In: Economics
The American Baker’s Association reports that annual sales of bakery goods last year rose 15 percent, driven by a 50 percent increase in the demand for bran muffins. Most of the increase was attributed to a report that diets rich in bran help prevent certain types of cancer. You are the manager of a bakery that produces and packages gourmet bran muffins, and you currently sell bran muffins in packages of three. However, as a result of this new report, a typical consumer’s inverse demand for your bran muffins is now P = 12 - 1.5Q. If your cost of producing bran muffins is C(Q) = 1.5Q, determine the optimal number of bran muffins to sell in a single package and the optimal package price. Instruction: Enter your response for the optimal package price rounded to two decimal places.
Optimal package size: ___units
Optimal package price: $ ___
Set P=MC for profit maximization
12-1.5Q = 1.5
12-1.5 = 1.5Q
Q = 10.5/1.5 = 7
P = 12-1.5*7 = 1.5
TR = P*Q = 7*1.5 = 10.5
CS = 0.5*7*(12-1.5) = 36.75
Optimal package size: 7 units
Optimal package price: TR+CS = 10.5+36.75 = 47.25