How to make a wholesale price list and trade sheet for food and drink

Updated 2 November 2026 · DELLI

A buyer who likes your product wants three answers before ordering: what it costs them, what it sells for, and how to get it. A wholesale price list gives those answers, and a trade sheet adds the photos and terms around them. This guide covers what to include, how to lay it out, a worked example for one product, and how to keep it current.

1. What to include

A buyer should be able to place a first order from your trade sheet without emailing you a single question. That means covering:

• Your range. Every product you sell to trade, with its pack size (150ml, 227g, 330ml). Mark new and seasonal lines.
• Photos. One clear shot per product on a plain background. A photo of the product on a shop shelf helps the buyer picture it on theirs.
• Trade price. Per unit, excluding VAT. Say "ex VAT" in the column heading so nobody has to guess.
• RRP. The shelf price you recommend. The shop sets its own price, but the RRP shows them the margin.
• VAT rate. Most food is zero-rated. Crisps, confectionery, soft drinks and alcohol are standard-rated at 20%. Mark each product so the buyer knows what the invoice will show.
• Case size and case price. Shops order in cases, so give units per case and the price for the case.
• Minimum order. By value or by cases, and whether buyers can mix products to reach it.
• Delivery. Cost, the order value where it becomes free, lead time, and how it arrives (your own van, courier or pallet).
• Shelf life and storage. Shelf life from production, the minimum left on delivery, and whether it is ambient, chilled or frozen.
• Allergens and dietary information. The allergens you declare on the label, plus vegan, vegetarian or gluten-free only where you can back the claim up.
• Barcodes. If you have them. Shops that scan at the till will ask.
• How to order and pay. Email, phone, order form or wholesale platform, and your payment terms, such as 30 days from invoice.
• How to request samples. Who to contact, and whether samples are free.
• A named contact. Your name, email and phone number.

2. How to lay it out

Buyers scan a trade sheet. Put things in the order they look for them.

1. Header. Brand name, one line on what you make and where, and your contact details.
2. Product table. One row per product. Keep the columns in the same order for every row: photo, product and size, trade price ex VAT, RRP, VAT rate, case size, case price, shelf life, allergens and dietary notes.
3. Terms. Minimum order, delivery, lead time, payment terms, how to order.
4. Samples. How to ask for them.
5. Footer. The date the prices apply from, for example "Prices valid from 1 March 2026".

A few habits make it easier to read:

• Group products by range (sauces, jams, gift boxes) if you have more than eight or ten.
• Show every price to two decimal places. Never write "POA" on a trade sheet.
• Use small icons for vegan or gluten-free, with a key at the bottom.
• Keep it to one or two screens on a phone. The story of your brand can sit on a separate page.

3. A worked example for one product

Here is a single row from a trade sheet for a fictional Bristol chilli sauce maker, with the working shown.

Check that your minimum order lines up with your case prices. With £25.20 cases, a £100 minimum is cleared by four cases. A £90 minimum would land between three and four cases, and the buyer has to work out which.

Do the same check on delivery. If free delivery starts at £150, say how many cases that is for your most popular product. Six cases of Smoked Habanero is £151.20, so a buyer can reach it with one product.

4. Why a link beats a PDF

A PDF causes problems once it leaves your outbox. A link avoids them.

• Buyers read on their phones. Shop owners often check email between customers. A web page fits the screen; a PDF price table needs pinching and zooming.
• There is only ever one version. Change a price on the page and every link shows the new one. A PDF you sent in March is still in someone's inbox in October with the old prices.
• Your first email stays light. A link keeps your email small and attachment-free. Some inboxes treat attachments from unknown senders with suspicion.
• You can see who looked. If your trade sheet tool tracks opens, you know which buyers read it and can time your follow-up.
• It travels. The same link works in your email signature, your Instagram bio, on a business card QR code and in a message to a buyer's colleague.

Keep a PDF copy for buyers who ask for one, for example to print or to file with their supplier records. Generate it from the same source as the link so the two never disagree.

5. Keep it up to date

An out-of-date price list causes awkward invoices. A buyer orders at the price on the sheet, you invoice at the new price, and the first conversation with a new stockist is about a mistake.

• Date every version. "Prices valid from" in the footer tells buyers which sheet they are looking at.
• Review it on a schedule. Set a reminder every quarter, and check it whenever your costs change, you add or drop a product, or you launch a seasonal range.
• Give stockists notice of price rises. Tell them in writing what is changing and from when, and honour orders placed before that date. A month's notice gives them time to reprice their shelf.
• Remove discontinued lines straight away. Mark seasonal products with when they are available.
• Match it to your labels. When a recipe changes, update allergens, dietary claims and shelf life on the sheet at the same time as the label.
• Keep one master list. A single spreadsheet of products, prices and terms, with your trade sheet, website and any wholesale marketplace listings (such as Faire or Ankorstore) updated from it.

Questions about price lists

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