Are my Flowers Profitable?! // Pricing Basics for the Farmer-Florist // Green Bee Floral Co.
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- čas přidán 27. 08. 2024
- - About Green Bee Floral Co. -
We're growing cut flowers on almost 2 acres (split between 3 properties) in rural Southwestern Ontario, Canada in Canadian growing zone 6A. 2022 is our 4th year growing flowers. We sell out of our home studio, at our local farmers' market, and directly to wholesalers + florists. We grow without the use of pesticides and design without plastic flower foam.
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Farm Things:
Our Fav Grow Lights: amzn.to/3XEb6MU
Organza Bags for Dahlias: amzn.to/3wvUniL
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Books + Resources
Floret's Cut Flower Farm: amzn.to/3XDfJqk
Floret's Discovering Dahlias: amzn.to/3XDfJqk
Growing Flowers by Niki Irving: amzn.to/3XDfJqk
Floriography: amzn.to/3wDKJdP
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Cool Flowers by Lisa Mason Ziegler: amzn.to/3DgHYmF
Thank you! 5 star information!
Such great information!!!
Exelente information
Thank you very much 😊❤🙏🙏🙏
thank you so much for your candid video. I found it very helpful. Viewing this video one year later i am glad that I have raised my prices. Have not been successful in selling to florists in my area ( southern Minnesota) as they want to purchase flowers from farmers well below wholesale. Also at market, a venders selling a bouquet of 6 dahlias for $8 usd. It’s tough to complete with others that sell at such a low rate. While there are plenty of consumers that appreciate what they are purchasing from a flower farmer, there are many that do not. Underselling flowers hurts other farmers and sends the wrong message to consumers. I am very much enjoying your channel . Thank you !
It's important to remember the tier of wholesale.
Farmers sell to wholesalers and wholesalers mark it up to sell to florists. If you choose to sell directly to wholesalers, you will need to expect a lower price per stem. We sell at farm wholesale pricing to the distributor/wholesaler, and at a different price to the florists. Depending on how they fall on the pricing scale, florists may not want to work with flower farmers because they see you as competition (and it's worse if you're underpricing).
Wow, this video was a real eye opener and you explained everything in an easy to understand manner.
Thank you so much for taking the time and sharing your knowledge and expertise on this important topic. I have definitely learned a lot from this post!😊
I'm so glad it was helpful! The gatekeeping around pricing can be so frustrating but it definitely works to remember it's just a math game.
I missed you!!! Your video just popped up in my feed and I about fell out of my chair! I am so happy I see you actually have a few newer videos-I’ll be binge watching tonight!
Thanks! We had a tough autumn with lots of illness. It feels really great to be back and energized. :)
Amazing video, lots of precious information. All the best to you!
Awesome break down.
Thank you so much for this. This is going to be my first year selling at my farmers market. I needed to hear this and the way you explained it in detail is much appreciated.
Best of luck! First year selling is always the hardest while you build up your confidence. Crossing my fingers for a great season!
Fantastic video!
I am not a grower but the information made me see what flower market bouquets are worth as a consumer.
Thanks for making this video it’s a realistic eye opener for anyone trying to make a living on flower farming and selling. I live in rural eastern Ontario there’s several farms selling roadside flower stands and local farmers markets within a 30 km radius. Pricing is everywhere here. Established farmers sell large $25 bouquets what should be sold for $40+. They hardly sell out. Another sells focal flowers dahlia/sunflower, 2 cosmos. 2 zinnias, aster, amaranth for $25/bouquet. I grow cut flowers as a HOBBy also I can’t compete with local pricing many have underpriced stems including dinner plate dahlias and Procut sunflowers. I had an abundance of zinnias and sold in my 1st farmers market (when both flower vendors weren’t there ) I foraged asters, solidago, grasses as fillers to make a bouquets with 6 zinnia stems( 1 queen lime and 1 Benarys giant) and a celosia for $15. There were remarks that some customers were used to paying large bouquets for $25 yet they still bought my zinnias. Stems prices do count! Did I underprice my bouquets?
My thoughts on florist isn’t their markup 3x
I was wondering why you supplemented flowers by ordering through a wholesaler and realized your a florist and can handle weddings, events and funerals volume
My first response is that you are still taking the time to forage those items that are part of your bouquet. Field asters and solidago are great filler, but they still carry a stem price. Calculate your cost of goods and price from there.
It also sounds like your pricing scheme has been victim to other flower farmers underpricing, and that is frustrating to overcome. But remember: if you are seeking a better price per stem for your bouquets, your customers are not the ones who want dinnerplate dahlias for $1. And you don't want the business of customers who are willing to exploit your time and knowledge for a cheaper price. Know YOUR value.
