A2: Food

Slashfood published an interview with Zingerman’s co-founder Ari Weinzweig. Among other things, he talks about how Zingerman’s sets its prices: “You start with what it costs, you calculate freight and then you work out a range, a percentage set for each category and charge somewhere in that. I’d say the public’s perception of profit margins in the food business are way off: People perceive that food business make money like crazy, but it’s generally lower than they think. We could charge 15 to 20 percent more than what we do now, like fast-food companies. If you’re paying $8 for cheese there’s a reasonable assumption that someone’s charging a lot of money for it, but if you go to the farm and see what goes into making the cheese, it’s a bargain.” [Source]