Restaurant Vendor Price Comparison: How to Find the Real Cost of What You Buy

To compare restaurant vendor prices fairly, convert every quote to the same unit before you compare anything. Divide the case price by the total amount in the case to get a cost per pound, ounce, quart, or each. Then, for anything you trim, peel, or portion, divide that by your yield to get the cost per usable unit. Only after that do you add the things that never show up on the line item: delivery fees, order minimums, shelf life, and the labor it takes to get the product ready to use.

A case that's $8 cheaper can easily be the more expensive buy. It might have fewer pounds in it, smaller fruit, more fat to cut off, or it might push you under a delivery minimum on the order. This guide walks through each of those with the arithmetic, so you can check your own quotes the same way, then shows what the difference does to the cost of a single dish. For where price checks fit alongside counts, pars, and purchase orders, see our complete guide to restaurant purchasing and inventory management.

In this guide

• Step 1: Get the cost per unit
• Pack size traps to watch for
• Step 2: Adjust for yield and trim
• Step 3: Price the whole order, not the line item
• What a price difference does to your plate cost
• When the cheapest line item isn't the cheapest buy
• Tracking prices over time
• A simple vendor price comparison sheet
• Common mistakes
• FAQ

All the examples below are illustrative. The vendors, pack sizes, prices, and yields are made up to show the method. They aren't typical prices for any distributor or region, and your own invoices and yield tests are what count.

Step 1: Get the cost per unit

The basic formula is simple:

Cost per unit = case price ÷ (packs per case × amount per pack)

The "unit" is whatever you'd naturally use to compare that product: pounds for cheese and proteins, quarts or fluid ounces for dairy, each for lemons and to go containers, ounces for spices.

Worked example: shredded mozzarella from two vendors

Two vendors quote you shredded whole milk mozzarella:

Vendor B's case is $7.20 cheaper, but it has 4 fewer pounds in it. Per pound, Vendor B is $0.45 more, which is 12.5% more ($0.45 ÷ $3.60 = 0.125). If you go through 40 lb a week, that's $18.00 a week, or $936 over a year, on one item.

Both vendors call it "a case of mozzarella." That's why the pack size has to be on your order guide and on every quote you compare.

Pack size traps to watch for

Most bad comparisons come from a pack size that looks the same but isn't. Here are the ones to check before you trust a cost per unit.

Same case, different count

Paper goods and disposables are where this shows up most. One vendor's case of 16 oz deli containers might hold 240, another's 500. One case of gloves is 10 boxes of 100, another is 4 boxes of 250. Always divide down to the each.

Count size on produce

Citrus, avocados, and some other produce are sold by count: the number of pieces that fit in the standard box. In the same size box, a higher count means smaller fruit. So a case of 165 lemons isn't "more lemons for the money" in any useful sense if you're juicing them. See the worked example in the yield section below.

Catch weight items

Many proteins are priced per pound but sold by the piece or the case, so the invoice weight changes every time. The quote might say "approx. 10 lb case" while the invoice says 11.4 lb. Compare the price per pound, and when you check the delivery, check the actual weight billed against what came in. Our guide to tracking purchase orders covers checking invoices line by line.

Net weight vs what you can use

A few common gaps between what the label says and what you get to cook with:

• Canned goods packed in liquid. If you drain them, compare by drained weight from the spec sheet, not the net weight on the can.
• Frozen seafood with an ice glaze. Ask whether the weight you're quoted includes the glaze.
• Proteins in a marinade or solution. Some of what you're paying for is liquid.

A pack size that quietly changes

A vendor can keep the same case price and put less in the case. If your order guide still says 4 × 5 lb and the invoice now says 4 × 4.5 lb, your cost per pound went up even though the price didn't. There's a worked example of this in the price tracking section.

Cheat sheet: what to compare by

The chemical row is easy to miss. A concentrate that costs twice as much per jug can be cheaper per use if it's mixed at half the strength. Use the dilution rate on the label, and confirm with the supplier which dilution is right for the job.

Step 2: Adjust for yield and trim

For anything you trim, peel, portion, or juice, the price per pound you pay isn't the price per pound you serve. The fix is one more division:

Cost per usable unit = cost per unit ÷ yield

Yield is the usable amount divided by the amount you started with. If you trim 10 lb of product and end up with 7 lb you can use, the yield is 7 ÷ 10 = 0.70, or 70%.

