This week was...
To see how this week went, read my book; One Season at the Farmers Market.
We're officially halfway through the 2015 season! All that's left is August, September, and October.
This week was... To see how this week went, read my book; One Season at the Farmers Market.
0 Comments
I'm back! I feel like my blog has become The Farmers Market and Foraging Blog. It seems like that is all I'm able to post! Summer is a busy time, especially now that I've taken on this project.
This week was... Read my book, One Season of the Farmers Market, to see how this week was. Here we are at the tenth week of our experiment! We had a nice sunny day last week and sold most of our stuff. Altogether we grossed $105. Last week (4th of July) we did not do the farmers market because we were gone all but one day (Wednesday) and I wouldn't have had the time or energy to bake. However, it would have been a great week to sell. I talked to a girl that sells jewelry, and she said it was her best week ever. I also heard other people talking about how good of a day it was.
Marketing This week I worked on taking and editing photos. I will use these product photos for promotional stuff. Labeling As promised last time, I did spend some time improving my labels. I bought some neutral colored card stock to use. The cost was about 8 cents per page, and if I can get 10 labels out of each page, it is still cost effective (though not as much as plain white paper labels). I looked at some of the larger adhesive labels available, and the cost would come out to about 8 cents per label, which is too high right now for the profit I am making. I did buy some double-stick tape though, to experiment with making my own adhesive labels, mostly for the jam and peanut butter. I used my card stock and a decorative corner punch to make new price signs for some of my products. I think they turned out dandy. I believe I've shared before my frustration with the cashew crunch not selling as well as I had hoped. It tastes fantastic, but looks like peanut brittle. Ain't nobody got time for peanut brittle. One thing my brother noticed while working with me is the tendency of customers to pick up a bag of cashew crunch and look at the bottom. Almost every single person! I talked to Hubs about this, and he thought maybe they did it because they were looking for peanuts or something. I've even had people TELL me it was peanut brittle, after I told them it was toffee. Last week I made a cute little sign/note explaining the difference between cashew crunch and peanut brittle. Not only did I sell both bags without any arguments, but nobody looked at the bottom. I wonder if this will help me sell more candy next week. Work Load One of the challenges of having a farmers market booth is trying to bake a variety of items but not have too much go to waste. This means you either have to do some of the work ahead of time or make smaller batches. This week I figured out how to do small batches of both cookies and quick breads. This means that I'll be able to offer four different cookies every week instead of four of the same kind, with exactly the same amount of work. Bingo! The Bottom Line Income Marshmallows: $4.50 Toffee: $9.00 Jam: $3.50 Granola: $5.00 Amish Peanut Butter: $14.00 No-Bake Cookies: $5.75 Peanut Butter Cookies: $3.50 Molasses Cookies: $3.50 Applesauce Bread: $2.00 Cinnamon Rolls: $9.00 Mulberry Mini-loaves: $4.00 Garlic Bread: $5.00 Green Beans: $4.00 Total Income: $72.75 Expenses Booth: $4.00 Tent: $5.00 Gas: $6.00 Costs of goods sold: $17.89 Total Expenses: $32.89 Total Net Profit: $39.86 This week's cost of goods not sold was $5.76: banana bread ($1.27), applesauce bread ($0.55), cinnamon rolls, ($3.09), mini-loafs ($0.33) and garlic bread ($0.52). Over half of the cost was in the cinnamon rolls, which sold fantastic individually, but only one pan sold at the market. I was also a little bit disappointed about the banana bread, but that can be frozen and used for snack/road/potluck food. What Do Customers Want? Now that we've been at it for 10 weeks, we know who the repeat customers are and what they buy. Interestingly, none of our repeat customers buy breads or cinnamon rolls... they all buy cookies. This is good news for several reasons: 1. Because cookies are easier and less time-consuming to make. This means that if I sell $50 worth of cookies instead of $50 worth of bread, my per-hour wage will go up. Better yet, now that I can make smaller batches, I'll be able to offer an ample supply of different varieties. This week we got requests for peanut butter no-bakes (I thought all no-bakes had peanut butter!) and also sugar cookies. In the past we've gotten requests for snickerdoodles, oatmeal raisin, and others. We haven't received any requests for different breads. 