Market Sell Out!: Pricing lower but profitably + discussion on cost breakdown

My last farmers market confirmed that people are a bit more price sensitive to how much they spend on flowers, at least at the farmer's market. So I walked into this market with a pricing strategy. I would price lower BUT with profitability in mind. In this video, I share my pricing strategy and discuss my costs/profit.
Videos mentioned:
Never buy a bucket again... or should you? • Never buy a bucket aga...
Saving a nearly "flopped" market due to price + “price discrimination” & harvesting lilies: • Saving a nearly "flopp...
Patreon: www.patreon.com/bareflowerfarm

[@TheIdeabaker]

You are exceptionally precise about your well-organized approach, and my brain is bursting with new and practical information. You have a new subscriber! Thank you.

[@Fabdanc]

I love that you referenced COGS. I also enjoy that the hourly rate you pay yourself is in line with what a flower picker would get paid. The former accountant in me wants to build all sorts of cost accounting formulas. Every now and then I see some farmers claiming a flower is not profitable...then they say they pay themselves $40/hr 😂

[@bareflowerfarm]

Lol! $40/hr for design maybe but part of the point of me building in labor costs is so that if I ever wanted to scale and hire employees, I wouldn’t need to worry about rethinking margins! Didn’t realize you were a former accountant! Accounting was my worst subject in college 🤣

[@tuskegeehoney]

Thank you for the info about the sleeves and keeping colors separate so customers may think of buying 2 sets! Brilliant!

[@kawerkamp]

Really appreciate the breakdown of how you sequence your harvest and prep prior to market (including how to balance realities of kids in the mix!).

[@bareflowerfarm]

Glad it was helpful!

[@anitagrays3457]

Thank you for another great and informative video. I saw a picture of Princess Kate carrying a bouquet of lily, rose and Eucalyptus and thought of you and your mission to increase the love for lilies.

[@bareflowerfarm]

Oh no way! I need to find this photo! I'm glad that she's not just carrying roses :)

[@magdalenaxo1]

Great video as always. You are amazing with the cost calculations and your profit margins.

[@bareflowerfarm]

Thank you ☺️

[@hungariancottageadventure77]

whata great market, im really pleased for you, really enjoy the level of detail and transparency in your videos.

[@bareflowerfarm]

Thank you!!

[@mhubertcfi]

Lizzies always deliver! I'm actually planting a lot more perennial hedges to fill out things with greenery and keep costs down. Great video with the cost breakdown as usual

[@ElderandOakFarm]

I am planting only shrubs & evergreens that I can use in my bouquets in my flower beds! 😁

[@bareflowerfarm]

Yes!! Something I need to backtrack on because I didn't think I could make lizzies profitable retail. And I too am planting more perennials in our landscaping :). Good luck with the planting!

[@blakesblooms]

I laughed so hard when I see the bread line! The bread lady and I became friends and she puts my arrangement on her display and sends people to me. I agree with you!!! That bread line is the truth. I'm so happy for you!!!!!

[@bareflowerfarm]

Haha yes!! The bread line is the truth. I feel like I could make a shirt saying that and it would be like a secret society that gets the joke 😂. That is awesome that the bread lady puts your arrangement on her display. Our bread person is super nice- they give out the leftover bread to vendors after the market!!

[@twrigh23]

I’d happily pay $15 or $20 for your flowers. They are beautiful and thats what the grocery stores charge and yours look way better

[@cathykelly6002]

your explaining your selling price is good to listen to even though I will never go selling flowers

[@bareflowerfarm]

Thanks Cathy 🙂

[@schovey]

My best farmer’s market was when I had lilies in every bunch!

[@pharmajo6368]

I like the idea of using straight bunches to reduce the cost of your labour for the more affordable option - the difference in value is clear for the customer to see, which makes me suspect that the straight bunches won’t undercut the mixed bunches.

[@bareflowerfarm]

It’s a good point with the difference in value being easy to see. For some customers, this difference sways them to buy a mixed bouquet bc it’s bigger with variety for just $5 more. For others who are more price sensitive, they stick with the lower priced bunch. In these cases, it is a successful deployment of “price discrimination”!

[@gardeninggrandma5247]

I am a new subscriber. I like the way you break everything down from a business perspective. I grow flowers for my own enjoyment; however, I thought about trying to sell my Baby's Breath this year to a florist. The plant was four feet tall and about four feet across. It was just spectacular. It's a plant I grew from seed about 30 years ago, and it does well each year, but this year it was absolutely gorgeous. I didn't end up selling it, but I wondered what a fair price would have been, should I decide to try next year? Thanks for any advice you can provide. PS I am located in Southern New England.

[@bareflowerfarm]

Hi there! Thanks for the kind words. I personally don’t sell baby’s breath but based on my personal experience selling other stuff, here’s what I’d say: 1) I would guess $1.10-1.30 per stem here in NJ. My co-op doesn’t list anything for under $1/stem 2) see if you can sign up for any wholesaler lists close to you to get a reference point! Boston ornamental terminal is close to you and you could also mark up 20% to start!

[@gardeninggrandma5247]

@@bareflowerfarm Thank you!

[@sallyazzato3481]

Wow! Look at all those beautiful flowers! Congratulations!

[@bareflowerfarm]

Thanks sally!

[@LINativePlantConservation]

wonderful video, thank you for sharing!

[@gracieshomeandgardens5089]

Wow what an amazing market sale..❤

[@juliematthews5107]

Congratulations on the sell out. Alittle curious if you have investigated the finish of the sleeve and how environmentally friendly that is?

[@bareflowerfarm]

This is such a good question. I had been meaning to call the company to confirm- I believe it’s very similar to the adhesive in a cardboard box, but I left a message to ask. Will report back!