The best yield numbers come from your own kitchen. Weigh the product before, trim it the way your cooks actually trim it, weigh what's usable, and do it on a few deliveries rather than one. Published yield tables are a reasonable starting point, but your specs, your cuts, and your cooks will differ. Our guide to restaurant yield percentage covers how to run a yield test step by step, with a produce example and a portioned protein. If you want the arithmetic done for one item, there is a free yield calculator.

Worked example: whole tenderloin vs fully trimmed

A steakhouse needs 30 lb of trimmed tenderloin a week for 8 oz filets. It can buy whole, untrimmed tenderloin from Vendor A or a fully trimmed center cut from Vendor B.

The untrimmed tenderloin looks 28% cheaper on the invoice. Per usable pound, the two are within about a dime.

Now look at a week:

Vendor A: buy 30 lb ÷ 0.70 = about 42.9 lb
          cost = 30 usable lb × $20.00 = $600.00

Vendor B: buy 30 lb ÷ 0.97 = about 30.9 lb
          cost = 30 usable lb × $20.103 = $603.09
          (using the unrounded $19.50 ÷ 0.97 = $20.103)

That's a $3.09 difference before labor. If trimming takes a cook an hour a week and that hour costs you $20 in wages and payroll costs, Vendor A really costs about $620 a week, and Vendor B is cheaper by roughly $17.

There are two reasons a kitchen might still buy whole:

• The trim has a use. The chain and tails might go into a staff meal, a sandwich, or a stock. Then not all of the 30% loss is waste, and the math tips back toward Vendor A.
• Control over the cut. Some chefs want to trim to their own spec.

Both are fine reasons. The point is to decide with the real numbers instead of the price on the invoice.

Worked example: lemons by count

A bar juices lemons for cocktails. Two quotes for a case:

Per lemon, the 165s are cheaper. Per ounce of juice, the bigger 115s are. If the same restaurant were cutting wedges for iced tea, where one lemon is one garnish no matter its size, the 165s would win. Same product, different answer, depending on how it's used.

Step 3: Price the whole order, not the line item

A lower price on each item doesn't help if moving the order costs you a delivery fee. Before you switch items to a new vendor, price the whole basket you'd actually order, including:

• Order minimums, and what happens below them: a fee, or no delivery at all
• Delivery or fuel fees
• The effect on your other vendor. Pulling items off your main order can put that order under its minimum.

Worked example: a produce order from two vendors

The kitchen's broadline distributor already delivers twice a week, and its produce rides on that truck with no extra fee. A specialty produce vendor quotes lower prices, but charges a $20 delivery fee on orders under $250.

Every single line is cheaper from the produce vendor, and the order still costs $6.00 more. If the kitchen moved another $85 or more of its produce to that vendor, the order would reach $250, the fee would drop off, and these five items would come out $14.00 cheaper there (assuming the extra items cost about the same at both vendors).

So the question isn't "who's cheaper on romaine?" It's "which vendor should this week's produce order go to, given everything we need?" That depends on order size, which depends on your vendor ordering schedule and how many days each order has to cover.

What a price difference does to your plate cost

A cheaper cost per pound only matters once you know how much of it goes on each plate and how many plates you sell. To see the real effect of switching vendors, cost the dish both ways:

Ingredient cost per plate = cost per usable unit × amount on the plate
Plate cost                = sum of every ingredient cost per plate
Savings per plate         = current plate cost − new plate cost
Weekly savings            = savings per plate × plates sold per week
Food cost % for the dish  = plate cost ÷ menu price × 100

You only need to recost the ingredients whose price would change. Everything else on the plate stays the same on both sides.

Worked example: one pizza, two ingredients, two vendors each

Take a pizzeria that's been quoted the same two products used earlier in this guide: shredded mozzarella from Vendor A or Vendor B, and 25 lb cases of Roma tomatoes from its broadline distributor or a produce vendor. Its 12 inch tomato pie uses:

• 6 oz of shredded mozzarella (0.375 lb)
• 4 oz of sliced Roma tomatoes, measured after coring and trimming the ends (0.25 lb)
• Dough, sauce, oil, and basil, which cost $1.10 a pie no matter which vendors supply the cheese and tomatoes

Today it buys mozzarella from Vendor B and Romas from the broadline. Its own yield test on the Romas came out at 90%.