2. Because the market is not saturated with cookies. Everyone has breads- there are at least five bakery-type booths at our market, and most of them sell yeast breads. There are many farm-type stands that sell cinnamon rolls as well, but I've not seen a booth full of cookies. 3. Because I love my cookies and would buy them myself. The breads and other baked goods that we make are good, but they're not spectacular. Plus when we make bread, we are trying to compete with real bakeries that make bread for a living, not for a hobby or to save money at home. To be honest, I'm not very passionate about breads, either. But Hubs will tell you that I could eat cookies all day. 4. Because I'd rather be a first-rate farm stand than a second-rate bakery. Last week I was talking to another vendor (she has a berry farm) and mentioned that I liked the pictures she put up of their animals because it brought more of a "farm" element to the booth. "I know," she replied,"A lot of people think we're a bakery, but we're not! We're a farm." I looked at some of her baked goods, and yes their farm could compete with any bakery. Everything was very professionally packaged and beautiful. Then I thought about my packaging that is not sloppy but definitely not first rate with real pie boxes or releasable granola bags. After I got home, I thought about how maybe we are sabotaging our own sales by trying to compete with bakeries instead of where we should be competing, which is with other farm stands. At the beginning of the season I was not planning on selling any produce, but now I know that is where I can make the most profit with the least amount of work. And I'd like to move away from the baked goods and more toward farm stuff. All this being said, in the following weeks I'd like to slowly introduce some different products (fruit, vegetables, herbs) and also some craft and gift items. SIL's body care products get a lot of attention, but she doesn't make soap and I have had some requests for it. I made my first batch of goat's milk soap last week and it will be curing for the next month or so. Soap is another thing that I haven't seen much at the market. It has a pretty high profit margin compared to baked goods, so I'm looking forward to having it at my booth. Til next time, -Bethany Hey everyone! Once again, I'm here with an update on the Farmers Market Experiment. It was cold and rainy this week, but I'm still happy with the progress we're making in logistics. SIL worked the market this week, while Hubs & I slept in and did the neighbor's goat chores. Remember how last week I sold strawberries? I did manage to pick and sell one quart this week (the season is almost over), but I did have something else to sell... sour cherries! The cherry tree on our property decided to spill over with fruit this week. I made cherry preserves with 8 or 9 quarts (to sell, of course!) and then on Friday I found some time to pick fresh cherries to sell. I ended up picking four quarts and selling three of them. My brothers also brought some mulberries. As I mentioned last week, selling produce is a win-win for everyone because it draws more people to the booth, and the seller gets more money because there are fewer costs of production (ingredients, etc.). Unfortunately, as one customer put it, "Everyone has a mulberry tree in their backyard". Thus, the mulberries weren't a big hit. Making Progress with Small Batches One thing that I'm getting better at is making just enough food for the farmers market. It is tempting to save time by making bigger batches, then selling that big batch over the course of several weeks. However, it's best to sell things as fresh as possible. This week I figured out how to make smaller batches of marshmallows, toffee, applesauce bread and banana bread. This is a great accomplishment, because smaller batches mean less waste and less wasted money. Remember my toffee dilemma from a couple weeks ago? I've figured out that the most toffee I can sell is three bags... more like one or two on a normal day. If I make a batch of toffee that costs $3.50, I've created $18 of potential profit. If I only sell one bag, then the batch has paid for itself but I'm throwing away $13.50 of profit. This week I made a $2 batch of toffee (two bags) and sold one