Selling my homemade bird suet?
February 5, 2011 Bird House Feeder
Hi, I’m a stay at home mother and also care for orphaned and injured wildlife for the State here at my house. I’m a huge animal lover and make homemade suet for wild birds. I was thinking of making enough suet, and selling it in my town. I notice how fast the suet flies off the shelves at walmart and other places.
I add all sort of ingredients to mine. Peanut butter, fresh fruit, sweetened cereal, oats, seed, graham crackers and other treats. Birds can’t resist it! How much should I attempt to sell my homemade suet? I would make enough to fill the feeder. Thanks!
I’ve already talked with the USDA and my county officials. I wont need any inspections. Thanks.
Hi, I understand your concern about the cereal. I only use cheerios (honey nut) or the plain. I do respect wildlife and that’s why I work with them. I never use cereal that’s high in sugar. Like most kid brands. The use of cherrios isn’t life threating, nor dangerous. Thanks for your answer and god bless.
Mayan-Thanks for your input. I was thinking of only selling my cakes at the local Flea-markets or maybe when we have Boom Town Days. I’m def. not thinkinging of going into an actual business. I want this to be a fun easy way of making extra money. Thanks again for your answer!
Comments (3)
Hummingbirds are fun, entertaining, full of energy and it’s easy to attract hummingbirds.
If you have a local wild bird store, you could ask if they would sell your product on consignment. You could start an internet order business, you’d need to have someone set up a web site, paypal etc, and advertise on known birding forums, magazines.
I disagree that sweetened cereal should be included, or any other human food that contains preservatives, salt or sugars. Only natural foods should be offered to wild birds to avoid mal nutrition and disease. As a rehabber, you should know and respect this.
Selling food products for animals is harder than human foods. Dog food goes through more inspections than what you find on your grocers food shelves.
1. Design a package that is so attractive that you think you will use forever.
2. Make a color catalog with pictures of your packaging in various sizes, with prices. Don’t print too many at once because the prices will change.
3. Price the product for sale to retailers at your estimated total cost per package x 2, for now. As your volume increases and as you learn about overhead allocation and cost accounting, you will adjust the price. Meanwhile, the cost x 2 formula will get you started.
4. Experiment with your formula. Set up feeders with various formulas. Delete the most expensive items if the formula without those items attracts as many birds.
5. After you have settled on a formula, add the list of ingredients to the package design. That is not legally required because this is not human food, but it will be a positive selling point. This is important because your prices will be higher than your competitor’s. The customers have to be sold on the idea that this is the best product because the ingredients are shown. And your package is your primary form of advertising.
6. Take the catalog and sample packages to as many garden stores and pet stores in your area as you can. Eventually, as you become successful, you will be visiting every such store, or having sale people do it. Talk to the buyers, convince them to try the product on the shelves. They will expect you to agree to take back, for full credit, every package that is not sold by its expiration date. Don’t worry about stores ordering too much. Shelf space is too precious for that.
7. Include preservatives unless the lack of preservatives is an important selling point. Preservatives are important because you need to be able to leave the product on the store shelf for a while and your customers need to keep the product on their shelf for a while. If the product spoils in the customer’s house you lose sales.
8. Have someone develop a website that includes a shopping cart capability. That means you need Mastercard, Visa and Paypal merchant accounts. Price the product on the website at double the price you get when you sell directly to the stores. If you don’t do that, the stores will drop you. The "double" suggestion will need to be adjusted later, as you gain experience about what your store customers will pay and what their mark-up level is. When you sell to the stores, tell them they are getting the 50% retailer discount. Brag about your formula testing program in your website.
9. Register a trademark on your package logo and a copyright on your package design content.
10. Visit your retail customers once per week to remove out-dated packages, dust the packages, sort them to the front of the shelf, and take orders for more. Be sure each time to let the manager know that you are their. They will welcome you, but then need to know that the crazy person dusting their products is authorized to be there. Also, during those visits, be available to answer questions from the customers. The shoppers will recognize you as the person with the answers because:
11. Design, buy and wear, when you visit the retailers, a uniform that looks like your product packaging. A big, colorful gardener’s apron would be a good choice. With a hat. Answering questions for the shoppers will boost sales.
12. Put your picture, in uniform, on the website.
13. Form a corporation or limited liability company.
14. Pay your business attorney generously. (Just kidding)
Good luck.
Mayan