Ingredient Categories
Categories help you organise your ingredient library into logical groups. They make it easier to find ingredients, filter lists, and generate meaningful reports.
Default categories
Brikly comes with a set of standard categories that suit most hospitality businesses:
| Category | Typical ingredients |
|---|---|
| Dairy | Milk, cream, butter, cheese, yoghurt |
| Meat | Beef, chicken, pork, lamb, mince |
| Fish & Seafood | Salmon, cod, prawns, mussels |
| Produce | Vegetables, salad, herbs, fruit |
| Dry Goods | Flour, sugar, rice, pasta, pulses |
| Oils & Fats | Olive oil, vegetable oil, lard, coconut oil |
| Bakery | Bread, rolls, wraps, croutons |
| Beverages | Coffee beans, tea, juices, syrups |
| Condiments & Sauces | Ketchup, mustard, soy sauce, vinegar |
| Frozen | Frozen chips, ice cream, frozen fruit |
| Alcohol | Wine (cooking), beer, spirits |
| Packaging | Takeaway containers, napkins, bags |
Creating custom categories
If the default categories do not cover your needs, you can create your own:
- Go to CostingBrik > Ingredients.
- Click the Categories tab (or the filter/manage categories option).
- Click Add Category.
- Enter a name for the category.
- Click Save.
The new category will immediately be available when creating or editing ingredients.
Examples of custom categories
- Charcuterie - for a deli or wine bar with a large cured meats range.
- Speciality Flour - for a bakery that uses multiple flour types (strong bread flour, rye, spelt, tipo 00).
- Plant-based - for venues with a significant vegan offering.
- Garnishes - for cocktail bars that want to separate garnish costs from main ingredients.
Do not over-categorise. If you only stock three types of oil, there is no need for an "Oils" category separate from "Dry Goods". Categories should help you find things faster - if a category only has one or two ingredients in it, consider merging it into a broader group.
Filtering and organising by category
Filtering the ingredient list
On the main Ingredients page, use the category filter to narrow the list:
- Click the Category dropdown at the top of the ingredient list.
- Select one or more categories.
- The list updates immediately to show only ingredients in those categories.
This is useful when you want to review all your dairy prices, check which produce items you have on file, or audit a specific group.
Sorting
You can also sort the ingredient list by category to see all items grouped together. Click the Category column header to sort alphabetically by category name.
Category-level reporting
Categories feed into your costing reports. When you view recipe cost breakdowns, you can see what percentage of a recipe's cost comes from each category. For example, you might see that 40% of your burger cost is Meat, 15% is Dairy, and 10% is Produce. This helps you understand where your money goes and where price changes will have the biggest impact.
You can change an ingredient's category at any time by editing the ingredient. This will not affect any recipe costs - it only changes how the ingredient is grouped and filtered.