bag. Not only did the batch pay for itself, but I made $2.50 worth of profit. Baby steps, baby steps. At least we're not going backwards anymore. This week I also decided to make some plain sandwich bread to sell. This cost me $0.75. Unfortunately the bread did not sell, but I blame it on the rain and the fact that it was possibly overpriced. The good news is that I only "wasted" $0.75, and I'll be able to use it this week in my meal plan. So nothing was really wasted. I also made some herbal tea that didn't sell, but it was hastily packaged and also possibly overpriced. This week I will find better packaging for the tea. The Bottom Line Income Marshmallows: $1.50 Toffee: $4.50 Jam: $7.00 No-Bake Cookies: $3.50 Rice Krispies: $3.50 Banana Bread: $5.00 Cherries: $9.75 Strawberries: $3.25 Total Income: $38.00 Expenses Booth: $4.00 Tent: $5.00 Costs of goods sold: $6.98 Total Expenses: $15.98 Total Net Profit: $22.02 My costs of goods not sold this week was $8.02. However, I'll be taking the banana and applesauce breads to a church potluck ($5 value... $1.77 cost to make) and we will eat the sandwich bread ($0.75). Extra toffee ($1.21) will go to one of Hubs' lucky customers. This only leaves $4.26 in "wasted" ingredients between the extra rice krispies ($2.52) and no-bake cookies ($1.74). And I'm sure Hubs will be happy to take care of those for me. Weather Does Matter Profits were still decent, especially considering the rain. Hey, remember my four-dollar day? Or my seven dollar day? We've been... kind of unfortunate this year with the weather. Each week I keep track of weather in addition to who worked the booth and any other notes. I've posted a graph below for your amusement. Just to clarify, "Day's Profit" means my net profit for the day. My average profit for the past 9 weeks has been $22.38 per day. My highest net profit to date has been $42.84, my lowest $4.03. On average, our booth has been grossing about $100 per week. Now that's with three different vendors at one booth, but it's encouraging to know that it is possible to sell that much if you have the right products. Our highest grossing day was $180.50 (Memorial Day), and our lowest grossing day was $63.25.
Is it worth it, after nine weeks, to continue selling at the market? I think so. Why quit when you're just starting to get the hang of it? By now I've kind of figured out what the most popular, most profitable products are. It's fun for me to think of new products or marketing ideas during the week, and to crunch numbers after every market day. It's kind of like my weekend hobby. In addition to being fun, the market gives me a place to sell the things I make at home. What are Hubs and I going to do with a whole orchard of fruit? What are we going to do with the extra produce, herbs, and scrap lumber lying around? If I don't sell it or give it away, it will all just sit and rot. Selling the extra things I make is the "industrious" part of industry & frugality. If I were to do the market all over again, I would take all of the best-selling products of we three sisters-in-law, and only sell them. This would eliminate unprofitable products and the cost of goods not sold. I would only make as much perishable product as I could sell (now that my records tell me how much that is!). All of my big purchases would already be made and I would drive a more fuel-efficient car for fewer overhead costs every week. I would spend a few hours each week baking, and half the day Saturday selling. According to my records, with this amount of work I would end up grossing $100-$200 per week, netting 50-75% of that. I don't think you'd become a millionaire from it, but it's not bad for a weekend hobby. And remember, most hobbies end up COSTING you. This coming Saturday, we won't be at the market in observance of Independence Day. Til next time! -Bethany This week we have yet another first for the Farmers Market...
To see what happened this week, read my book; One Season at the Farmers Market. This week at Farmer's Market was a little odd.
To see why it was odd, read my book; One Season at the Farmers Market.
This week was rainy and cloudy, but sales weren't too bad. I tried...
To see what I tried, read my book; One Season at the Farmers Market. I've officially completed a whole month of farmer's market. And my sanity is still intact! Only five more months to go. Last Saturday was sunny and gorgeous outside. It was Memorial Day weekend and the market was swarming with people looking to buy stuff. It was the best week we have had so far.
