How to price a café menu in Egypt: cost per cup in EGP

Most café owners in Egypt set prices the same way: they check what two or three nearby cafés charge, go slightly below or slightly above, and hope the margin works out. Then the bean supplier raises prices, milk goes up again, and six months later the flat white that looked profitable is barely covering itself.

This guide replaces guesswork with a cost sheet you can build in an afternoon. You will calculate the real cost of each drink in EGP, add your fixed costs per cup, handle VAT correctly, build your own local price benchmark, and set clear triggers for when to reprice. The numbers below are illustrations with round figures. Replace every one with your own invoices.

1Step 1: cost every drink down to the gram

You need three inputs per drink: the coffee dose, the milk or other ingredients, and the packaging. Here is an illustration using example supplier prices of EGP 1,600 per kg for house espresso beans, EGP 2,400 per kg for a single origin, and EGP 60 per litre of milk.

Drink (illustration)	Coffee	Milk and extras	Cup, sugar, packaging	Ingredient cost (EGP)
Espresso	18 g = 28.8	None	2	30.8
Cappuccino	18 g = 28.8	180 ml milk = 10.8	2	41.6
Iced Spanish latte	18 g = 28.8	150 ml milk = 9, condensed milk = 8	Ice, cup, lid, straw = 8	53.8
V60, single origin	15 g = 36	Filter paper = 3	2	41

Weigh, do not guess. Pull ten shots and weigh the dose, pour ten cappuccinos into a measuring jug and see how much milk actually goes in, including what is wasted in the pitcher. Most cafés find they use more milk per drink than the recipe says, and that difference is margin.

2Step 2: add the cost you do not see in the cup

Ingredient cost is only part of the picture. Rent, salaries, electricity, the machine lease and your Wi-Fi are paid whether you sell ten cups or a thousand. Divide them across the cups you sell:

Fixed cost per cup = monthly fixed costs ÷ drinks sold per month

Illustration: fixed costs of EGP 150,000 a month and 5,000 drinks sold gives EGP 30 per cup. That is almost as much as the coffee itself, and it is why a café that sells too few drinks struggles even with a healthy markup. If your number is high, the fix is usually volume or a better food attachment, not a higher coffee price.

Now each drink has two costs: ingredients, and a share of overheads. Your price must cover both and leave profit.

3Step 3: turn cost into a price

A simple, widely used method is a multiplier on ingredient cost. Many cafés price drinks at three to four times ingredient cost, because beverages carry lower ingredient costs than food and have to subsidise the slower-selling items. Using the cappuccino above:

Cappuccino (illustration)	x 3	x 3.5	x 4
Menu price (rounded)	EGP 125	EGP 145	EGP 165
Minus ingredients (41.6)	83.4	103.4	123.4
Minus fixed cost per cup (30)	53.4	73.4	93.4

The last row is what the drink contributes to profit before tax. Do this for your ten best sellers. You will usually find one or two popular drinks that are underpriced, often the iced drinks with expensive extras, and one or two that are priced well above what the market will bear.

Price add-ons from cost too. If oat milk costs you EGP 15 more per drink than regular milk, the surcharge should be at least that, plus the same multiplier logic. A syrup shot or an extra espresso shot is easy margin, so charge for it rather than giving it away.

4Step 4: account for VAT before you print a price

Egypt's standard VAT rate is 14%. If your café is VAT-registered and your menu prices include VAT, a EGP 125 cappuccino only brings in about EGP 109.65 before VAT is paid over. So treat the prices in the Step 3 table as prices before VAT, then add VAT on top to get the menu price (EGP 125 becomes EGP 142.50). If you skip this step, the tax quietly eats your margin.

Whether your displayed prices must include VAT and service charge depends on your registration and the rules that apply to you, so confirm it with your accountant. From the guest's point of view, a menu that shows the final price is always better than a bill with surprises. If you do add tax or service at the end, say so clearly at the top of the menu.

5Step 5: build your own local benchmark

Published "average" coffee prices are not useful for your street. Build your own benchmark instead with a one-hour price walk:

1. List the five cafés your customers would realistically choose instead of you. Include at least one chain and one independent.
2. Record their prices for the same five items: espresso, cappuccino, an iced latte, a filter or V60, and a croissant.
3. Note what you get for the price: cup size, seating, Wi-Fi, quality of the beans.
4. Place your own prices in the list.

Your cost sheet sets the floor. The benchmark tells you where the ceiling is. If your cost sheet says a drink needs EGP 145 and every competitor charges EGP 110, the problem is in your costs or your recipe, not your price. Repeat the walk every quarter, because Egyptian café prices move quickly.

6Step 6: set clear triggers for repricing

Under inflation, the question is not whether to raise prices but when and how. Decide the triggers in advance so each increase is a routine rather than a crisis:

• Update your cost sheet every time a bean, milk or packaging invoice changes.
• Reprice a drink when its ingredient cost has risen enough that its contribution (the last row of the table in Step 3) has dropped noticeably, for example by EGP 10 or more.
• Move in small steps, EGP 5 to 10 at a time, rather than one large jump.
• Change the drinks people compare least first.
• Never reprice all drinks on the same day if you can avoid it.

This is where a digital menu pays off: a price change is one edit and every table sees it immediately, with no reprint and no crossed-out numbers. With Menyo, a café's QR menu starts at $19/month on the Starter plan. For deeper guidance on price rises, read holding margins under inflation, and for how guests perceive the numbers themselves, see the psychology of menu prices.

7Frequently asked questions

What ingredient cost should a café aim for on drinks?

Pricing drinks at three to four times ingredient cost is a common starting point. Check it against your fixed cost per cup: if a drink does not cover both, the multiplier is too low for your café.

Should food be priced the same way as coffee?

Food usually carries a higher ingredient cost and more waste, so it tends to be priced on a lower multiplier. Our guide to menu cost percentage targets covers food in detail.

How often should I update café prices in Egypt?

Update the cost sheet whenever an invoice changes, and review prices at least quarterly. Reprice individual drinks when their contribution drops, not all at once.

Should takeaway drinks cost more than dine-in?

Takeaway adds cup, lid, sleeve and bag costs, while dine-in uses seating. Many cafés keep one price and absorb the difference; if packaging is expensive, a small takeaway surcharge is reasonable.

8Your next hour

Take your ten best-selling drinks and fill in the cost table for each, with real weights and real invoice prices. Then add your fixed cost per cup. That one sheet will tell you which prices to change first. For structuring the rest of your café menu, see our café QR menu guide.

Put your café menu on Menyo so each price change is one edit instead of a reprint.