[WTS] Home-made granola

[Kluge]

No new batches of granola will be made until ~ the beginning of May.

Wife made granola today. Pretty damn tasty. She's wanted to sell home-grown and home-made foods, oils, soaps, and such for a while. Until we move and can build & take up space as we please, this seems an adequate first step in the door. In the future, look forward to home-made crackers and pasta, jerky from various wild animals, home-grown tobacco, various dehydrated mushrooms & other vegetation, and cheeses - along with whatever there's demand for.

The granola would contain almonds, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, oats, sunflower seeds, brown sugar, soy oil, vanilla extract, and honey. That's the "original" granola. Outside of that, varieties may include fruit, particular spices, and probably an utterly bizarre variety I'll insist on making. Baked, then split into bars, crumbled and bagged as a snack, or broken up and sold as cereal. Packaging for individual bars in a pack would likely be most expensive (I wouldn't expect it to be too significantly more expensive, however).

My initial conservative guesstimate is it'd sell for ~$10/lb shipped to anywhere in the US or Canada. Ideally, it will sell profitably for significantly less. Buying local would likely not increase price (with the possible exception of brown sugar and the vanilla used in the extract). Buying what the USG certifies as "organic" would dramatically raise the price, and I'd suspect grabbing key ingredients from Bitcoin merchants would also dramatically increase price. That said, if you produce any ingredients listed and would like to submit a $/lb bid with other conditions, I'd be pleased to read it.

If there's interest, I'll look into this more carefully and update as progress is made.

[Kluge]

Should've done this when I made the thread, but there's now a "fuck granola" option to help determine if this is a small niche or something "mainstream Bitcoiners" would enjoy purchasing. Though, if someone's clicking a thread about granola.... hm.


Anyway, shipping outside of US/Can will happen eventually (before Christmas). I can't imagine a gov't getting pissy about shipping granola (might have to mark it as animal feed :p ), but meats, cheeses, tobacco... might run into some obnoxious restrictions. Wife's excited about this, so votes just calm me and motivate me to look at packaging options. Test batches should be ready to ship out for a nominal shipping/materials fee within a month.

By the way, buy my house so I can move, purchase livestock, and not live with my mom anymore.

(PLEASE!)

[Kluge]

Snack bags will either stand up and be sealed with a twist-tie, or be shipped in flat, reclosable bags (any preference? Packaging costs are fairly insignificant either way, though packaging in stand-up bags would be easier due to the sizes available). Bags will be shipped fairly tightly in thick, crush-proof boxes. Shipping comes with USPS "delivery confirmation." Looking like we'll definitely be using Bees Brothers' honey, and hoping to get another member's vanilla extract. Shipping should occur within 3 days of an order. I'm debating with myself whether to use Bit-Pay, do everything manually (leaning toward this), or use whatever Gox is coming out with.

Upon looking up the current postage rates, I'm striking the option to ship to Canada -- too little "value-density."

Snack bag prices will be roughly around the following:
1/2 lb - $12 shipped anywhere in continental US.
1 lb - $15 shipped anywhere in continental US.
3 lb - $30 shipped anywhere in continental US.
ETA: 6 lb should be doable. Can combine two bags in one box. Expecting to sell @ $52.50.

Shipping as cereal & bars get more complicated. This will be put off until I'm convinced there's enough demand to order the packaging.


ETA: Working with Bees Brothers to grab a nice big tub of honey. Surprisingly, it's right around the price of the cheapest honey I could find - even after including shipping on the Bees Bros honey! 

ETA2: Now working on forming a proper LLC. -- But Kluge, you'll be reporting transactions to the GOVERNMENT! Yep, but I have plenty of deductibles, and if I plan properly, there's no reason for me to be excluded from a net profit from filing taxes via EITC. -- But Kluge, wtf is a BTC legally, anyway? With Bit-Pay, there're no worries. I can keep receipts in USD.

[Bees Brothers]

We used to sell granola at our local Farmer's Market.  One of the problems we ran into were some of the ingredients are pretty expensive (nuts, dried fruit, honey...).  Making it on a large scale you can buy the ingredients in bulk (50 lbs boxes of almonds for example) and then save on costs for everyone.  We found that those who understood the ingredients realized the granola was a great deal, and everyone else was happy with the cheep crap with puffed rice fillers and corn syrup from the grocery store that tastes like cardboard. 

We had a small group of loyal followers that loved it.  Passing out samples always got new customers.

Resealable bags work really well.  Handy and keeps it fresh for weeks.

Your ingredient list looks great.  People need to realize that if they bought all those items themselves, they probably would be spending about the same as buying from you (unless they bought in bulk), and would also need to spend a bit of time making it.

[Kluge]

Thanks, BB!

Snack bag prices will be roughly around the following:
1/2 lb - $12 shipped anywhere in continental US.
1 lb - $15 shipped anywhere in continental US.
3 lb - $30 shipped anywhere in continental US.
ETA: 6 lb should be doable. Can combine two bags in one box. Expecting to sell @ $52.50.

