Courtesy Roxanne C., Philadelphia, PA
An aspiring flower farmer planning to start up in 2018 has been thinking through with us whether or not to invest in a cooler. Here are some of the considerations.
If you opt to take SPIN’s low road and launch without a cooler, it will affect your crop repertoire. It will be weighted towards those varieties that can maintain a vase life of about 7 days without being cooled. It will also mean that the business should be based on pre-selling and obtaining contracts for regular weekly delivery, which will eliminate the need for storage.
If you want to sell at a farmer’s market, your workflow will be more pressured, but cutting bouquets the day before or morning of the market is do-able. If you are selling u-pick at an open farm day, it should be scheduled in the morning or at dusk to
avoid flowers wilting in the sun.
If you are partnering with an event coordinator by serving as a contractor/florist vendor, or if you plan to develop an events business on our own, the low road is not an option. The volume and the likelihood that you will be using at least some imported flowers requires access to some cooling capacity. Reach-in coolers can be purchased for under $1,000. and you can add on additional ones as you start generating cashflow.
Investing in a cooler is a major turning point in any SPIN-Farming business. Getting one sooner means an easier launch and faster revenue growth. Getting one later means more trade-offs and developing coping strategies. But for those who are serious about starting a farm business, the cooler always cometh.
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