In brief
- Cutting costs is not buying the cheapest: it is arbitrating between cost, quality, use, packaging and final result.
- Negotiation is the most visible and least profitable lever: it works on a few percent, where specification and losses weigh more.
- The nut content is a real lever, but it is a trade-off: less almond costs less, and gives less taste, more sugar and a different texture.
- The second source is loss: breakage, offcuts, out-of-date products and overdosing often weigh more than the price gap between two suppliers.
- The format changes the price per kilo: from the 250 g bar to the 20 kg bag, the right format is the largest your rotation absorbs.
- Stabilising your orders beats grouping them: a supplier plans regular demand better than an unpredictable large volume.
When margins tighten, the first reflex is to call the supplier and renegotiate. It is the most visible and almost always the least profitable lever: it works on a few percent of the price, whereas a badly calibrated specification, workshop losses and a poorly chosen format weigh far more on the real cost per kilo produced. And cutting costs never comes down to taking the cheapest raw material: it means arbitrating between cost, quality, use and final result. As a raw material manufacturer in Brussels since 1988, we see both extremes. Here are seven purchasing levers, ranked from the most to the least profitable, and what they require in organisation.
Why is negotiation not the first lever?
À retenir : Because it acts on the price, whereas the real cost is decided by the quantity consumed and by what is lost between receipt and plate.
A workshop that obtains three percent on a price but overdoses by ten percent, throws away five percent of material and orders a higher almond content than the recipe calls for has lost the game before starting. The price is the last link, not the first.
Erreur fréquente : Negotiation is part of the commercial game, and a price legitimately adapts to volumes and conditions. But a price has a floor: below it, quality or service level would have to be cut. We would then rather not take the order than lower our standards. A supplier who accepts any price at all mainly tells you what it is prepared to sacrifice elsewhere.
Lever 1: match the specification to actual use
The first source of saving is buying the specification that serves your finished product, neither above nor below. That is a trade-off, not a simple reduction.
The nut content weighs heavily in the price: almond and hazelnut are the dominant items of the material cost. Reducing it is therefore a real lever. But a high content is not a pointless expense for all that: marzipan richer in almond brings more taste, a different texture and less sugar. That is precisely why we hold on to our 50 %, a quality we consider premium. The right question is not « which content costs least » but « which content matches my application and the quality I want to offer ».
The same reasoning applies to hazelnut crunch: lowering the proportion of hazelnuts reduces the cost, but also the intensity of the hazelnut flavour and the final profile of the product. The saving must always be weighed against what it changes on the plate. On grain size, by contrast, the trade-off is simpler: a 4 mm grain where 2 mm is enough is an extra cost with no gain in flavour.
Recommandation : Go through your three largest purchase lines and ask two questions about each: which specification really serves the finished product, and what do I gain or lose by moving a step? Have both levels sampled and judge on the product itself. The reference points by content are set out in our definition of marzipan.
Lever 2: measuring losses before negotiating
Breakage, trimmings, expired products and overdosing often represent a larger amount than the price gap between two suppliers. And they are under your direct control.
| Source of loss | Frequent cause | Correction |
|---|---|---|
| Expired products | Rotation not respected, most accessible bag | Labelling on receipt and first in, first out |
| Overdosing | Plating by eye with no portion benchmark | Weigh a reference portion and display the benchmark |
| Trimmings not reused | No recovery circuit | Allocate trimmings to a secondary range |
| Moisture uptake | Open bags, storage near the ovens | Airtight containers, dedicated storage area |
Storage benchmarks by product family are gathered in our storage guide.
Lever 3: choose the right packaging format
A large packaging dilutes the cost of packaging and handling, and so lowers the price per kilo, but only if it is used up in good conditions.
The calculation has three steps: real monthly consumption of the reference, the period over which you can keep it properly protected, then the format that fits inside that window. A 20 kg bag at an attractive price that ends up half thrown away costs more than a 5 kg carton at the nominal rate.
Available formats differ by product. For our marzipan: cartons of 5, 10 or 15 kg, buckets of 4, 5 or 6 kg, bars of 250 g, 500 g or 1 kg. For hazelnut crunch: cartons of 5 to 10 kg, buckets of 2 to 5 kg and 20 kg bags. The right format is not the largest available, it is the largest your rotation absorbs.
