Wholesale Pricing Guide
Your discount from the retail (customer's) price should be 20 to 50% — closer to 20% if you have unprocessed product (e.g. meat or produce) that you bring to World Headquarters (near Enterprise), closer to 50% if it's a value-added product I have to come to get or pay to ship. Please note that invoice terms are Net 30, though I usually pay sooner than 30 days.
Wondering what to charge for produce? This article from OSU Extension could help. As I noted on the website:
If you are transitioning to wholesale after having sold at a farmers market or other direct-to-consumer venue, you may realize you've undervalued your product. Put simply, a retail (customer) price needs to cover two jobs:
- Growing/making product
- Selling/distributing product
With direct sales you are doing both jobs and need to price accordingly. Charging your customers less for your products than it costs to make and distribute them is doing yourself a disservice. If you are growing food for fun, in a backyard garden, as a retirement project, etc. and undercharge as a “public service” you’re actually hurting other farmers who are trying to raise their families and pay their bills.
Handling of Fresh Produce
Please be sure you are familiar with Good Agricultural Practices (GAP): Here are resources and an article with post-harvest tips. UC Davis also has a wealth of fact sheets about growing, post-harvest, and storage of all produce.
Be sure to consider your packaging and labeling.