Lemonade Stand Costs?

August 25th, 2023
kids
My kids were thinking of having a lemonade stand, and in the past I've said that if they're doing it as a fundraiser we'll cover the cost of ingredients, but if they're doing it for their own money then they need to reimburse us. But how much should that be?

The recipe they're using is approximately:

  • 2C lemon juice
  • 2C sugar
  • Water
  • Ice

Plus cups to serve it in. Makes about one gallon, or sixteen 8oz servings.

The water is basically free and the ice is below the rate that our icemaker replenishes: also effectively free. At our local grocery store 32oz of lemon juice is $3.50, sugar is $0.85/lb, and cups are ~$0.10/each. So each 8oz serving of juice is:

  • 1oz lemon juice: $0.11.
  • 1oz sugar: $0.05.
  • cup: $0.10
  • total: $0.26

If they sell until they run out of lemonade, call it a quarter a cup. They usually sell each up for a dollar, so that's a gross margin of 75%. Not bad!

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