Selling Flowers at the Farmers Market

If you are thinking about selling flowers at a farmers market, here are some of my biggest takeaways from my first experience.

This weekend, I took my first stab at selling flowers at the farmer’s market. It was a great experience, and I learned a lot! In this blog post, I will share my three biggest takeaways from my first experience selling flowers at the market if you are thinking of doing the same.

Selling flowers at my local farmers market was fun, but not everything went smoothly. If you are wondering what I will be doing differently next week, check out What I Wish I Had Known Before Taking Flowers to The Farmers Market.

What I Learned From Taking Flowers to the Farmers Market For the First Time

Our farm has been taking produce at the local farmers’ market for years, but the cut flowers were a whole new venture this year. Despite the long hours it takes to prepare for the market, drive, set up, drive home, and unload, we have always truly enjoyed the farmers’ market. So when I started growing cut flowers integrating them into our weekly farmer’s market trip made sense.

Knowing Your Niche is Incredibly Beneficial

When I selected my seeds, I was focused on colors and varieties that would reflect a feeling of charming vintage hominess and comfort. I wanted to grow flowers that allowed me to express myself creatively and that I enjoyed. I am a visual person, so I created vision boards to help me visualize what my cut flower garden will be producing. The vision board helped me create a theme and color palette that appealed to me and allowed me to focus on my aesthetic.

At the time, I didn’t realize the aesthetic I was going for would be unique. During the market, I received many comments on my bouquets and the unique colors and flower varieties I chose to grow. Several shoppers described my bouquets as “whimsical,” “vintage,” and “romantic.” The comments came close to what I had envisioned during late winter, and I was thrilled.

The unusual foliage and blooms stood out among the other sellers. I am working on creating branding that reflects the charming vintage hominess aesthetic I am going with for a cohesive image.

I underestimated how beneficial it is to stand out from the competition. Provide your customers with something special that they cannot get anywhere else. Are you going for a rustic look? A more modern aesthetic? Something in between? Knowing and fully embracing your niche will help you better appeal to customers.

Having a Full, Abundant Display is Really Appealing to Customers.

I was really happy with my display at the beginning of the market, but as my bouquets sold and my display dwindled, sales slowed to a trickle.

Next week I am bringing some wooden crates and will be integrating floral buckets into my display. I think displaying bouquets at different heights will create visual interest, and I can rearrange them as my flowers sell to fill in spaces.

The key is to make sure your display looks full and abundant. A large full display creates an attractive visual and draws shoppers to your booth.

A few display tips:

A large display draws customers into your stand
Make sure your prices are visible. At the market I attended, it seemed like customers would not ask.
Have a good variety of bouquet sizes

The Pricing Sweet Spot

I quickly learned that pricing is key when selling flowers. I made sure to price my flowers competitively but not too low. This way, I could make a profit without turning customers away.

There’s nothing wrong with being flexible when it comes to pricing. Pricing is a whole science, you have to consider your cost of production and your desired profit, but you also need to be flexible enough to meet the competition and adjust to the current market trends.

I have spent more time than I would like to admit researching pricing in Flower Grower Facebook groups. I will be brutally honest: many growers in these groups strongly advocate rigid pricing that looks like “charging three times the stem count.”

Here’s the deal. Not everyone can ask for florist pricing unless you are well established and have sales, history, and a reputation to back up those prices. You also need to consider your location. In my area, the florists are struggling, and most have closed up shop.

My customers will happily buy a bouquet for around the same price as a premium cup of coffee. So I am focused on creating $5-$7 bouquets. As my experience increases and I create a reputation for quality homegrown flowers, I will likely expand into other price points. Still, I am happy to be doing what I am doing now.

Pricing can be tricky, but finding the sweet spot that works for you, your farm, and your business goals is important.

Not Every Interaction Has to End with a Sale to be Considered a Success.

My favorite interactions at the market were simply getting to know the people who stopped by my stand. I had some great conversations and shared a little bit about my story with them. I also got incredible feedback that has been useful. While not every interaction resulted in a sale, they were all successful in building relationships.

These relationships are important because they are the foundation of a loyal customer base. I want my customers to feel like they know me and that they can trust me to provide them with quality flowers.

All in all, my first time taking flowers to the farmers market was a success. I sold all but one bouquet, I learned a lot, and made great connections. I am looking forward to doing it again next week!

What tips do you have for selling flowers at the farmer’s market? Please share them in the comments below!

If you enjoyed this post, check out my other blog posts about growing and selling cut flowers.