Starting an online Flower and homemade chocolate business

[F&C]

Hello,

I am working on starting my own flower arrangement and homemade chocolate business online.
I have some experience in selling online fashion internationally but now I plan to start this new business exclusively in the UK. What is the best way to buy flower boxes and cardboards with my own printed label, knowing that I do not want to start with very large quantities yet?
Do you think to open my own website is the best way to start or shall I try eBay, Amazon and Etsy first to check the demand in the UK first?
I would like to hear insights from people with a similar business and experience.

Thank you.

 

[JamesWW]

Well there is nothing stopping you from selling on Etsy and having your own website, websites are cheap enough to set up and run. As for labels, if you are starting of small then why not buy plain boxes and print your own labals to go on them or you could make a stencil and do a simple block design using paint. It would add to the home-made look and pretty easy to do.

 

[Mr D]

You could use own site, eBay, etsy, folksy, amazon etc all together. Start with one and add to your sites over time, reaching a wider audience.
Agree labels are likely a lot cheaper for printing and putting on boxes.

The chocolate - you are using good boxes to prevent melting or bloom happening?

 

[Webshock]

I might sound biased being a website developer but I would consider a website for your business. If you need to sell through a marketplace then I would try Etsy. I used to sell printable flyers on Etsy so have plenty of experience. It was slow at first but as I added products and got good reviews my sales grew every week. The main problem was the charges, they really do start to add up, with a website you wont get charged for every sale and like a member previously said, you can reach a wider audience. If your sure about your business, id seriously think about getting a website first and using social media to promote your products and website.

 

[F&C]

Thank you all for the responses.
It seems opening a website is the best option while doing the marketing via social media.
As for the chocolates, they will be simple homemade fruits covered with chocolate. Easy to pack and post.

 

[Chris Ashdown]

Have you proved your chocolate packing works, I would suggest you send a relative a parcel on say a second class postage to check how it looks after two days in the post

Insurance for food items can be quite expensive and must meet food trading specifications

I doubt flowers would be able to complete with the massive companies doing it already

Whilst a web site is a good idea, it still takes a lot of marketing, do you have the money set aside to do it

 

[Mr D]

Thank you all for the responses.
It seems opening a website is the best option while doing the marketing via social media.
As for the chocolates, they will be simple homemade fruits covered with chocolate. Easy to pack and post.

Easy to pack and post. But will they arrive as a gooey mess covering fruits due to heat or as an unsightly chocolate due to cold?
Either way I would return them for a full refund including postage to return.

 

[GlennMiddleton]

Have you costed how much it costs to produce the items you sell? Have you looked at the cost of packaging and so on?

 

[WHUK]

Amazon and Etsy are your best bet. I am sure you will find a lot of varieties on a site like Amazon but don't lose hope on Etsy. You should try to go with both the platforms plus have a website up and running.

 

[Nochexman]

This might seem crazy, but you would be entering a saturated market and it isn't clear why your offer would be any different or better from anyone else's, so that would be what I would address first. Next I find some customers - friends and family - and just try out your offer on them. When you've got a proposition nailed down that is when to think about marketing more generally - and spending your money.

 

[antropy]

Probably test demand on an existing marketplace before developing your own website, but if there is good demand then get a good one made.

 

[F&C]

Actually The products I will be making are candied fruit chocolates type of homemade stuff so they last long just like dried items. Coming from the food business, I know that the market lacks in such things and the price of these items in the market is high.
As for the flowers, I will not be working as a florist but using natural flowers designed in boxes with the chocolates and other handmade products as gifts for special occasions in affordable prices. Something not really saturated in the UK market. As for marketing, social media does the work nowadays and it is not that expensive. Beautiful pictures, good work is all I need.

 

[Honey Blinds]

My only worry would be the seriously huge national and international corporations you would compete with

 

[Paul Murray]

The main problem was the charges, they really do start to add up, with a website you wont get charged for every sale and like a member previously said, you can reach a wider audience. If your sure about your business, id seriously think about getting a website first and using social media to promote your products and website.

They'll still need to use a payment gateway though which will incur fees.

Generally the easier it is to setup a store or take payments, the more expensive it becomes because you're paying for the speed and convenience. PayPal take a good chunk of sales for example, but you can be up and running for payments very quickly thanks to their 1-click buy button, plus you have the added bonus that customers recognise and trust PayPal.

