Rex says
Money math without the spreadsheet headache. Plug in your numbers and I'll show you exactly where the dollars land.
Try a scenario
Click to load — tweak from there.Inputs
Result
Total blended monthly profit
$10,200
Wholesale channel profit
$3,960
Retail channel profit
$6,240
Blended margin percent
61.4%
Profit if 100% sold retail (capacity permitting)
$15,600
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How to use this
- 1Enter total monthly production capacity (units).
- 2Enter share sold wholesale (%).
- 3Enter cost per unit (same for both channels) ($).
- 4Enter wholesale price per unit ($).
- 5Enter retail price per unit ($).
- 6Read your total blended monthly profit on the right — it updates as you type.
- 7Hit Share to keep the scenario or send it to someone.
About this calculator
Small food and beverage producers usually sell through two channels at once: wholesale to cafes, grocers, or distributors at a lower price with guaranteed volume, and direct retail (farmers market, taproom, tasting room, online) at full price with lower volume. This calculator takes your total production capacity, the price and cost structure for each channel, and the split between them, and returns blended revenue, blended margin, and total profit so you can test whether shifting more volume to wholesale (steady but thinner margin) or retail (higher margin but capacity-constrained by foot traffic or staffing) improves the bottom line. It's meant to be rerun whenever a new wholesale account is proposed, since accepting a large wholesale order can crowd out higher-margin retail capacity you didn't realize was the more valuable use of production.
Worked example
Using the values the calculator loads with:
Inputs
- Total monthly production capacity (units): 2000
- Share sold wholesale: 60 %
- Cost per unit (same for both channels): 3.2 $
- Wholesale price per unit: 6.5 $
- Retail price per unit: 11 $
Results
- Total blended monthly profit: $10,200
- Wholesale channel profit: $3,960
- Retail channel profit: $6,240
- Blended margin percent: 61.4%
- Profit if 100% sold retail (capacity permitting): $15,600
What each field means
Inputs
- Total monthly production capacity (units)
- The total monthly production capacity (units) used in the calculation. Starts at 2000 so you have a working example on load.
- Share sold wholesale (%)
- The share sold wholesale used in the calculation, measured in %. Starts at 60 % so you have a working example on load. Accepted range: 0–100 %.
- Cost per unit (same for both channels) ($)
- The cost per unit (same for both channels) used in the calculation, measured in $. Starts at 3.2 $ so you have a working example on load.
- Wholesale price per unit ($)
- The wholesale price per unit used in the calculation, measured in $. Starts at 6.5 $ so you have a working example on load.
- Retail price per unit ($)
- The retail price per unit used in the calculation, measured in $. Starts at 11 $ so you have a working example on load.
Results
- Total blended monthly profit
- Returned as a money amount in US dollars and shown as the headline result. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
- Wholesale channel profit
- Returned as a money amount in US dollars. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
- Retail channel profit
- Returned as a money amount in US dollars. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
- Blended margin percent
- Returned as a percentage. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
- Profit if 100% sold retail (capacity permitting)
- Returned as a money amount in US dollars. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
FAQ
Why would I ever take wholesale if retail margin is higher?
Retail is capacity-constrained by foot traffic, market days, or tasting room hours, while wholesale gives you predictable volume and cash flow to justify batch production efficiency. A producer that can't sell more than 30% of capacity at retail needs wholesale to move the rest, even at thinner margin, rather than let capacity sit idle or spoil.
How do I decide if a new wholesale account is worth it?
Check whether it displaces retail sales you'd otherwise make at higher margin. If your retail channel is already capacity-constrained (selling out at markets, limited tasting room hours), a wholesale order competing for the same production capacity may lower total profit even though it adds revenue, which is exactly what this calculator is built to catch.
Should wholesale price ever equal retail price?
No — wholesale accounts expect a discount, typically 40-50% off retail (keystone pricing), because they're taking on marketing, storage, and their own margin requirement when reselling. If your wholesale price is too close to retail, buyers will treat it as a rounding error not worth the relationship, and if it's too far below cost-plus-minimum-margin, you're subsidizing their business.
Accuracy and limitations
- Results are estimates before tax, fees, and inflation unless an input explicitly covers them.
- Rates are treated as fixed for the whole period — variable-rate products will drift from this projection.
- This is educational maths, not financial advice. Check anything contractual with the lender or your accountant.
Related tools
Cite this calculator
Writing about this topic? Grab a citation — every link helps keep these tools free.
RevenueLab. (2026). Wholesale vs Retail Channel Split Calculator. Retrieved from https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/wholesale-retail-channel-split
<p>Source: <a href="https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/wholesale-retail-channel-split" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Wholesale vs Retail Channel Split Calculator — RevenueLab</a> (2026).</p>
Source: [Wholesale vs Retail Channel Split Calculator — RevenueLab](https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/wholesale-retail-channel-split) (2026).