Baklava is packaged to keep its layers crisp and its syrup in place. It keeps at room temperature, so the package's jobs are to stop pieces sticking together, keep air out so the phyllo doesn't go stale, and show off the pistachio. A clear hinged tray is the everyday pack for the counter and markets. A gift tin with each piece in a paper cup is the holiday pack, since the cups stop the syrup gluing pieces together in transit. A windowed bakery box holds a party assortment, and caterers buy whole half sheet pans. The label carries the name, net weight, ingredients, your name and address, and allergens that matter for baklava: wheat in the phyllo, milk in the butter or ghee, and the tree nuts, named by kind, such as pistachios and walnuts. In the example below, a New Jersey bakery prices four packages: 55 cents to $2.24 a unit.
The short version
- Everyday: a clear hinged tray that shows the layers.
- Gifts: a tin, with each piece in a paper cup so the syrup doesn't glue them together.
- Parties: a windowed box of mixed pieces, cupped.
- Caterers: a half sheet foil pan with a lid.
- Keep air out so the phyllo stays crisp; baklava keeps at room temperature.
- Label wheat, milk and each tree nut by name.
- TaroStack keeps each tray as a batch with its lot and date, and the tin in its cost. More below.
The options
| Option | Keeps it | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| 1 lb clear tray with lid | Visible, closed | Counter and markets |
| 1 lb gift tin, paper cups | Sealed, pieces separate | Holidays and gifts |
| 2 lb assortment box | Windowed, cupped | Parties |
| Half sheet foil pan | Whole trays | Caterers, restaurants |
The label
Packaged baklava carries the label your license requires: the name, such as "pistachio baklava", net weight, ingredients in order of weight, and your name and place of business. Its allergens are the reason to be careful: wheat in the phyllo, milk in the butter or ghee, and tree nuts named by kind, pistachios or walnuts or both, since a customer allergic to one may not be allergic to the other. An assortment box lists every nut in every piece. How allergens go on a label is in food labeling requirements for small business, and the order of the list in ingredient list order.
An example: four options for a bakery
Cedar Gate Sweets, the made-up Middle Eastern bakery in Paterson, New Jersey, I use in these examples, sells about 200 packages a week before the holidays, at its counter and to halal markets:
| Option | Parts | Per unit | 200 a week |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 lb clear tray with lid | Tray 42¢, label 12¢ | $0.55 | $110.16 |
| 1 lb gift tin with paper cups | Tin $1.85, 24 cups 19¢, label 15¢ | $2.24 | $448.32 |
| 2 lb assortment box | Box 48¢, 36 cups 29¢, label 12¢ | $0.91 | $182.88 |
| Half sheet foil pan for caterers | Pan and lid $1.20, label 15¢ | $1.38 | $275.40 |
Costs include a little waste. The gift tin costs four times the tray, so it goes only on the holiday gift line, priced to carry it; the tray stays the everyday pack. The halal markets will want the bakery's halal certification, which is under way, as in how to get halal certified.
Get the calculator
Download the baklava packaging calculator. Two sheets: components, each part of each option with its pack price, units, how many one unit uses and waste; and compare, each option's cost per unit and per week at your volume, with notes. It's an ordinary Excel file with no macros, and it works in Google Sheets, LibreOffice and Numbers.
Where this stops working
The holidays bring trays from several bake days, four packages and a handful of pastries in each assortment. A cost sheet doesn't say which bake is in which tin, or which pistachio lot went into it.
How TaroStack does it
TaroStack keeps each tray as a batch with its lot and date, and the tin in its cost.
Each tray a batch. A tray of pistachio baklava is a batch from its recipe, taking phyllo, butter, pistachios and syrup off stock by their lots, with its own lot and best-by date.
Packaging in the recipe. The tin, cups and label are part of the recipe, so a gift tin's true cost includes them.
Gift assortments. An assortment box is a recipe made from finished pieces in stock, so its cost and its nut lots follow what went in.
| The job | Notebook | In TaroStack |
|---|---|---|
| Which bake is in a tin | Written on the lid | The lot on its label |
| Which pistachio lot went in | Not recorded | Batches by lot |
| What a gift tin costs | Worked out once | True cost from the recipe |
Recipes, batches and lots 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.