Do you ever wonder where to even start when pricing food in the cafeteria? Or maybe you're worried about pricing questions showing up on the RD Exam. 

Knowing how to price items is challenging. There's a lot of moving parts. You want to make a profit and sell your items but you don't want to price too high where it negatively impacts your sales. 

In this episode, my guest Maryanna Staerk shares her experience working as a Registered Dietitian (RD) in a Food Service Director role and how she approaches pricing of products in the cafeteria. She also shares a little about her journey as a dietitian and her recent journey into entrepreneurship. You can find Maryanna at www.geneticnutritioncounseling.com

This is what you'll learn in this episode:

• A review of what break-even point means and the variables considered when calculating the break even point
• What's meant by mark-up and how to get a baseline price using the mark-up method
• What Prime Cost method is and how it differs from the break even point
• Strategies for running promotions and specials

Here's a glance at this episode: 

[04:40] A review of break-even point, what it is and why it's a good starting point

[09:23] The challenges of food shortages with managing menu items

[11:06] What the mark-up method is and how to calculate it

[14:00] Strategy to adjust the cost of an item in the cafeteria

[15:00] How leadership can impact the way you run your business including pricing and items you prepare and advertise

[17:45] What the prime cost method is for pricing items - when to use this strategy and why it's more effective

[19:40] The main differences between break-even and prime cost pricing method

[21:20] How to run promotions and specials which get your customers excited to keep coming back for more...and how promotions help with inventory control

[28:39] Maryanna shares a great example on how to promote a special (Reminder: Support Local Business)

And I give a shout out to a new RD who just passed the exam!