulfillment) ÷ (1 - Target margin)If your portion sizes are inconsistent, every kit is mispriced.
Cost Categories You Cannot Ignore
- Recipe ingredients (by weight, not by “handful”)
- Packaging (liner, box, ice packs, labels)
- Fulfillment labor (pack-out time)
- Waste and remakes (damaged boxes, wrong items)
Simple Example (2-Serving Kit)
- Ingredients: $6.80
- Packaging + ice packs: $2.10
- Fulfillment labor: $1.60
Total kit cost: $10.50
Target margin: 55%
Price per kit = $10.50 ÷ (1 - 0.55) = $23.33
Price per serving = $11.67Round to your menu ladder (e.g., $11.50 or $11.99 per serving).
Price Signals You Should Watch (US)
The BLS reported that food-away-from-home prices rose faster than food-at-home in 2025, and USDA expects that gap to continue in 2026. That means ingredient costs and consumer price expectations are moving at different speeds.
Sources:
Portion Standards That Save Margin
- Standardize protein ounces by tier (e.g., 4 oz, 5 oz, 6 oz)
- Use pre-weighed prep packs for high-cost items
- Cost sauces and marinades as sub-recipes
A Practical Tier Structure
- Tier A: vegetarian and chicken
- Tier B: pork and seafood
- Tier C: steak or premium proteins
This lets you keep the base subscription price while protecting margin on costly meals.
Do This Now
- Weigh your portions on a scale and lock them in (no eyeballing)
- Add packaging costs (box, ice packs, labels) to every kit recipe
- Build 2-3 price tiers based on protein cost (vegetarian, chicken, steak)
- Calculate your true cost per serving including fulfillment labor
- Set a monthly reprice reminder for when grocery costs move
Related Guides
KitchenCost helps you update every meal kit cost when supplier prices change.