Pumpkin Bread

[ChickenTender63]

I am making my homemade pumpkin bread again since the pumpkins are in season, and I need some advice from all the folks here please.

I make this from an old family recipe, and in the years past, have only made it for ourselves and for church dinners. Everyone from church just raves about it and this past weekend, several members have asked if I would sell it.

This comes at a good time for me. I need to do something to raise a little extra money and this would really help. My question is, how much would someone pay for this, and, do you have any other ideas on how I could market this to sell more than the 10 loafs or so I will be able to sell at church?

I appreciate any advice you all can give me. Hope you have a great day!

 

[FarmerChick]

YUMMY!
just the title to the thread "pumpkin bread" sounded delish!

good deal happening for ya. Love it when word of mouth gets you customers.

Price should be at least $5 per loaf but that depends on size ya know. If smaller, at least $5, if bigger price up. Most specialty bread makers sell their smaller loaves for about $5-6 each...like zucchini bread, banana nut bread, etc. Freshness and handmade means you can charge more definitely. Your location matters a bit, being in NC near Charlotte are prices can handle being priced higher.

Have some friends take a flyer to work for you. Your spouse can take a flyer and put it up in the breakroom, that kind of thing and if a few people will take a flyer to work and hang it then maybe they can get some orders for you.

Word of mouth at the church might get you more orders also. Tell the customers buying that they can offer to other family members and such and you might get more orders that way.

Spread the word to anyone.

best of luck getting orders and hope you do well!

 

[ldburton]

Stay small enough to avoid Health Department regulations and inspections. Don't know if they are intrusive where you are but they are here.

 

[ChickenTender63]

I had thought about having my wife post something at work, but she said she's not allowed. It's against the rules at the hospital, so that's out.

I am hoping that the folks from church can spread the word out some more. I am too far from Charlotte to do any good down there, and I can't do the farmers markets here. You have to have your application approved in the spring to be a vendor any time that year. If you miss that, then your out until at least next year.

Thanks for your ideas Karen, I appreciate it!

 

[FarmerChick]

yea I was going to mention farmer markets and such but you must have an "approved inspected kitchen" by agri. dept to sell at the market.

bummer on the hospital...that would have been a load of great customers. BUT have your wife MENTION to her co-workers, have her bring in a bread cut up in small pieces as a sample to give out at her station (of course if she can do that again?)
stinks when they shut ya down doesn't it..LOL

You could advertise in the IWANNA. In the "from the farm" section you can offer fresh baked specialty breads. But since it is a advertised type sale, you have to pay like $5 for the ad...you know the iwanna right? You could get some orders from that maybe. But then again, you have to deal with customers from who knows where etc. for delivery or they come to the home etc. to pick up.

 

[patandchickens]

I second (third?) the recommendation to make real sure you know your state regulations. Chances are pretty good that what you're planning will not be legal - if you do it anyway it might be wise to know exactly where you stand.

I would think that word of mouth would be, by far, the best method, and probably the least likely to getcha into trouble.

Good luck,

Pat

 

[ChickenTender63]

Pat,

And I appreciate your thoughts as well. From what I am being told, as long as I am not trying to market it commercially through stores and such, then I do not fall into their target books.

I really have no intentions of doing it to that scale, but was hoping I could get enough customers through word of mouth and such with the holidays coming up, that I would be able to make additional income. I guess I look at it this way also, NC will let me process 1000 chickens to sell before they require me to do a state inspection of my growing operation. They do need to be processed at a state approved processor in order to sell them, but they don't care if I raised them in the sewer, or a nice clean facility. Farmerchick, you have more experience in this also, am I understanding that right, or am I off base here.

Farmerchick, I am not aware of that paper. I will have to check it out. It would be worth a $5 ad to sell 30 loafs of bread though.

I have sent several loafs of bread to work with my wife to share with her nurses so I could spread the word. Everybody loves it, but she won't take orders or sell it because she doesn't want to go against the rules since she is in management, which I can understand.

Keep the ideas coming if you have them. Thank you both for your thoughts.

 

[FarmerChick]

yes you CAN sell those chickens you process yourself on the farm. you are right, there are 1000 allowed. But you can ONLY sell them from your home! You can not take them to a market unless they are processed commercially by an approved processor.

I have a meat handlers license from the state and inspected each year cause I sell whole hog sausage and chops. Our friend is a processer and we get it done from him and store here and sell.....but in order to sell even you must have meat handlers license...but again, not from your home.

So you can process those birds and sell from the farm to customers.


Yes, I understand your wife not wanting to tip the boat at work. I don't blame her at all....job is more important than trouble over 10 loaves of bread..HA HA

IWANNA is at the convenience stores. Great paper. It is big and sells everything...you must get one!

ALSO---at grocery stores, ya know the bulletin board when you walk in, you can hang a flyer there with some cut out phone numbers at the bottom for people to pull off and phone you. Just do a few local stores near you that way the customers are close. Ya never know.....

 

[ChickenTender63]

Karen, great info! Thank yo uso much. But, your not going to believe this, they took the bulletin boards down at the grocery stores around here 6-8 months ago. So now thats out of the question.

On the guy that processes your hogs, does he do beef as well? I wll need someone next year to process a couple steers and hogs for us, and am having trouble finding someone around here. If we had it done down your way, I could swing by my sisters house and fill up her freezer after I pick it up. She lives in the Charlotte area. It would only be about an hour and a half or so drive for me.

I haven't seen that paper at the grocery stores, but I will check and see what I can find.

Thanks again Karen for the info. I love picking your brain! Thank you for sharing

 

[FarmerChick]

Our guy is Caldwell Processing in little town of Maiden. Yes he does beef and does deer in season.

He is in the book. We are below Mooresville. Right near Lake Norman, lower side I guess you could say..LOL

You can check your yellowpages and check meat processing but it must be custom. Custom means they should do your beef or hog or sometimes deer like Kevin.

IWANNA is on the internet also. www.iwanna.com-----do you get it, the name, I WANNA....it has sooooo much stuff for sale including farm animals they named it appropriately. I WANT! LOL

oh poo on the grocery store bullentins...whew..you ain't got a fighting chance..LOL

ANOTHER thing you can do is team up with another farmer. Maybe contact a CSA in your area. Cause a CSA might buy your product to supply into their CSA boxes. That would mean a limited amount and you would know when needed. Like offer seasonal flavors and the CSA could put them in their boxes...just another option.