An acai bowl shop sells something that looks expensive and is: a 16-ounce bowl goes for $12, and costs about $3.80 to make, most of it the frozen acai packs, then granola, fruit and honey. Smoothies use the same freezer and blenders. The plan turns on wages, because bowls are built by hand at a rush, rent for a spot near the beach or a gym, and the freezer space acai needs. A summer-heavy season means the working cash has to carry the winter. In the example, a San Diego acai bowl shop starts with $159,000, ends its first year about $6,100 behind before the owner's pay while sales build, and makes about $5,600 a month at full speed. Below is each part of the plan, the first year month by month, the startup budget, and a free template.
The short version
- Describe the shop in a paragraph: the street, the crowd, what's missing nearby, the goals.
- Cost each bowl: acai, granola and fruit, toppings, the bowl and the card fee.
- Plan sales by product: bowls, smoothies and drinks.
- Wages and rent are the fixed costs that decide the month.
- Freezer space for acai packs is part of the build-out.
- Budget working cash for winter months and check it against the lowest cash point.
- TaroStack makes each bowl a recipe, so its true cost follows the price of what's in it. More below.
Part 1: the business description
Mission Beach Bowls, a made-up acai bowl shop in San Diego, California, writes:
Mission Beach Bowls is an 800-square-foot acai bowl and smoothie shop two blocks from the beach, serving acai and pitaya bowls, smoothies, cold brew and coconut water. In its first year it aims to reach $42,000 of sales a month.
Part 2: what a bowl costs
| Item | Acai or fruit | Toppings | Honey and extras | Bowl or cup | Card fee | Cost | Price | Cost share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Acai bowl, 16 oz | $1.80 | $1.09 | $0.30 | $0.25 | $0.36 | $3.80 | $12.00 | 31.7% |
| Smoothie, 16 oz | $1.40 | $0.37 | $0.26 | $0.27 | $2.30 | $9.00 | 25.6% |
Two 100-gram acai packs are $1.80 of the bowl; granola, banana, strawberries and blueberries are $1.09. The smoothie uses the same fruit. How a food cost share is judged is in what is a good food cost percentage.
Part 3: customers and staffing
Mornings and early afternoons are the business: beach-goers, surfers and the gym next door. Two people build bowls from open to 3 p.m., one after. Summer weekends run double a winter weekday.
Part 4: what each product earns
| Product | Price | Variable cost | Contribution | Margin | Units a month at full speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Acai bowl | $12.00 | $3.80 | $8.20 | 68.3% | 2,400 |
| Smoothie | $9.00 | $2.30 | $6.70 | 74.4% | 1,200 |
| Cold brew and drinks | $4.00 | $0.90 | $3.10 | 77.5% | 600 |
At full speed the business sells $42,000 a month and keeps $29,580, 70.4%; bowls bring $19,680 of it.
Part 5: the first year, month by month
Fixed costs are $24,000 every month: rent ($4,500), wages ($17,000), utilities ($900), insurance ($300), register and software ($200), ads ($500), and other costs ($600). Sales start at half of full speed:
| Month | Sales | Profit | Cash, year to date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $21,000 | −$9,210 | −$9,210 |
| 2 | $23,520 | −$7,435 | −$16,645 |
| 3 | $26,040 | −$5,660 | −$22,306 |
| 4 | $28,560 | −$3,886 | −$26,191 |
| 5 | $31,080 | −$2,111 | −$28,302 |
| 6 | $33,600 | −$336 | −$28,638 |
| 7 | $35,700 | $1,143 | −$27,495 |
| 8 | $37,380 | $2,326 | −$25,169 |
| 9 | $39,060 | $3,509 | −$21,659 |
| 10 | $40,320 | $4,397 | −$17,263 |
| 11 | $42,000 | $5,580 | −$11,683 |
| 12 | $42,000 | $5,580 | −$6,103 |
The year's sales are $400,260, and the business ends it $6,103 behind, before the owner's pay. It breaks even at about $34,080 of sales a month, in the seventh month. The lowest cash point, −$28,638 in month 6, is covered by the $35,000 of working cash with about $6,400 to spare. The months here are averages; a beach shop sells far more in July than in January, so change the shares in the workbook's second row for the winter.
Part 6: the startup budget
| Item | Example |
|---|---|
| Build-out and signs | $70,000 |
| Blenders, freezers and refrigeration | $22,000 |
| Furniture | $10,000 |
| Lease deposit and first month | $9,000 |
| Signs and branding | $5,000 |
| Opening inventory | $4,000 |
| Register | $2,500 |
| Licenses and permits | $1,500 |
| Working cash | $35,000 |
| Total to start | $159,000 |
The $124,000 before working cash is earned back in about two years at full speed. A smoothie-first shop is in smoothie business plan, and a coffee-first one in coffee shop business plan.
Get the template
Download the acai bowl business plan workbook. Four sheets: your products, each with its price, variable cost and units a month at full speed; the first year, month by month, with sales ramping up, profit, cash, the first profitable month, the lowest cash point and whether the working cash covers it; your fixed costs; and the startup budget. It's an ordinary Excel file with no macros, and it works in Google Sheets, LibreOffice and Numbers.
Where this stops working
The plan uses one cost a bowl. The counter uses a different one every week: acai prices move with each shipment, berries spoil, and heavy-handed toppings at a rush add cents to every bowl.
How TaroStack does it
TaroStack makes each bowl a recipe, so its true cost follows the price of acai packs and fruit.
Bowls as recipes. Each bowl is a recipe by weight, so its cost moves when the supplier's price does.
Counts with no signal. The cooler and dry storage can be counted on a phone with no signal, and the reorder list shows what runs out first in days of cover.
Waste with a reason. Fruit that spoils before it's used is recorded as waste with a reason, reported by item.
| The job | Notebook | In TaroStack |
|---|---|---|
| What a bowl costs this month | Worked out once | True cost from the recipe |
| What to order before the weekend | A guess | The reorder list |
| What was thrown out | Not recorded | Waste by reason and item |
Recipes, counts and the reorder list are on every plan, from $49 a month. The first 30 days are free, with no credit card. If you'd like a hand setting up, ask, and we'll do it with you.