At the other end of the range, industrial users have an interest in choosing the largest format. On hazelnut crunch, that is the 20 kg bag: for a large consumption, it is a logistics lever and a cost lever in its own right.
Lever 4: stabilising rather than grouping
A supplier plans regular demand better than a large unpredictable volume, and that regularity can be negotiated.
In practice, an annual volume commitment spread over regular orders gives the manufacturer visibility on production. It is a stronger commercial argument than an exceptional order, and it costs you no additional working capital.
Le saviez-vous ? : That is especially true of seasonal products. A workshop announcing its Christmas volumes from September obtains better conditions and a better lead time than one calling in November, simply because it enters the schedule at the right moment.
Levers 5 to 7: reasoned substitution, pooling, market tracking
Three complementary levers, to be activated once the first four are in place.
| Lever | What it allows | Limit to know |
|---|---|---|
| Reasoned substitution | Replacing a material with a cheaper equivalent at equal effect | Never substitute a signature material the customer recognises |
| Pooling | Grouping orders between workshops to reach a threshold | Requires real coordination on dates and quality |
| Tracking commodity prices | Anticipating rises and securing supply | Assumes you follow a global agricultural market |
On that last point, the price of marzipan directly follows the world almond market: the full breakdown is in what a good marzipan costs. And the trade-off between manufacturer and distributor, which bears directly on price, is covered in manufacturer or wholesaler.
What we do not recommend
Three false economies come back regularly, and we prefer to say so clearly even though they concern us.
Reducing the nut content is not always the best saving lever. On hazelnut crunch, for instance, lowering the proportion of hazelnuts reduces the cost, but also the intensity of the hazelnut flavour. The saving made on the raw material must therefore always be compared with the impact on taste and on the final result.
Multiplying suppliers to get the best price line by line. The gain dissolves into administrative time, minimum orders and the loss of leverage with each of them.
And finally, dropping samples and trials to save time. That is precisely when a badly calibrated specification goes unnoticed for two years.
Discussing your supply
Silly Belgium has manufactured marzipan, hazelnut crunch and nougatine in Jette, in Brussels, since 1988, with adjustable contents, grain sizes and formats, from the 250 g bar to the 20 kg bag. Our team helps calibrate the specification on the real recipe, which is often the first saving lever.
See the craftspeople and industrial customerspages, or request a sample through the contact form.
FAQ: raw material costs
How do you reduce raw material costs in bakery?
By starting with specification and losses, not with negotiation. Check that every reference purchased corresponds to the minimum the recipe requires, then measure breakage, trimmings, expired stock and overdosing. Those two items almost always exceed the price gap between suppliers.
Should you buy in larger packs to pay less?
Only if your turnover absorbs the format within the storage life. A large pack dilutes the cost of packaging and handling, therefore lowers the price per kilo, but a bag half thrown away comes out more expensive than a small carton at the list price.
Is negotiating with the supplier useful?
Useful but secondary: it works on a few percent of the price, when specification and losses weigh far more. A price legitimately adapts to volumes and conditions. On the other hand, a price that would force the manufacturer to cut quality is not a good price, even once obtained.
How do you obtain better terms without increasing your volumes?
By stabilising your orders rather than grouping them. An annual commitment spread out regularly gives the manufacturer visibility on production, which can be negotiated, and ties up no additional working capital on your side. It is often more effective than an exceptional order twice a year.
Should you lower the almond content to save money?
It is a real lever, since almond dominates the material cost, but it is a trade-off. A higher content brings more taste, a different texture and less sugar. Choose the content that matches your application and the quality you want to offer, then validate on a sample.
When should you order for the festive seasons?
From September for year-end volumes. Entering a manufacturer's production schedule early gives better conditions and a better lead time than a call in November, when the whole supply chain is saturated.
What packaging exists for marzipan and hazelnut crunch?
At Silly Belgium, marzipan comes in cartons of 5, 10 or 15 kg, in buckets of 4, 5 or 6 kg and in bars of 250 g, 500 g or 1 kg. Hazelnut crunch comes in cartons of 5 to 10 kg, in buckets of 2 to 5 kg and in 20 kg bags.
Sources
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Silly Belgium helps calibrate the specification to your real recipe, often the first saving lever. Samples on request.
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