The Roma prices per pound come from the case prices in the produce example above: $34.00 ÷ 25 lb = $1.36 at the broadline and $31.00 ÷ 25 lb = $1.24 at the produce vendor.

Switching both ingredients saves about 20 cents a pie ($2.997 − $2.794 = $0.202). On a $16.00 menu price, the dish's food cost goes from 18.7% to 17.5%.

Twenty cents doesn't sound like much until you multiply it out. At 250 pies a week:

Mozzarella:  ($1.519 − $1.350) × 250 = about $42.19 a week
Romas:       ($0.378 − $0.344) × 250 = about $8.33 a week
Total:       about $50.52 a week, or about $2,627 a year

(The weekly figures use the unrounded per pie costs, so they're a few cents different from multiplying the rounded numbers in the table.)

Now apply the whole order check. Most of the savings come from the cheese. The tomato switch saves about $8.33 a week, but the produce vendor charges $20 on orders under $250. Moving only the Romas would cost more than it saves. It's worth it only if enough of the rest of the produce order moves too, as the example above showed. If Vendor A already delivers to you with no extra fee, the mozzarella switch is the clear win.

Running it on your own menu

1. Pick two or three ingredients you buy in volume and could get from more than one vendor.
2. Get current quotes for the same spec from two or three vendors, and work out the cost per usable unit for each.
3. Find how much of each ingredient goes on one plate, from your recipe card or by weighing a few portions on the line.
4. Cost the plate with your current vendors and with the cheapest ones, then multiply the difference by how many you sell in a week.
5. Run the whole order check before you move anything.

This is the same per plate costing that sits behind theoretical food cost. Our guide to food cost percentage from inventory covers how that compares with the actual food cost you get from your counts and invoices.

When the cheapest line item isn't the cheapest buy

Beyond yield and fees, here are the situations where paying more per unit is often the better call.

You throw part of the bigger pack away

A bigger pack is usually cheaper per unit, but only the part you use counts.

Say the kitchen uses about 8 oz of basil before it turns. A 1 lb pack costs $18.00 and a 4 oz clamshell costs $6.50.

1 lb pack:       $18.00 ÷ 16 oz = $1.13 per oz bought
                 $18.00 ÷ 8 oz used = $2.25 per oz used

4 oz clamshells: $6.50 ÷ 4 oz = $1.63 per oz bought
                 2 clamshells = $13.00 for the 8 oz used = $1.63 per oz used

The pound is cheaper per ounce on paper and $5.00 more expensive in practice. This is also why your par levels should account for shelf life, not just usage.

The product changes your recipe

A cheaper fryer oil that breaks down sooner, a cheese that melts differently, or a tomato product with more water can change how much you use or how the dish turns out. Test a substitute on the actual menu item before you switch, and ask the cooks who use it every day. They'll notice first.

The vendor shorts you often

If the cheaper vendor regularly shorts the order, someone ends up running to the store at retail price or 86ing a dish. If you track shorts and substitutions by vendor, you'll have numbers to weigh against the price difference instead of a hunch.

Another vendor means another delivery to receive

Every vendor you add is another order to place, another truck to check in, another invoice to file, and another set of cutoffs to remember. For a few dollars a week, that may not be worth it. For a few hundred, it probably is. Our guide to broadline vs specialty distributors works through putting a number on that time when you're deciding whether to add or drop a vendor.

Payment terms

A vendor that wants payment on delivery and one that gives you a couple of weeks to pay aren't the same deal for a restaurant watching cash, even at the same price. That's worth knowing, though most kitchens will still compare price first.

Tracking prices over time

A vendor comparison is a snapshot. Prices move, especially for produce, proteins, and dairy, so a vendor that won in March might not win in October. The way to catch it is to record the cost per unit from every invoice, not just the case price.

Worked example: price creep you'd miss on the case price

Here's the same shredded mozzarella from Vendor A over five invoices:

If you only watch the case price, it went up in September and then came back down to $72.00. If you watch cost per pound, it went from $3.60 to $4.00, an increase of 11.1% ($0.40 ÷ $3.60 = 0.111). The September 29 invoice put less cheese in the case at the old price.

That's exactly when to call your rep, check the other vendor's current quote, and update the pack size on your order guide. The case still holds 4 bags, but each bag is half a pound lighter. If you count or cost that cheese by weight anywhere, update those numbers too. Our guide to restaurant inventory units covers keeping order units and count units straight.