Wholesale expects top tier quality from grower as well.
YES! I am new to the cut flower farming world 2023 will be my first year selling my blooms.I have been researching for the past year on pricing and looking into my local flower farms and checking out all our farmers markets for sale. I am struggling bc my city market (which I would LOVE to be apart of to rep my area) already has 3 flower farmers(none of which are local)...and they all seem to do well at the market (meaning they are selling the flowers they bring) so I bought their bouquets to break them down. They were selling a $15 - $20 bouquet with about 30-40 stems!!! And that seemed off to me how are they doing this and continuing to run the business? Maybe they aren't really making money I don't know but my biggest issue is how can I compete with those size bouquets for $15-$20 40stems when I am offering $20 bouquets with only 10 stems included? Do I simply find another market in another area? Very frustrating
I am in a suburb outside Atlanta, GA in the states.
Hi, I am from New Jersey, USA and I really found this video very valuable as I knew I wasnt charging enough for my bouquets last year but I was worried they wouldnt sell in the summer heat if i priced them higher.
Glad it was helpful!
Focus on growing flowers that are more heat resilient if you know you’re selling in a hot, outdoor event. Sunflowers, zinnias, gladioli, marigolds, and ball dahlias are best.
This is where I get lost… Canadian too. 4b. I am currently an avid gardener., have been growing cut flower gardens for a few years now, have mature perennial gardens and grow cut flowers yearly., but the business side of things gets me. 🤪
Great advice, love it! I wish ASCFG published a 🇨🇦 wholesale list!! I completely agree with you on pricing for profit and not undercutting, I just think the “secret” wholesale price lists unfortunately make it really easy to do just that. In the absence of a 🇨🇦 list, I’m using the Boston wholesale list, focusing on my own inputs/costs as you suggested, and adding the industry 2-3x markup.
I know there's been some conversation around publishing one in Canada (I think I read this in the Canadian Flower Growers fb page recently but couldn't make the zoom). At the very least, Hoflands releases weekly wholesale pricing lists to their clients, but that's not helpful outside of Ontario.
Truthfully, I can understand both arguments for releasing and not releasing pricing. Commercial growers have to protect themselves and their margins, and giving the hobbyists access to that information could become problematic. But at the same time, it makes it so hard for those who are serious in getting into the industry a chance to turn a profit when you don't know 1) what stems should look like to be sellable at "florist grade" and 2) what that pricing is so that they can be competitive and respectful in the market.
WOW! You nailed it. I am from the states in Kentucky in a rural area. I definitely understand a lot of what you are saying. So, as I go forward in selling some of my prized blooms there is a lot to think about. Ranunculus and Lisanthus are the two flowers I am very interested in talking about. Since, the price to grow them is so high. Between fertilizing and tending to these plants are very time consuming to get a quality product.
Off season ranunculus blooms are very very expensive to purchase wholesale in my area - ranging from $4-$8/stem depending on the variety.
I am only growing them in season in my zone 6b. Getting them to the quality of what wholesalers produce is the hard part. I am finding they are not growing tall enough or they open to fast. Finding customers to buy them ahead of time would be the best alternative I am thinking. What are your thoughts?
@@patriciabunk8114 We grow most of our ranunculus in the early spring in a hoophouse - that gave us the longest stems.
Very practical. TY! It is so difficult to find what the local industry standard is. Would you be willing to share your wholesale prices/costs list that you use on the most common cut flowers that farmers grow? (from Alberta).
Please let me know where did you get the best price of the flowers. I am in Ontario too. Thank you so much for this amazing video!
You will need to develop relationships with your local floral wholesalers, local florists, or other flower farmers to find out the market value for stems in your area. Even within Ontario, pricing changes depending on where you are. That’s not information I can just give anyone because it really is dependent on location. You’ll have to do some research! ☺️
First of all I enjoy your content expecially since you are growing only 45 mins away from my home in Chatham. I am wondering where you purchase your CVBN tablets? I only grow to give bouquets to friends and family, but I would like some. Finding a vendor to ship to Canada seems to be an issue.
We purchase all our Floralife products through Hofland's. Unfortunately, unless you're a commercial grower/florist, you likely won't be able to get an account with them.
I've had success with packs of flower preservative off Amazon (pre-pandemic), but honestly, we've cut out most of our preservative products except QuickDip - which we use for snapdragons, phlox, dahlias, and basil, right after picking. Clean cuts and fresh water are really best, in my experience. Most of my flowers from the wholesaler already come in water treated with a holding solution, so it's superfluous to add more.
This was great! Would pricing be the same for dried flowers?
Personally, I would say yes. You are still investing the same, if not more into the product. Dried floral is also fragile - so your skill level in handling and storing is very different from fresh.
Amen!
🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