Age 13 · Business math

Your first coffee cart

Price a fictional pop-up café, calculate profit, and decide whether a promotion makes financial sense.

3 pages · 50–60 minutes · Sample packet

HattieAge 13 · Business math

Set your menu prices

Name: ____________________Date: ______________

1. Know the costs

All amounts are fictional US dollars. Unit costs include ingredients and packaging. This simplified exercise excludes tax, labor, waste, and payment fees.

Item	Unit cost	Your price	Profit per item
Coffee	$0.80	________	________
Muffin	$1.10	________	________
Cookie	$0.45	________	________

2. Price with a reason

Choose prices above unit cost. Explain who your customers are and why your prices would feel fair to them.

3. Make a prediction

Which item do you expect to sell most? How might that affect how much stock you prepare?

HattieAge 13 · Business math

Will the cart make a profit?

Name: ____________________Date: ______________

1. A practice sales day

For this page, use fixed prices: coffee $2.50, muffin $3.00, cookie $1.50. Revenue = quantity × price. Variable cost = quantity × unit cost.

Item	Quantity	Revenue	Variable cost
Coffee	30	________	________
Muffin	20	________	________
Cookie	24	________	________

2. Close the register

Add the revenue and variable costs separately.

Your stall fee is $25. Calculate profit = total revenue − total variable costs − stall fee.

3. Break even

If you sell only muffins at $3.00 each, each muffin contributes $1.90 toward the $25 fee. What is the smallest whole number of muffins you must sell to cover the fee? Explain why you round up.

HattieAge 13 · Business math

Test a promotion

Name: ____________________Date: ______________

1. Bundle it

Sell a coffee and muffin together for $5.00. Use the fixed prices and costs from page 2.

What would they cost separately? What does the customer save?

What is the combined unit cost? What is the bundle's contribution before the stall fee?

2. Compare two mornings

Morning A: 10 customers each buy one full-price coffee and muffin. Morning B: 12 customers each buy one $5 bundle. Which morning contributes more toward the stall fee, and by how much?

3. Make your recommendation

Would you offer the bundle? Use your calculations and name one real-world cost this exercise left out.

Grown-up notes & answer guide

Page 1 prices vary. Page 2 revenues: $75, $60, $36; costs: $24, $22, $10.80. Totals: $171 revenue, $56.80 variable cost; profit after fee $89.20. Break even: 14 muffins. Bundle: $5.50 separately, saves $0.50; cost $1.90, contribution $3.10. Morning A: $36 contribution; B: $37.20, higher by $1.20. These are simplified calculations, not business advice.

Names, scenarios, and prices in these samples are fictional.

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