Macarons are fragile, so their packaging is about holding each one still: a tray or insert with a slot for every cookie. A clear clamshell of six is the everyday box; a gift box of twelve with an insert sells for occasions; a clear tube stacks six in a row for favors; and a single in a cello bag with a sticker suits a café counter. Almond flour makes every macaron a tree nut food, and the label says so. In the example below, a Kansas City macaron bakery prices four options: 7 cents to $1.48 a package.
The short version
- Hold every macaron in its own slot.
- Clear clamshells of six are the everyday box.
- Gift boxes of twelve with inserts sell for occasions.
- Clear tubes stack six for favors.
- Almond flour: tree nuts on every label, with eggs and milk.
- Keep them cool; fillings soften in heat.
- TaroStack puts the box and insert in each flavor's cost. More below.
The options
| Option | Holds each one | Looks | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clear clamshell of 6 | Yes | Clean | The case, markets |
| Gift box of 12 with insert | Yes | Gift | Occasions |
| Clear tube of 6 | Yes | Favor | Weddings, parties |
| Single in a cello bag | No | Simple | Café counters |
Macarons are filled, matured in the fridge overnight, then boxed cold; a box packed warm sweats and the shells soften. Making them by the hundred is in how to make macarons in bulk.
The label
A box's label lists its ingredients in order by weight (21 CFR 101.4), the name and place of business (21 CFR 101.5) and the net quantity (21 CFR 101.105), and declares any major allergen (21 U.S.C. 343(w)): almond flour is a tree nut, egg whites are egg, and buttercream fillings are milk. The bakery's storage line says to keep them refrigerated and bring them to room temperature to serve. What a box sells for is in how to price macarons. This is general information, not legal advice.
An example: four options for a macaron bakery
Petite Lune Macarons, the made-up macaron bakery in Kansas City, Missouri, I use in these examples, boxes about 400 packages a week for its case, cafés, and wedding favors:
| Option | Parts | Per package | 400 a week |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clear clamshell of 6 | Clamshell 45¢, label | $0.51 | $204.00 |
| Gift box of 12 with insert | Box and insert $1.40, label | $1.48 | $591.60 |
| Clear tube of 6 | Tube 85¢, label | $0.92 | $367.20 |
| Single in a cello bag | Bag 4¢, sticker 3¢ | $0.07 | $28.56 |
The case sells clear clamshells; cafés take singles in cello bags; the wedding order took 150 clear tubes, each with a tag in the couple's colors. The gift box costs three times the clamshell, so it's priced as a gift. The bakery's year is in macaron business plan.
Get the calculator
Download the macaron packaging calculator. Two sheets: components, each part of each option with its pack price, units, how many a package uses and waste; and compare, each option's cost per package 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
A cost sheet doesn't know which batch of shells is in which box. When a customer asks about one box, or a lot of almond flour is recalled, the boxes it went into have to be found.
How TaroStack does it
TaroStack keeps each batch's lot, the packaging in its cost, and where every case went.
Each batch a lot. Each batch of macarons records the ingredient lots it used, gets its own lot and dates, and lot labels print for the packages.
Packaging in the recipe. The boxes, inserts and tubes are items in each flavor's recipe, so every batch uses them up at the price you paid, and the count of what's left stays current.
Where it went. Each customer's order records the lots it got, so one recall report shows every customer a batch reached.
| The job | Notebook | In TaroStack |
|---|---|---|
| Which batch is in a package | Written on it | The lot on its label |
| Boxes, inserts and tubes left | Counted when you run out | Used by every batch |
| Which shops got a batch | Invoices | One recall report |
Lots, batches, recipes and true cost 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.