Experienced egg sellers feedback on selling please

[Goatherderess]

I've had to reduce mine from £1.75/6 to £1.50/6, for some reason walkers and locals won't pay more even for SA organic at farm gate without moaning. I only have 20 hens so not the end of the world but not going to increase hens as not worth the hassle for a few quid more. Organic kid goat meat however has no pricing problems!

 

[Chasingmytail]

I have to say I'm doing well since posting this - the option was to deliver - advertise via FB. Delivery on 1 day a week within the vicinity and tieing it in with my other chores has worked well. People are delighted with the taste, colour and quality. Delivery to the doorstep collect the money left. People love it! Aiming at trays people are happy to pay. One lady had 3 trays delivered to work - one for her and two for a friend. I'm currently aiming at the health sector. I only have 50 but laying everyday is producing a vast amount. I use the bright coloured boxes (pinks and yellows) labelled nicely with leaflet. Reputation is everything and positive word of mouth is working.

 

[Chasingmytail]

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.

Complete rubbish! TTD and Waitrose sell eggs over £2 and 'average' is a word of in the middle standard eggs. What farmgate sells 12 for 83p???? You just dont get it do you? I am not selling average factory produced eggs. I am far from in an affluent area I'm in south east Wales (miserable in some parts) and only 50 hens. And I'm not producing to pander down to the stats I have done my market research and my costings and have to say that many farmers do not. You will not compete with Asda Value nor will you try to educate those who buy these products you have to aim at those who have an understanding of food and like it delivered.

 

[Courier]

Complete rubbish! What farmgate sells 12 for 83p???? You just dont get it do you? I am not selling average factory produced eggs. ......only 50 hens. I have done my market research and my costings and have to say that many farmers do not. You will not compete with Asda Value nor will you try to educate those who buy these products you have to aim at those who have an understanding of food and like it delivered.

I most certainly do "get it", I spent over 20 years selling top quality Green Top milk from our own herd which I built up from nothing into 5 milk rounds. We were delivering 500 gallons a day at one point then the supermarkets were targeted by the dairy Co's and the race to the bottom began.

You NEED a niche customer base for your "niche" product and even then the KVI factor comes into play

http://www.bayt.com/en/specialties/q/73437/what-is-a-kvi-known-valued-items-in-buying-retail/

You say you have done your costings thoroughly but even at £3.80 per dozen your average daily production (260 eggs per bird per year) will give you total average sales of £13.50 per day before feed, housing and replacement costs.

And remember, at the moment we are in a period of increasing daylight which you must know is a stimulant to egg production - moving on to October to February your production WILL be significantly below your average, how do you propose keeping all these customers happy when the hens have almost stopped laying ?

Just so long as you consider your hens to be a hobby which doesn't actually COST you a lot......and you never have to pay any labour costs.

I wish you all the good luck in the world but you really do seem to have chosen an apt forum name...

 

[Stuart J]

I believe the 83pence figure will be the price paid by the supermarket to the big farmer producer, surely?

Rather than selling at the 'farm gate'

 

[spin cycle]

Complete rubbish! TTD and Waitrose sell eggs over £2 and 'average' is a word of in the middle standard eggs. What farmgate sells 12 for 83p???? You just dont get it do you? I am not selling average factory produced eggs. I am far from in an affluent area I'm in south east Wales (miserable in some parts) and only 50 hens. And I'm not producing to pander down to the stats I have done my market research and my costings and have to say that many farmers do not. You will not compete with Asda Value nor will you try to educate those who buy these products you have to aim at those who have an understanding of food and like it delivered.

like stuart j said...'farmgate' doesn't apply to direct sales...it's sales to packer and so on....bit like corn 'ex farm' price

 

[Pasty]

We get £1.20 for 6 and it works out OK for me. Never going to make millions but with a good mobile house and nets, it's not a vast amount of work and adds to the coffers. I also think I can use it as a leader to sell other stuff like meat later on.

