The Struggles Of An Emerging Brand
I have been very quiet on WA for a while, working on my brand for quite some time now. I have been using all the tools and advantages that have gained from Wealthy Affiliate over the years and am very pleased and confident with my website and the features it offers. But thats not the problem .... I guess like most people with physical products (or not !) I am looking into different areas where I can pick up sales. So I have been looking at some of the wholesale websites like Faire.
Now I have spreadsheets of my pricing, with every detail, including packaging, then time taken and cost per hour for wholesale and retail. I have done research online and in stores to assess the efficacy of the retail price and I am happy with that. But... when I go onto the wholesale website, put in my retail prices, it works out the wholesale price, which have turned out to be barely more than my basic cost price ! For example, I have a loofah soap that costs £9.25 retail and cost price is £4.50... but the wholesale price they're suggesting is £4.75 ! So I make 25p... I cant change the retail price on this site as they check the retail price on the website too to make sure they're the same and I refuse to earn 25p on a bar ! Might as well give up!
The effort I have put into the products, the testing, trials, the cost of toxicology and lab fees to create the formulations notwithstanding the time involved, I cant see how anyone can possibly sell on these wholesale sites. But looking at some products, they have hand cream at £3.20 retail! That means the wholesale is around £1.60 ! I really am at a loss as to what to do... am I seriously underpricing my stuff? Am I working too slowly? Should I compromise the quality of ingredients? :(
Recent Comments
13
I feel your pain, Helen, but the problem is that larger companies that you could get to produce your product have huge economies of scale, and therefore, they are usually able to produce and package at a much lower price.
If it was me, I'd charge the higher price for all the care that went into my own product, and it would be a premium one-of- a-kind product like what you seem to have.
Definitely some points to ponder, my friend!
Best success to you in this endeavor!
Jeff😎👍
Thanks Jeff. I think this must be the case… hand creams for £3.50 retail.. that’s ridiculous when it’s organic, vegan. Ethically sourced. Etc etc.. I’m going to mark it up, see what happens .
That sounds excellent, Helen! Try it and see what happens! People tend to like things that are unique and quality made.
Jeff
That's an interesting situation!
How would you compare your products to similar products? Better quality? similar?
What's unique about them?
Truly interested.
Mel
So my products are totally vegan, no animal products, naturally derived from plant.. no chemicals, only plant based ingredients not only for the various ingredients but also for colour, scent and preservative. No E numbers, no mica. No plastic, not tested on animals and ethically sourced. All formulations are toxicology tested as per UK regulations. All packaging biodegradable or glass.
Wow, that sounds great Helen!
I'm no expert, but it would seem they might rate Premium pricing. Set yourself up as a top Brand.
Mel
You think I’m selling myself short? I have developed a lotion with active ingredients.. kombucha along with other actives, and presented in a violet glass bottle ( the photo in the blog) this had to have 6 weeks lab testing to ensure it’s natural preservative was robust enough. www.mycottagecosmetics.com
Very nice website. :-)
I don't know what your competion sells similar top of the line products for. If something is promoted as better, top of the line, I would think it deserves premium pricing which will attract those higher end customers to purchase and perhaps resolve your wholesale price issues. Or maybe as people start buying you won't want to wholesale.
Mel
Thankyou Mel.. I think I’ll take your advice and mark them up. They have had so much time and effort choosing the right formulations, market testing and lab work. Maybe a few could be marked up in line with a top brand yo see how they fare. Grateful for your comments and support. Without WA support I could never have achieved what I have, I proud of my website. It is basic, but has woo commerce, dual currency and cute photos! 😂
I was thinking about the story of Paul Mitchel and how he set his products above and beyond everyone else. It was great.
Mel
One thing I didn’t say, was that the kombucha lotion is definitely definitely a new thing. There aren’t many competitors out there doing it. I did think of contacting a ‘dragon’ but they can only back companies that appear on the show, and that’s not me.
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I agree with Mel and Jeff. Pricing is perhaps the issue. It is difficult to put a premium price on products because you feel that you will be too high.
We had this problem before, to solve it we offered wholesale pricing on our website which you can set up through WooCommerce. It is not as effective as using the wholesale sites, but at least you are still getting all the $.
Alex
Thankyou Alex, I feel I have to try this out.