A Visit from the State Inspector Yep, we actually had the inspector come out! I was sorting some boxes underneath our table and got up to find a lady with a bright green polo shirt at my booth. She said, "I'm the state food inspector," (or something like that) and my heart did a flip-flop. Oh no, what had I done wrong? You know how it feels when you see a cop car hiding in the bushes, so you slam on the brakes even though you're only doing 25 mph? That's how I felt. She asked if I was licensed or doing cottage foods. Then she asked if I had the notice written somewhere on my tag. Before I had a chance to answer, she flipped over a marshmallow tag and said, "Oh, yup! You do." Then she asked if I had anything with meat or cheeses in it, which I didn't. Then she told me to have a nice day and went to the next booth. Whew! A clean bill of health from the inspector. She didn't seem to mind that the labels were folded over, which was a relief. Booth Appearance We didn't make many changes to the booth this week. Hubs and I made some more crates to stack beside our table, which creates more of an inviting U-shape. Next week I'll have some different products to put on display in the crates. I meant to order a banner for our booth, but didn't get one in time. Instead, I printed out a plain sign and used a corner cutter to dress it up a little. Then we pinned it to the tablecloth. I also made individual price signs for many of the items this week. I've noticed that people read the signs first and then look for the product. Honestly, there is so much packaging on some of our items that it is hard to tell what it is. I think the signs really helped us sell more product this week. Product Mix Wins: I think most of our products were good sellers this week. 13 of our 26 products sold out! SIL sold all of her by-the-dozen cookies. I made some rice crispy treats this week with my marshmallows and sold 3 out of 4 of them- I brought six bags of toffee and sold five. Brothers sold 75% of their pumpkin bread and 100% of the rhubarb crisp that they baked. Losses: SIL brought some individual monster cookies and sold a little less than half. I brought three bags of granola and only sold one of them. Also made a rhubarb cinnamon roll and only sold one out of three pans. But even these products weren't total losses. Marketing No special marketing efforts this week. We had a lot of repeat customers again though. Bottom Line Expenses Booth: $3 Tent: $5 Gasoline: $6 Costs of Goods Sold: $13.10 Total Expenses: $27.10 Income Amish Peanut Butter: $6.00 Rice Krispy Treats: $10.50 Granola: $5.00 Egg Noodles: $5.00 Toffee: $22.00 Marshmallows: $10.50 Rhubarb Sticky Buns: $5.00 Total Income: $64.00 Total Profits: $37.10 So there you have it! Almost $40 this week at the market. Between the three of us bakers, we had over $180 in sales last week, which was pretty impressive in my opinion. We brought home only one crate's worth of stuff. Work Load My work load for the farmer's market gets smaller and smaller each week. I do most of my candy/marshmallow making on Tuesday. Last week I made egg noodles on Thursday, and rhubarb sticky buns & rice krispy treats on Friday. The majority of my work this week (Thursday & Friday) produced less than 20% of my profits. Hourly Wage Last week I made a "Profit of Products" spreadsheet that figures my profit per recipe, profit per unit sold, day's profit, and hourly wage (this is how I figure my "costs of goods sold"). Each product has an hourly wage. The average of all of my hourly wages comes to $11.72. I think this is okay, but not great. My goal is to limit the under-$15-per-hour and sell more of the over-$15-per-hour products. To give you an example, making toffee pays up to $20 per hour. Marshmallows are in the $17 per hour range. Baked goods, on the other hand, pay less than $10 per hour, and noodle making only pays $1 per hour. The Pricing Dilemma In addition to legal constraints, potential farmer's market sellers have a pricing dilemma to deal with. Most people are used to buying food at Walmart. This food is made with extremely cheap labor: machines or foreign workers. This is how Walmart can sell a box of noodles for $1.00. The home baker, on the other hand, must pay retail US-American prices for ingredients (already equal to $1.00 per box). The home baker doesn't have machines, nor can he hire anyone for $1.00 per hour, so he must either lose money on his product or work at foreign labor prices himself. We've figured out that people at our market won't pay more than $5 for baked goods. In order to make a good $300 at market, we'd have to produce 60 items for sale. If each item took 20 minutes to make (perfectly reasonable if you include packaging time), you'd have 20 hours into your farmer's market venture, plus another 6 hours on market day and 2 hours per week on administration stuff. That's almost a 30-hour week, and what are you getting? $300 minus the cost of your ingredients, which are probably at least $100. Honestly, I want a nice little side-income, not another low-paying part time job. So we've got a little ways to go on this hourly wage thing. Next week I'll be looking for better, more profitable items to make and sell. :) -Bethany |
BethanyHousewife, happy wife, and mama to one. :) The Housewife's Guide to
Frugal Fruits and Vegetables No Garden? No Problem! Watch Meals From the Bunker:Check out my Youtube Channel!Categories
All
Archives
May 2021
I get cash back for many online purchases including wedding gifts and Ebay stuff!
|