[@newjerseygarden]

Hi, I enjoy your videos. Your lilies are so beautiful. I live in northern NJ in zone 6a. I have a big problem with red lily beetles destroying my lilies, stems and flowers. Do you have any pest issues with your lilies? I grow organically so I'm just curious if you use any organic pest control. Thanks.

[@bareflowerfarm]

Where in northern NJ are you? This year I found a total of about 8 Scarlett lily beetles. I haven’t ever grown any fritillia or lilies so I’m assuming that helped with the beetle pressure. The small amount helped with manually killing them. The key is early recognition - you need to spot them before they lay the eggs or else it’s game over. Easier said than done when there’s a lot 🙁 I had more of an aphid issue but the lady bugs ultimately took care of all of them by the time they bloomed!

[@alimarahman7821]

Your flowers look so amazing ❤

[@bareflowerfarm]

Thank you!

[@firehorsewoman414]

Those lilies are gorgeous!

[@bareflowerfarm]

Thank you!!

[@firehorsewoman414]

@@bareflowerfarm I am sure I just missed it somewhere, but what is the reason behind the general dislike of lilies? They are such a gorgeous flower.

[@christieharrison9542]

Pssh fake LV bag. $15 is so cheap for that quality of product

[@clairegill7891]

😂

[@bareflowerfarm]

Lol!!!

[@angiehom9744]

Love your video ,can you tell me what kind of a Celosia is that

[@bareflowerfarm]

It's self seeded terracotta celosia celway! There are so many celosias but this is my favorite!

[@amberlangford8471]

You have probably said this somewhere, but where did you source your rose lily bulbs, they are so pretty!

[@bareflowerfarm]

I get them from Onings :)

[@LINativePlantConservation]

I have a farmers market in need of one flower seller, they dont allow more than 1. But ive never grown at scale before. Should i sign up for the flower market and sow seeds like crazy? or sow seeds like crazy and see how much i can grow the first year, then if they still hvae an opening, sign up the following year?

[@bareflowerfarm]

I would say that the farmer's market is just ONE sales outlet! There are alot of other ways to sell your flowers. Definitely start sowing seeds and just grow. In the meantime, think about other outlets - I have some other videos that could help you here: 1) Selling via Facebook Marketplace: kzbin.info/www/bejne/nYm4ZaZreatmac0si=b2Z6FeyF_3OgZAXq 2) Selling via a CSA (I would recommend just doing 2-3 max if you haven't grown at scale) - this video is about CSA basics: kzbin.info/www/bejne/iGHKYpZ3acR6hNUsi=IVdDL_QYfQgicLux 3) This video is about this small gardener could have easily churned out a few bouquets a week with her small space and done a CSA: kzbin.info/www/bejne/g5SnmmaFZcqtatEsi=k0NpgTGcC7X0ch3t 4) Selling to a store - sounds daunting but if you have any relationships with cafe owners or shop owners, a worthwhile route to pursue: kzbin.info/www/bejne/bGiThHSahr6dnNUsi=-69VzhUnYDeSxD39 Good luck and lmk if you have questions!

[@fabioisidoro5375]

Congratulations for your wonderful flowers, can you tell me where I can buy seeds of lisianthus ? I'm writing from Italy.

[@bareflowerfarm]

Hi there! It’s typically not too difficult to buy lisianthus seeds (ie Johnny’s and Geoseed in the US). However, I buy plugs since they are difficult to start from seed!

[@fabioisidoro5375]

@@bareflowerfarm thank you 😀

[@alimarahman7821]

Buy plugs as lisis are very difficult to grow from seeds.

[@Fabdanc]

*Notoriously difficult*

[@firehorsewoman414]

Check out Farmer Bailey. He is a broker for plugs. If he can’t help you (Italy), he might be able to direct you to the right place.

[@ElderandOakFarm]

Do you have water in those rectangular containers you used to transport the flowers?

[@bareflowerfarm]

Yes! and no problems with swishing water!

[@carolleimbach6407]

Where do you source paper sleeves? Thank you.❤

[@bareflowerfarm]

They’re from Aroo and Happy Paper Co. i would definitely recommend Aroo!

[@ChristyHall-qg8jk]

Hi! Do you use a regular refrigerator to store the flowers?

[@bareflowerfarm]

Hi! Yes! It's a dedicated fridge for my flowers. We got it for free from someone who was moving and didn't want their fridge. It's been amazing!

[@clairegill7891]

You should of answered her in mandarin and said something like ‘well if you can afford a Louis Vuitton bag $15 is nothing to you ‘ 😂

[@ElderandOakFarm]

😂

[@ElderandOakFarm]

Yea Id usually ignore those kind of comments, but in that case I would have responded with that & just said it very jokingly... 😅

[@bareflowerfarm]

Haha never argue about money & value with an Asian mom. There is no logic behind where they put perceived value because usually they are frugal about everything until they're not. I know from first hand experience 😂

[@ElderandOakFarm]

@@bareflowerfarm I epuldnt have argued I just would have said what she said above & left it at that 🤣 but I know what you mean! Lol

[@ElderandOakFarm]

Do you ever feel like you shpuld educate your vidggie farmer neighbor? I feel so bad for those of you that have to deal with the ones that are just clueless about how their pricing their product...

[@bareflowerfarm]

So as long as she is growing them, I personally don't have an issue with how she's pricing them. It's her choice if she wants to sell cheap and unprofitably, even if it impacts me. I would definitely have a convo if she was buying them wholesale especially if they were imported. It just means that I need to differentiate myself. At the end of the day, I like the fact that capitalism, when functioning properly, gives the consumer more choice so in cases like this, the farmers market shopper has more choice to choose from!