Confidential · Not for buyers

Internal Wholesale for Mimi's

Pricing, tiers and terms for the wholesale program. Reference copy for Joe, Naomi and Rob Schroeder at Cold Quality Products — not the sheet a restaurant sees.

Joe SutliffNaomi SutliffRob Schroeder · CQP
Internal Order ledger Cost engine Goals & roadmap Buyer pack ↗

Read before quoting anyone

Every number on this page is a draft for discussion, not a committed price. These figures come from Mimi's own internal wholesale analysis and were built as a framework to negotiate against — they have never been agreed with a buyer, and no supply agreement exists yet.

Decision made: flat pricing, no volume discounts. The earlier draft sketched five discount tiers; that is now off the table for launch. Every account pays the same band price regardless of volume. This protects the specialty positioning, keeps the maths simple while capacity is tight, and avoids giving away a discount that is very hard to claw back later. Revisit only when capacity and cost-of-goods are both known.

Tub pricing by category Draft

Per 3-gallon foodservice tub. Cost rises with inclusion expense and labour, not with flavour popularity. Mexican vanilla at $57 is the anchor — it sits mid-range in Standard, and every other band was set relative to it.

CategoryWhat drives the costExample flavorsPer tub
Standard / base Clean bases, single-fold flavors, minimal inclusions Mexican vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, sweet cream $52 – $62
Classic inclusions Moderate cookies, chips, variegates; some extra labour Cookies & cream, mint chip, rocky road, butter pecan $58 – $72
Fruit / swirl / bakery Fruit prep or puree, pie pieces, water-activity control Peach, blackberry, lemon, salted caramel ribbon $65 – $82
Premium / specialty Expensive inclusions (nuts, craft chocolate), limited runs Pistachio, triple chocolate, high-nut builds $72 – $92
Gelato Higher density, lower overrun, premium dairy and paste Stracciatella, hazelnut, seasonal fruit gelato $85 – $115+
Water Ice / novelty Positioned as a specialty line; priced per SKU Current Water Ice roster Quote per flavor

What a tub is worth to the buyer

The number that closes a restaurant account. Their cost per scoop is small against what they charge for it — lead with this, not with the tub price.

Anchor example — Mexican vanilla at $57

Tub cost$57.00
Yield at a 4 oz dip, 10% waste allowance~85 scoops
Efficient scooping~91 scoops
Over-portioned~76 scoops
Cost per scoop — planning figure~$0.67

Shake maths

  • Standard 16 oz shake = 2.5 scoops
  • Large = 3 scoops
  • A standard shake uses roughly 2.9% of a tub before waste — about $1.68 of ice cream
  • At a $7–9 menu price that is a strong margin, and it is the argument that sells a standing order

Why yield varies

  • Scoop technique and portion discipline
  • Product hardness at service temperature
  • Tub cling and scrape-down
  • Quote ~85 as the planning figure, never as a guarantee — a buyer who portions loosely will get fewer and blame the product

Tub deposit — $5.00 returnable

A refundable container deposit on every 3-gallon tub, credited back when the tub comes home. Charged and credited as its own line, never folded into the price of the ice cream.

EventLine itemEffect
Tub goes out+$5.00 each Added to the invoice as "Tub deposit", listed separately from the ice cream.
Tub comes back−$5.00 each Credited on the next invoice as "Tub deposit return". A credit, not a cash refund.
Tub not returned$5.00 kept The deposit is forfeited and covers replacing it. No argument needed — that is what the deposit was for.

Why a separate line matters

  • It reads as refundable. Buried in the tub price it looks like a price rise; on its own line it is obviously money they get back.
  • A deposit is a liability, not income. Until a tub is written off, that $5 is money owed back — keep it out of the sales figure or the books overstate revenue.
  • Count tubs, don't serialise them. Numbering individual 3-gallon tubs is more admin than it is worth. Track out, back, and the net outstanding.
  • Reconcile monthly and both sides sign off on the balance. Disputes come from letting it drift.

The running balance

  • Outstanding tubs × $5.00 = deposit held
  • Both parties work from the same record — two separate tallies always diverge
  • Record the count at the moment of handover, on the delivery, with both people present
  • Set a tolerance now: a tub or two lost per quarter is normal breakage; a steady drift is a conversation

Delivery & order terms Draft

MethodFeeNotes
Customer pickup$0 Collected at Mimi's. Buyer is responsible for transport temperature — they must bring insulated transport.
Delivery — Montrose$35 / stop Shorter route, can pair with other drops. Sample rule: waive over $400 tub value.
Delivery — Grand Junction$75 / stop Longer drive, higher fuel and labour per stop. Sample rule: waive or reduce over $750, or combine with a route day.

Order terms

  • Minimum: 1 tub, or 20 pints per flavor
  • Lead time: 24 hours minimum from confirmed order
  • Deposit: none under 10 tubs; 50% at 10+
  • Capacity: 25–35 tubs/week at current staffing not a commitment

Still unagreed with Rob

  • Territory / exclusivity — Grand Valley exclusivity is listed as an open meeting item
  • Payment terms — net 15, net 30, or on delivery
  • Whether Rob buys wholesale and resells, or brokers on commission — this changes the entire pricing model and should be settled first
  • Certificate of insurance — larger accounts often request one

Before agreeing to anything

The number nobody has calculated yet

There is no cost-of-goods figure anywhere in Mimi's records. Every price on this page was set by market feel and by what the retail scoop supports — not by what a tub actually costs to make.

Before committing to a tier or a standing order, work out the real per-tub cost: dairy, sugar, eggs, inclusions, packaging, and the labour hours to churn and pack it. Then confirm the margin holds at the bottom of each band. A $52 standard tub is only a good price if it clears cost with room in it — and wholesale volume multiplies a thin margin into a real problem rather than a small one.

This is the single highest-value hour of work before the first order ships.