Mint Farming Break-Even Analysis: $319K Monthly Revenue

Fixed costs $31.1K/mo Launch overhead base

Contribution margin 81% After variable costs

Break-even revenue $38.4K/mo Monthly revenue needed

Break-even timing Month 15 First profit month

Break-even calculator

Use this calculator to test monthly revenue, variable expenses, and fixed costs against break-even for a mint farm.

Lean Base Full

Monthly revenue More monthly sales creates more room to cover overhead. $ Low sales High sales Variable expenses These are direct growing, packing, and transport costs that move with sales. $ Thin costs Heavy costs

Money available to cover fixed costs $56,518 $68,330 revenue - $11,812 variable expenses

Margin ratio

83%

Covers fixed costs

Yes

Fixed monthly costs This is the monthly overhead the margin must cover. $ Light overhead Heavy overhead

Break-even chart Revenue Total costs

Which mint farm expenses are fixed, and which move with sales?

Cost classification

Break-even gets cleaner when stable overhead is split from sales-linked inputs. For this farm, the mistake to avoid is mixing monthly commitments with crop costs that rise as harvested and sold volume grows.

Expense	Cost	Break-Even Treatment	Common Mistake
Greenhouse Maintenance	Fixed	Use $2,500 per month as recurring overhead in the break-even base.	Scaling it with harvest pounds instead of keeping it flat.
Utilities: Base Electricity, Water, and Metered Irrigation	Semi-variable	Keep the $1,500 monthly base charge fixed, then add usage tied to irrigation and production activity.	Treating all utilities as Variable and overstating savings in slow months.
Monthly Land Lease	Semi-fixed	Model leased area as a capacity block; in the first year, 5 area spaces at 80% leased and $250 per space equals $1,000 per month.	Excluding leased land from overhead when calculating break-even.
Farm Manager	Fixed	Use the $70,000 annual salary as fixed labor for the relevant planning range.	Allocating the full salary as a per-pound crop expense.
Packaging Materials & Cold Storage	Variable	Apply the first-year rate of 6.0% of revenue, then use the forecast rate by year.	Treating packaging as Fixed and missing margin pressure as sales grow.
Mint Rootstock & Organic Fertilizers	Variable	Apply the first-year rate of 5.0% of revenue, then use the forecast rate by year.	Putting all planting inputs into fixed overhead.
Harvesting & Processing Labor	Variable	Apply the first-year rate of 5.0% of revenue because this labor rises with harvest and sales volume.	Blending variable harvest crews with salaried farm staff.
Refrigerated Transport Fuel & Maintenance	Variable	Apply the first-year rate of 3.0% of revenue, then reduce it using the forecast rate by year.	Burying delivery fuel inside fixed vehicle overhead.

How does break-even change across lean, base, and full mint farm setups?

Scenario table

Break-even shifts with land mix, harvest volume, and fixed staffing. The lean setup stays deep in loss, the base setup is still short, and the full setup finally clears break-even with a small cushion.

Planning assumptions only; actual results will move with yield, pricing, and harvest timing.

Scenario	Monthly Revenue	Variable Costs	Fixed Costs	CM Ratio	Operating Profit	Break-Even Signal
Lean mint farm	$12,174	$2,313	$25,850	81.0%	-$15,989	Fixed overhead is too heavy for this scale.
Base mint farm	$34,395	$5,950	$32,607	82.7%	-$4,162	Close, but still below break-even.
Full-scale mint farm	$56,004	$9,128	$33,606	83.7%	$13,270	Revenue now covers fixed cost and leaves room.

What breaks the break-even plan for a mint farm?

Stress test

Base revenue is $12,174 a month against $25,850 of fixed costs and an 81% contribution margin, so the farm sits about $19,740 below break-even. Losses get worse fast if harvests slip, spoilage rises, or buyers force bulk pricing.

Stress Case	Changed Assumption	Break-Even Revenue	Revenue Gap	Risk Signal
Current plan	No change.	$31,914	$19,740 gap	The farm is still short of break-even by almost $20k a month.
Revenue shortfall	Monthly revenue falls 20% to $9,739.	$31,914	$22,175 gap	A 20% sales drop widens the monthly hole fast.
Fixed-cost pressure	Monthly fixed costs rise by $5,000.	$38,086	$25,912 gap	Each extra $1,000 of overhead lifts break-even by about $1,235.
Margin pressure	Variable expenses rise from 19.0% to 25.0% of sales.	$34,467	$22,293 gap	Higher spoilage and weaker specialty pricing push break-even up fast.
Combined pressure	Revenue falls 20%, fixed costs rise by $5,000, and variable expenses rise to 30.0% of sales.	$44,071	$34,332 gap	Low yields, higher overhead, and margin squeeze together make break-even hard to reach.

What should you verify before you sign the land lease and start hiring for mint farming?

Founder checklist

Get firm buyer commitments before you sign the lease or spend on sales, because the farm has to clear about $31,900 a month just to reach break-even. The model only works if demand, land mix, harvest timing, and reserve cash line up.

1Buyer Commitments$31.9K/mo

Confirm committed buyers can cover monthly break-even revenue before you lock the first major spend.

2Land Mix20/80

Verify you can start with 5 cultivated spaces at a 20% owned and 80% leased mix, including 4 leased spaces at $250 each in Year 1, so the land cost load stays inside plan.

3Margin Base81% CM

Check the first-year cost stack before you sign, because packaging, rootstock, labor, and refrigerated transport leave about 81% contribution margin to cover fixed costs.

4Crop Mix35/30/10/10/15

Hold the crop split at 35% bulk spearmint, 30% bulk peppermint, 10% specialty chocolate mint, 10% specialty mojito mint, and 15% contract farming, so the sales plan matches the yield plan.

5Harvest PlanMonths 2,4,6,8,10

Plan harvest labor around months 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10, because that is when field work turns into cash and missed windows push break-even out.

6Cash Buffer$264K

Keep enough cash to cover the model’s $264K minimum cash point in Month 26, and don’t add the $16,250 monthly launch payroll until sales can carry it.