FROM THE TABLE
Pricing is the conversation most founders avoid the longest. It's uncomfortable in a specific way — it forces you to put a number on something you've been building emotionally, and then defend that number against a market that doesn't care how much work went into it.
So most food businesses do something understandable but dangerous: they look at what competitors charge, add or subtract a little, and call it a pricing strategy. It isn't. It's a guess with a reference point.
Real pricing starts from the inside out. From the unit economics of every dish, SKU, or experience. From the margin you need — not want, need — to cover your costs and still operate sustainably. From an honest understanding of what your customer is actually buying and what that's worth to them, independently of what you spent to produce it.
Price is not a number you choose. It's a signal. It tells people who you're for, what to expect, and whether they're in the right place.
This applies whether you're pricing a tasting menu, a jar of hot sauce, or a hotel F&B experience. The mechanics differ. The logic doesn't.
There are two pricing mistakes I see constantly. The first is pricing too low to build volume — and then discovering the volume needed to make it viable is impossible to achieve. The second is pricing emotionally — charging what feels right rather than what the model requires.
Both are fixable. But they're far cheaper to fix before you've committed to a menu, a packaging run, or a lease.
The businesses that get pricing right early aren't the ones with the most sophisticated models. They're the ones willing to look at the uncomfortable number — the one where the business only makes sense — and build from there.
SIDE PLATE
At a churrascaria in Rio, I spent less time thinking about the food and more time watching the team. Nobody ran. Nobody disappeared. Nobody interrupted a conversation at the wrong moment. The meat arrived when it should. The table was cleared when it should be. It looked effortless.
It wasn't effortless. It was choreographed — probably through weeks of training, standard procedures, and a very clear understanding of what the experience was supposed to feel like from the guest's perspective.
Then, in the bathroom: a dispenser of dental floss, small cups, mouthwash. At a meat restaurant known for long, abundant meals and even longer conversations. A tiny detail. But the right detail — the one that says every part of this experience was thought about, including the part after the last course.
The experience doesn't end when the plates are cleared. It ends when people leave. That's the standard worth designing to.
WHAT'S COOKING
Pricing is one of the first things I work through with every new project - not because it’s the most exciting part, but because it sets the logic for almost everything else. Get it right and the rest of the model makes sense. Get it wrong, and you’re building on sand.
Carla
Founder, kooleats