Other gateways charge a flat fee plus percentage on top for every transaction, so each sale is going to cost you something somewhere down the line. Don't forget to factor that in to your profit margin.

 

[TotalWebSolutions]

@Paul Murray very good point regarding PayPal as yes it is very quick and easy to setup for the most part but you generally pay more per trans (starting at 3.4% + 20p per trans).

The other thing to bear in mind is that you pay the same % fee regardless of card type (same for Credit and Debit) whereas with a full merchant account/gateway service you will pay much less for Debit cards than you would Credit cards.

And yes, the rates can get lower with PayPal as turnover increases (if you meet the criteria and apply for it) but still not as low as it can be with a merchant service.

Simon

 

[Mr D]

Actually The products I will be making are candied fruit chocolates type of homemade stuff so they last long just like dried items. Coming from the food business, I know that the market lacks in such things and the price of these items in the market is high.
As for the flowers, I will not be working as a florist but using natural flowers designed in boxes with the chocolates and other handmade products as gifts for special occasions in affordable prices. Something not really saturated in the UK market. As for marketing, social media does the work nowadays and it is not that expensive. Beautiful pictures, good work is all I need.

Can still arrive melted or with unsightly white areas if not packaged for shipping adequately.
This kind of weather is not good for chocolates in a van for a day or two, another 4 months and we'll have our annual summer and can find shipped chocolate melting in a hot van for a day or two.
Factor the extremes in your planning. Or you will get avoidable returns.

 

[Mr D]

My only worry would be the seriously huge national and international corporations you would compete with

Not quite competitors in the homemade chocolate market. Though they are of course in the chocolate market overall.

 

[Chris Ashdown]

. As for marketing, social media does the work nowadays and it is not that expensive. Beautiful pictures, good work is all I need.

I doubt if this is really the case, you need people who are looking to buy which is not normally the case on social marketing

 

[wayzgoose]

I doubt if this is really the case, you need people who are looking to buy which is not normally the case on social marketing

It often is for hand-made goods - you can gain quite a good following on Facebook for this type of item.

 

[Mr D]

It often is for hand-made goods - you can gain quite a good following on Facebook for this type of item.

Following on facebook. Not quite the same as buying the items.
I follow several cake companies on facebook, I will probably never buy a thing from them.

 

[wayzgoose]

I meant a "following" of buyers.

 

[Mr D]

Great. May be a small fraction of the followers on social media.
Then think about how to get more buyers in other ways, including repeat buyers.

 

[wayzgoose]

Great. May be a small fraction of the followers on social media.
Then think about how to get more buyers in other ways, including repeat buyers.

And it may not be a small fraction. If social media is giving you the buyers you need, why put your energies into "other ways"?

 

[Mr D]

And it may not be a small fraction. If social media is giving you the buyers you need, why put your energies into "other ways"?

Social media giving all the buyers you need? Unusual.

 

[Nochexman]

...As for marketing, social media does the work nowadays and it is not that expensive. Beautiful pictures, good work is all I need...

If you have had good success with a social media only marketing campaign that would be something that many of us would like to hear more from you about.

 

[wayzgoose]

Social media giving all the buyers you need? Unusual.

That is the point I'm trying to get over. For home craft businesses it is not unusual at all. That's how they work, and in general without using paid ads. The ever growing following of buyers, that can be directed to a web site when they wish to purchase appears to be self-expanding and Google lists the web sites higher organically because of the increasing exposure/sales.

 

[Mr D]

There's a lot of home craft businesses that don't get all the business they want using just one method.
Its been mentioned a time or two at the craft business events. Its been mentioned more than a time or two on the craft forums.

 

[wayzgoose]

There's a lot of home craft businesses that don't get all the business they want using just one method.
Its been mentioned a time or two at the craft business events. Its been mentioned more than a time or two on the craft forums.

Perhaps it's a bit like seo for a web site. Are they using their Facebook pages/groups in the correct way? You have to "look after" your page just like you do a site. And, of course, if you're making something that nobody particularly wants . . .

 

[Mr D]

Perhaps it's a bit like seo for a web site. Are they using their Facebook pages/groups in the correct way? You have to "look after" your page just like you do a site. And, of course, if you're making something that nobody particularly wants . . .

Yes I understand a lot of crafters make stuff no one wants. And some do end up selling those items.
Good marketing sells stuff that people can be persuaded they want.

 

[wayzgoose]

Good marketing sells stuff that people can be persuaded they want.

Exactly !