How much to track

You don't need to track every item. Start with:

• Your 15 to 20 biggest spend items (usually proteins, cheese, oil, and a few produce items)
• Anything priced at market that moves week to week
• Any item you buy from more than one vendor

Check those whenever an invoice comes in, and do a full comparison of quotes for your top items a few times a year or whenever a price jumps.

A simple vendor price comparison sheet

If you already keep a purchasing spreadsheet, add a comparison tab. If not, these columns are enough to start:

In a spreadsheet, "Cost per unit" is the case price divided by units per case, and "Cost per usable unit" is that divided by yield. Write yield as a decimal (0.70) or format the column as a percentage so the division works.

Then for each item, sort by cost per usable unit. That gives you the line item answer. Use the whole order check above before you actually move items between vendors.

Common vendor price comparison mistakes

• Comparing case prices. The most common one, and the easiest to fix. Always divide down.
• Comparing different products. Shredded vs block, whole milk vs part skim, fresh vs previously frozen. If the spec isn't the same, the comparison isn't either.
• Using the pack size you remember. Copy it from the most recent invoice.
• Ignoring yield on proteins and produce. A low price per pound on product you'll trim 30% off isn't a low price.
• Forgetting fees and minimums. Compare the order you'd actually place, with its delivery costs.
• Using a quote that's months old. Market items can move week to week. Compare quotes from the same week.
• Switching on price alone, without testing. Run the substitute on the actual dish before changing the order guide.

FAQ

What's the difference between cost per unit and cost per usable unit?

Cost per unit is what you pay for each pound, ounce, or each you receive. Cost per usable unit is what you pay for each pound or ounce you can actually cook with or serve, after trim, peel, and other loss. For items with no loss, like a bag of sugar, they're the same.

How do I find my yield for an item?

Weigh it as it comes in, prep it the way your kitchen normally does, and weigh what's usable. Divide usable weight by starting weight. Repeat on a few deliveries and use the average, because yield changes with the size and quality of what shows up.

How often should I compare vendor prices?

Watch cost per unit on your biggest items every time an invoice comes in, since that catches price and pack size changes. Get fresh quotes on your top items a few times a year, or any time a price jumps or a new vendor approaches you.

How do I figure out what a cheaper vendor saves me on a dish?

Multiply each ingredient's cost per usable unit by the amount that goes on one plate, for both vendors. The difference is your savings per plate. Multiply that by how many plates you sell in a week to see whether the switch is worth it, and check fees and minimums before you move the order. The plate cost example above walks through it.

Should I split orders across vendors to get the lowest price on everything?

Only when the savings cover the extra cost: delivery fees, minimums on both orders, and the time it takes to place, receive, and reconcile another order. For a handful of items, one or two vendors is often cheaper overall. For high spend items where the difference is large, splitting can be worth it.

Is it OK to tell my rep I'm comparing prices?

Generally, yes. Reps expect it. Bring the cost per unit and the exact spec you're comparing, so the conversation is about the same product. Be fair about it too: if the other quote has a delivery fee or a smaller pack, say so.

Keeping prices and pack sizes in one place with Proteus Kitchen

The comparison math has to be done by you, in a spreadsheet or on paper. What helps is having current prices and pack sizes in one place, so you aren't digging through invoices every time you want to check.

In Proteus Kitchen, each inventory item keeps its vendor, its pack size, the unit you order it in, the unit you count it in, and the last vendor price. When you build a purchase order, each line shows that price per order unit and the order shows an estimated total. Past orders stay in one list you can filter by vendor and date range, so you can look back at what you ordered and at what price. Proteus doesn't compare vendors' prices for you, and it doesn't pull prices from vendor catalogs. You update the price when it changes on an invoice.

If your current prices and pack sizes live in a spreadsheet or order guide, Free Restaurant Setup is included: send it over and the Proteus team will help import your inventory and vendors.

Next step: run the numbers on your top five items

1. Pull your most recent invoice for your five biggest spend items.
2. Write down each pack size exactly as it appears, and work out the cost per pound, quart, or each.
3. For anything you trim or portion, do a quick yield test this week and work out the cost per usable unit.
4. Get a current quote for the same spec from one other vendor, and run the same math.
5. Before switching anything, price the whole order, with fees and minimums, from both vendors.