Hi there.

I am delving into the organic/vegan cake market and I am trying to reduce the price a bit. I would like to find large quantities of things like sugar and flour. So that it will not be so expensive.

My Dh works at Earth Fare (like whole foods) and even with the discount it is too expensive. Not to mention, how many 2 lb bags of 10x do I need to buy at once! I would wipe out the store each time.

So I am going to scope out the locals for eggs, but flour and sugar are going to be the problem.

Thanks for any input.

Can I just ask this...If you are organic/vegan won't you need to charge more for that luxury to your customers, so that MIGHT help off set your expenses..just a thought! LOL! I bake alot of kids party cakes, so for THEIR sakes I buy organic milk, eggs, butter and ANYTHING I can get my hands on for THEIR sake, but I just charge more now. Hope that helps!

Well yes I know I will need to charge more, but I don't want to be unreasonable. I like to give the best value I can, while still providing the great product.

I just thought there might be some great places to buy bulk items.

thanks Julia

Amazon.com has lots of bulk organic foods, but I don't know what the price is compared to what you are already paying...

Have you spoke with the manger of the store? There are some places that you can place your order with them, then they will order it with their regular order (so you don't wipe out their shelves) and it comes in 2-3 times a week with their order.

If they can order more then they get a better price and may pass it on to you!! If you are a guarenteed sale they may reduce your price since you are ordering in bulk.

It can't hurt to ask! You may end up with a box of 20 pkgs of 2lb bags of sugar, but at least their shelf is still full for other customers.

Hi, you might try UNFI (http://www.unfi.com/) - they are a wholesaler of organic & natural products. Yes, you have to go thru the sign-up process & you do have to buy in some larger quantities. However, most items you'd buy from them have a long shelf-life (sugar, flour, etc.), and all you need is some good storage space...

I used to buy all of my organic ingredients retail, and it was really hurting my bottom line. Many people are afraid to buy in bulk (wholesale), but you would not BELIEVE how much it saves you over the long term! Good luck

GREAT NEWS! Thanks rits!

Thank you for the information. I was all excited until I called for the account. Unfortunately they do not deliver residential (licensed home bus in NC). I could pick up in ATL (3 hrs away) but they require a monthly purchase of $350 for pickups and $500 for deliveries.

Thanks anyway, perhaps when i get more business.

Have a super day.

Julia

Sorry about that - I didn't think about the home baker aspect.

You might contact some local restaurants or caterers who you know are focused on organics & ask if they are willing to let you "piggy back" on their orders. I actually cold-called about 40-50 caterers in my area last year, and I found someone who now splits orders with me (!)

I also get my organic eggs from a local farm - I called a bunch of them, too, until I found someone who didn't mind dropping off a relatively small amount to me on their regular delivery route.

Basically, you just have to have no shame Good luck to you.

I just found out the greatest news! UNFI sponsors a buying club program. So I emailed them and they sent me a list of all the clubs in NC. I just spoke with the lady for the club here and what a GREAT deal!

For instance, organic 10x and organic granulated sugar are 1/2 the price that I was paying in the store. The 10x is cheaper than the bakers and chefs in sam's.

Now I am off to find fair trade chocolate....any hints on that?


HTH

Julia

Thank you so much for this topic! I called UNFI and they were very helpful.

Interesting you should ask! I used to work in Sales Support for the largest organic dairy cooperative in the country (still work for them, just not in SS), you can probably figure out WHERE I work . And my job was to introduce new stores and food services to our products via distributors and answer questions about organics.

One of the ones I always recommended if someone didn't want to do a buying club or minimum order through UNFI was to offer Azure Standard. You are able to buy just one case of product if needed and the minimums are small.

azurestandard.com

The biggest frustration for some smaller businesses was that UNFI rarely speaks to the little guy, and this is where Azure comes in. Good luck!

I just found 20 lb bags of organic sugar at...Costco , and I've used Azure for flour in the past (but not for cakes, duh, why didn't I think of that!), but I have to buy a minimum $ amount to have it delivered, so we got away from that since we get our regular groceries at a local organic market.

I've found organic flour off and on at my local grocery stores (Albertson's, etc), but it's usually only 10 lb bags, so I just stock up when I can. If I can't find organic I look for all-natural, but I can't recall the name.

I get organic milk, sour cream, eggs, etc at my local grocery or organic market, but yeah baby they cost a lot more! Like almost $4/dozen for eggs. We're actually getting chickens again (if not for cakes, then at least for US) for fresh eggs. I don't usually get butter organic because of the cost and scarcity. My prices aren't cheap for this area, but they are where they need to be for me to use these ingredients.

I am able to get most of my liquid dairy and eggs at employee discount or free (short coded) and I've never had to think about the cost! It's these sort of subjects that give me the heads up on how difficult it could be.

Another good one is Tree of Life. They have smaller minimums then UNFI but carry most of what they do, they are a subsidiary distributor. A lot of my customers were able to order things by the case through their local co-op as well. Good luck!