Experienced egg sellers feedback on selling please

[Chasingmytail]

I'm just looking at what price you sell half a dozen and a tray of 30.

Any feedback on what works best as in shifting them. I have orders but not enough and wonder if its better to try to stamp them and then get local high class catering to take them or not bother.

There is a food fare at the end of the month not a huge footfall (weather dependant as well) but realistically I would want to shift a few boxes if the table charge is £15 to start.

I have made some lovely labels and leaflets, what I dont want to do is start designing and producing expensive posters. I could blow up a few photos have them laminated etc at a reasonable price but its not profitable investing in marketing materials ie canvas roll ups etc.

I envisage a nice table cloth with hessian over cloth, few herbs, wild flowers, a photo album with photos and the leaflets. Keeping it rustic. What if there is another egg seller there selling cheaper?

Just a note - I am off the main road so farmgate is not an option. We are not in a highly foodie area. I dont go into the school and wonder if that would ever work, there are a few food fares at £10 per table.

Any experienced egg sellers?

 

[Landyman]

I could be wrong but , as i understand it,its illegal to sell eggs that are not stamped but the way round it is to sell an egg box for a pound with 6 free eggs

 

[Lincs Lass]

We let the lass over the road have 2 1/2 doz for £3.20 but plenty of folks round here are selling at the gate for £2 a dozen

 

[Recoil]

We sell them at the farm and don't stamp them. £3 a dozen organic. Can't keep up with demand at the moment. 150 hens so far. Our farm is on a busy road which is a huge bonus.

 

[llamedos]

'Gate' sales are ok, but you can not class them or grade them, over 50 birds and you are commercial, and must Trade under commercial rules.

 

[Chasingmytail]

With costings and profit, looking at what the shops are selling at I have worked out £2 for half a dozen and £3.80 for 12. £1 for 6 is considerably low and what I am doing is my sums. Considering it has cost £1200 to set up the system with labour, chicks, collecting the day olds, feeding, building the egg mobile and cost of feeds to 20 weeks, the additional probiotics and kelp. Loss of hens, electric fence, egg boxes etc etc. Organic, outdoor reared, very high welfare - are selling around £2.20 - £2.50. Only going to get 2 yrs laying if they all live too, disposal of hens thereafter. Therefore to cover my set up costs would mean I need to sell over 4000 eggs to break even (say 6 months to be safe) On going costs on feed costs max £80pm. Assuming you sell all eggs at full price is £200pm. Fingers crossed for £100pm - not a big profit with about 1.5yrs left = £1800. Proves you need to do the sums.

 

[ridger]

Selling tray of 30 for 3 euro here

 

[Landyman]

No way would i pay that for eggs. Sorry
Im out

 

[ridger]

No way would i pay that for eggs. Sorry
Im out

What, 3 euro a tray?

 

[Landyman]

What, 3 euro a tray?

No , £3.80 a dozen

 

[ridger]

Better to not do too many sums at the minute, nothing would stack up if you added everything, I aim to get enough every week to keep us from being hungry

 

[ridger]

No , £3.80 a dozen

I'd want a bag of potatoes with the dozen for that would you know I'm a trader?

 

[Chasingmytail]

Better to not do too many sums at the minute, nothing would stack up if you added everything, I aim to get enough every week to keep us from being hungry

You cant please everyone I suppose but I'm not doing it to pressure to supply cheap food. I am in it to provide quality, high welfare and organic which will benefit the individual and the environment to those who chose that path. We should be supplying food at cost and profit no different to any business'.

 

[spin cycle]

why all the high costs?....buy overyear birds for next to nothing..£2?.....feed straight wheat 50kg/year is £5.....sell what eggs you get for £2/doxen....if she lays an egg every 3 days thats 10 dozen/year (i think you'd get more)....so gm of £13/bird

 

[Chasingmytail]

No way would i pay that for eggs. Sorry
Im out

I have plenty of people already purchasing but my problem is reaching further out without spending on stalls or delivering to individuals so I'm more interested in the facts of selling. The local food fayre want £15 per stall 10.30am - 3.30pm which is ok but for a small turnover may be too much seeing that I may only just break even on that day. As I'm not selling anything else (such as veg as many do) its a hard exercise. If I was selling at 99p its the same principle.

 

[Chasingmytail]

why all the high costs?....buy overyear birds for next to nothing..£2?.....feed straight wheat 50kg/year is £5.....sell what eggs you get for £2/doxen....if she lays an egg every 3 days thats 10 dozen/year (i think you'd get more)....so gm of £13/bird

My initial set up of manufacturing the egg mobile with welding and materials, employees hrs, elec fencing, collection, raising the hens to laying was around £1200 I have costed this properly. Nice birds these were around £2. I buy in organic layer feed with carriage costs - 1 ton. £7per bag they eat a bag every 3 days with probiotics and kelp works out £9 - £10 max. Moving the caravan every 3 days (only half hr messing). Why on earth would I want to sell at £2 dozen - £1 for half is ridiculously low you are talking Asda value price. TTD £2.20, Waitrose around £2 - £2.50, Riverford & Able & Co £2.20 - £2.50 etc. I'm in it to make a bit (only a bit) of money and unsure whether some understand the type of eggs I'm selling "Pasture raised, high welfare, GM free and organically fed" There is a demand and there will be more. Ive done quite a lot of research on gaining the best nutritional needs of the layer and allowed for a few loses. I'm not doing it as an egg producing factory I'm also doing it for the children to understand marketing while enjoying raising them in a lovely environment. Yes, my sums may be high but I always work on the worst case instead of the best case. As running a construction company I like to keep my figures realistic.

 

[ridger]

I hope it works well for you, there is a very successful egg business near here which was founded by a woman 30 years ago, their eggs are in every shop now around here

 

[spin cycle]

sorrry 'chasingmytail' i was wasn't critiscising you....you've got your niche and good luck to you......what i was just saying that in general people can cost an enterprise out of viability before they start......at farmgate we should be able to out compete supermarkets IMO

 

[Courier]

[QUOTE="spin cycle, post: 1227778, member: 12281......at farmgate we should be able to out compete supermarkets IMO [/QUOTE]

'chasingmytail' belives that he/she is out competeing the supermarkets ON QUALITY.

This does however rely on having a steady stream of affluent customers in a niche market area, something which not everyone has.

And yes, if you have more than 50 layers and you are selling other than farmgate you are required by law to quality stamp them and implement all the associated rules.

https://www.gov.uk/eggs-trade-regulations

 

[Courier]

Don't want to burst your bubble but -

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/egg-statistics

"The average UK farm-gate egg price through quarter 1 2015 was 83.1 pence per dozen,
which is a decrease of 4.7% on quarter 1 2014."

That is your competition - if your costs are much above this then you need to be getting Hugh Fearnly Whittingstall to endorse your eggs.