Packaging COGS 2026
Can cup or regular cup?
Know the cost before you charge for it.
Know the cost before you charge for it.
Pop top can cups are having a moment. They photograph well, feel premium, and customers are asking for them. But the packaging cost is real and the margin math changes. Before you add a can cup option, know exactly what it costs and what you need to charge.
Your drink recipe stays the same. The only variable is packaging. This calculator isolates exactly what the can cup premium is and whether your upcharge holds up against your margin goals.
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Iced Latte Recipe
ingredient costs per drink
$
shots
Per gram: — Per kg: —
Not sure how to fill this in?
Grams per shot means the dose you grind for a single basket pull. A standard double shot is one pull at around 18g. If you think of your espresso as "2 shots" but pull them together as one 18g dose, set shots to 1 and grams to 18. If you pull two separate baskets, set shots to 2 and grams to whatever you dose each one at.
Grams per shot means the dose you grind for a single basket pull. A standard double shot is one pull at around 18g. If you think of your espresso as "2 shots" but pull them together as one 18g dose, set shots to 1 and grams to 18. If you pull two separate baskets, set shots to 2 and grams to whatever you dose each one at.
Per shot
—
Shots total
—
Espresso cost
—
$
oz
Per oz
—
Per 100 ml
—
Milk cost this drink: —
$
$
Enter 0 for ice if you do not track it separately.
Regular Cup
cold cup · dome lid · straw
Cold cup with dome lid
and straw.
and straw.
Packaging per drink: —
Lid type
Dome lid
Sippy lid
Flat lid
units
$
units
$
units
$
Cup per unit—
Dome lid per unit—
Straw per unit—
Total per drink—
Can Cup
pop top plastic can · lid integrated
Pop top can cup. Lid
is part of the cup. No
separate lid or straw.
is part of the cup. No
separate lid or straw.
Packaging per drink: —
units
$
Can cup per unit—
Lidintegrated
Strawnot included
Total per drink—
Pricing
what you charge per cup
$
+$
Regular cup rings at
—
Can cup rings at
—
Regular Cup COGS
—
of — sale price
Gross Profit
—
Margin
—
Packaging Delta
To match your regular cup margin
Charge a can cup premium of
—
can cup sells for —
To earn the same gross profit $
Charge a can cup premium of
—
can cup sells for —
Gross margin benchmarks
70% or aboveSpecialty beverage target. COGS is 30% or under.
55% to 69%Viable. Watch overhead closely.
Below 55%Labor and rent will squeeze this hard.
Gross profit is menu price minus direct ingredient and packaging costs. Labor, rent, and equipment reduce your net margin further.
Both Options
regular cup vs can cup · with delta
| Metric | Regular | Can Cup | Delta $ | Delta % |
|---|
Line Item Breakdown
regular cup vs can cup
| Line item | Regular | Can Cup |
|---|
COGS Composition
ingredient share · regular vs can cup
Regular cup
Can cup
Upcharge Sensitivity
can cup margin at different upcharge levels
| Upcharge | Can Price | COGS | GP | Margin |
|---|
A note on these numbers
Lab COGS · Ideal Conditions
These numbers represent exact recipe adherence with no waste, no overpouring, and no packaging breakage. Real world costs will always be higher.
Milk overage
Pouring and steaming waste 5 to 10% per drink.
Packaging waste
Broken cups and training drinks. Budget 2 to 3%.
Syrup variance
Pump and free pour inconsistency. Budget 10%.
Can cup handling
Pop top assembly adds seconds per drink. Not labor costed here.
A practical real world estimate adds 8 to 15% to these figures.
Regular cup roughly — to —.
Can cup roughly — to —.