Personally not interested in delivering. We are on a country lane but a good few manor houses and barn complexes converted locally and a good amount of through traffic.

Winter laying is an issue. I don't like the idea of artificial lighting so next year we are going to hatch the first batch of replacements very early as January/February hatched hybrids will generally lay strongly through their first winter regardless.

 

[Grassman]

We get £1.20 for 6 and it works out OK for me. Never going to make millions but with a good mobile house and nets, it's not a vast amount of work and adds to the coffers. I also think I can use it as a leader to sell other stuff like meat later on.

Personally not interested in delivering. We are on a country lane but a good few manor houses and barn complexes converted locally and a good amount of through traffic.

Winter laying is an issue. I don't like the idea of artificial lighting so next year we are going to hatch the first batch of replacements very early as January/February hatched hybrids will generally lay strongly through their first winter regardless.

I have a 20 watt bulb in each shed to give them that bit of light in winter

 

[Pasty]

I found it led to much more pecking and bullying. I like them to be out at first light all year round so don't shut ours in the shed. Maybe a bigger shed would solve the issue. I've got about 50 in a 12 x 8 so really it's only roosting and laying space. Then they have shelters outside etc.

 

[Condi]

I pay 10p/egg, which is his wholesale price delivered. Ex farm o the public slightly more, I think £1.60/doz.

He freely admits its his 2 vans and the rounds they do delivering to the local shops/cafes which keeps him in business. If it were wholesale to the supermarkets he wouldnt make any more. These are 'bog standard' caged hens.

 

[Chasingmytail]

I very much believe that the story and the roots of the food. I have produced quirky labels for the boxes, FB page, an A5 double sided colour leaflet that has photos and details the production of these eggs and people love this. I have done all of this myself so no overheads with the PR. They are assured that we do what we say and it is fully transparent. I am selling lots of trays at £8.50. The quality is there (organically fed, GM free, outdoor raised all pays) and the service I provide works fantastically. Delivering while people are in work the same as many food service providers. If I had to wait for people to come here I wouldnt sell much at all. Near enough all my sales come through either my personal FB page or the farms. My children have also been programmed to sell to the teachers in the school (well done boys). Many of my friends are also into fitness and have children and the convenience of having eggs in the kitchen is a bonus. At the end of the day its also about pushing sales and not giving people the option to say no - once you have them they do keep coming back.

What is also does it open doors to our farm progress in relation to organic certification/farm walks/ and in future poss selling meat, our construction business and our firewood sales.

 

[llamedos]

Out of interest what is the organic status of your farm?

 

[Grassman]

Out of interest what is the organic status of your farm?

Dont you have to be registered organic to be able to sell as organic?
I have hay that's never been sprayed or fertilised but can't sell as organic I don't think.

 

[haulmblower]

Am I right in thinking it boils down to wether you spell organic with a capital O, or a lower case o?
Providing you do not mislead the buyer by saying Certified Organic you can say produced organically.
I know the Organic scheme is supposed to guarantee no fert and chemicals, but if your open and honest surely nobody can stop you using the word organic?

 

[Recoil]

I believe you do have to be certified to call your products organic. Otherwise how would anyone know you're telling the truth? We're inspected by the Soil Association.

 

[haulmblower]

Thanks for that.
Could you put something like, grown naturally without sprays and fertilisers?
I know it's not so catchy

 

[Recoil]

Most of my customers don't care that the eggs are organic. They want free range, local eggs. They like to see the hens out i the fields pecking about. Could call them "not quite organic eggs" or "nearly organic eggs", something along those lines. Then explain why you're not certified. I take it they are being fed organic feed?

 

[haulmblower]

They will be when they arrive

 

[Netherfield]

There is a limited market for what you are trying to sell,and the bigger players can undercut your prices, to people on a budget an egg is an egg and mostly want them as cheap as possible.

 

[spin cycle]

Thanks for that.
Could you put something like, grown naturally without sprays and fertilisers?
I know it's not so catchy

how about using over year hens and calling them 'rescued rangers' ?