Fruit Tattoos: Budgeting Decisions

Every piece of fruit and vegetables sold in U.S. grocery stores has a small sticker on it. These stickers include food type, origin, and whether it was grown organically. Laser Food is a company based in Spain that makes laser marking machines. These Laser Mark machines tattoo every piece of fruit and vegetable with identifying information. The laser tattoos replace traditional produce stickers. In addition to the required information, laser tattoos on produce can also include individualized information such as harvest date, spoil date, and other custom data.Produce packing plants currently have machines that put the stickers on each piece of fruit and vegetables. The Laser Mark machines are more expensive than traditional sticker-labeling machines, but can process more pieces of produce per hour than traditional machines.

Fun fact: The paper stickers on fruit are edible, as is the glue backing them.

What managerial accounting tools could you use to analyze the decision about whether to purchase a Laser Mark machine or to continue to use a traditional sticker machine? Why do you think you can use those?