KENYA · GUIDE 0141 · EDITION 4.2
Office Lunch Delivery Pricing: Cost per Accepted Meal
Define what one paid lunch includes
State the dish, portion description, packaging, delivery point and any included extras before comparing prices. If one order includes desk delivery and another ends at building reception, the service units differ. Identify whether the employer or individual employee pays and when collection occurs.
Cost the complete accepted meal
Record actual ingredient consumption and usable recipe yield, direct preparation and packing labour, packaging, payment charges where applicable, delivery and observed losses. Do not divide ingredient cost by a theoretical number of portions when the trial produced fewer acceptable meals. Keep fixed overhead in a separate schedule for a consistent period.
A hypothetical dispatch example
Every amount below is invented for arithmetic practice. These are not Kenyan lunch prices, supplier quotes or predicted earnings.
| Invented assumption | Value |
|---|---|
| Meals prepared | 30 |
| Meals accepted and paid for | 27 |
| Selling price per accepted meal | KSh 300 |
| Total direct production and packing cost | KSh 5,400 |
| Delivery cost for the run | KSh 900 |
| Revenue | KSh 8,100 |
| Contribution before separately allocated overhead | KSh 1,800 |
The run's direct and delivery cost is KSh 6,300. Allocated across 27 accepted meals, that is about KSh 233.33 per meal. Dividing by all 30 prepared meals would produce KSh 210 and conceal the cost of unaccepted output. This contribution is not final profit; overhead and other applicable costs remain to be treated consistently.
Check route economics before expanding
A new office can add waiting and handling even when it is nearby. Recalculate the route cost and the time constraint rather than spreading yesterday's delivery cost over more promised meals. A minimum order or separate delivery charge must be clearly stated and tested with real buyers, not invented as evidence of what the market accepts.
Keep collection separate from invoiced revenue
If a business customer pays later, record the due date and cash required for subsequent production. Unpaid invoices cannot restock ingredients. Track refunds and advances for uncompleted orders separately. Confirm invoicing through the appropriate KRA route, and replace every hypothetical value before making a real spending decision.