Reducing shipping cost is pretty tough. I order online, I save a few dimes, but USPS has a minimum, and it's unavoidable to have it pushing the price for small orders far higher up than I'd like. For half-pound bags, I've currently brought my costs down to $8.02 after shipping, with shipping taking up $4.95 of that (that's a rough average. Should be ~$4.86-$5.80 each.). Only $2.10 of those costs are actual ingredients.  Looking at different boxes to further reduce costs without increasing time cost nor risking damage while shipping. Trying my best to make shipping a pound of granola be profitable @ a $10 price shipped (right now would be losing $.23 + time per box, excluding cost of shipping packaging, shipping labels, and Bit-Pay fees). May ship half-pound orders in padded envelopes I still have from a previous venture.... need to take another look at shipping prices going that route (ETA: savings could be quite significant trying this way and allow me to price @ <$10 for 1/2 lb. orders).

Filing for LLC creation was ridiculously easy, and not too expensive. Not sure whether or not I can squeeze out of needing a food license from the state. Everything should be good to go in about a month. Test batches will be sent out to a few who've helped me out in a few weeks, both to review the effectiveness of the packaging during shipment and the taste of the granola.

The revised prices are as follows:
1/2 lb - $11 shipped continental US (ETA: re-re-re-revised price = $7.50 shipped)
1 lb - $14 shipped continental US
3 lb - $28 shipped continental US
6 lb - $50 shipped continental US

Bags will definitely be reclosable. Haven't found a good source of high-quality, low-price almonds or pumpkin seeds yet, which is pushing the ingredient cost higher than I'd like. - Oh & ETA: definitely looks like I'll be able to experiment with the rum-flavored vanilla extract from DeLorean.

[Kluge]

Been spending the past hour getting the BB honey from a crystallized state to a nice, runny, homogenized state. It has a deeper flavor than I'm used to -- almost fruity. Very tasty! Just waiting on the rum-flavored vanilla extract from DeLorean to be ready and shipped - then we're good to go.

Will send out some test batches within the next week to people involved to see if 1lb bags can be shipped in padded envelopes or if the granola isn't bound together enough to not utterly fall apart during shipment.

After that, will work on a more savory variety to be used perhaps as a salad topping. Then, a chocolate variety, and then it'll be on to home-made pasta & crackers in a few months. If there's interest for other flavors or a specific baked good, lemme know! Don't think we can compete with Mandrik's baklava, however! 

ETA: Also added a bit of cinnamon and some flax seed to "original" recipe.


Edit2: Success! $10/lb granola should now be viable without requiring bulkier purchases. These price reductions were made possible by making smarter choices about how to ship them, not by picking out cheaper ingredients.

Revised pricing as follows -- this is the final pricing unless I messed something up:
1/2 lb - $7.50 shipped continental US
1 lb - $10 shipped continental US
3 lb - $26.50 shipped continental US
6 lb - $48 shipped continental US


Edit3: Shipping to Canada also back on the board. If you live outside the continental US, but either in the US or Canada, add $2.50 more for the 1/2 lb & 1 lb bags. 3lb & 6lb shipments outside the continental US will not be available due to the very high shipping costs once I'm unable to ship in a "large envelope."

[bitjet]

i will order 3-6lbs whenever its ready.

[Kluge]

Fuck it. I don't have time to wait around. Standard tax deduction will likely be just as favorable, so thinking I'll need to write off business expenses is a bit silly.

ANARCHY GRANOLA IS NOW SELLING!!! 


In celebration of anarchistic/absurdist business policy, the first twenty orders will be shipped roughly at cost! However, prior to getting everything sorted, I will only be shipping within the Lower 48 of the US.

Prices for the first 20 orders is as follows (USD price takes precedence -- BTC price invalid if exchange rate fluctuates +-$.50 from 4.75):
1/2lb bag: 1.1BTC (~$5.20) shipped!
1lb bag: 2.1BTC (~$10) shipped!
3lb bag: 4.35BTC (~$20.66) shipped!
6lb bag: 7BTC (~$33.25) shipped!

Shipping supplies won't be delivered until mid-3/20, so orders will likely go out, at earliest, on 3/21, possibly not until a couple days after. Pictures will be posted once initial orders are baked and packaged. This thread will be obsolete after LLC paperwork & Bit-Pay application is all sorted.

Since I haven't sent anything to those who were supposed to be the taste-testers, if you don't like your granola, SAY SO! I'll refund your entire purchase cost (uhh... unless you order 50 lbs or something...). Bit-pay account is also not yet set up as there currently is no LLC, so you'll have to place orders with me through PM. Please follow this format:

Name:
Street name:
Town, state abbreviation, zip code:

BTC Address to pay @: 1GFj95WsPGLGUFaGKv2coCfquf8TE1qxiy

ETA: Prices updated for selloff

ETA2: 1lb prices changed. Apparently, "large envelopes" must weigh less than half a pound to be a "large envelope." So... I may's well just ship them in crush-proof boxes. I'll rethink the pricing on everything to look more uniform in a day or two.

ETA3: Now on Heatware: http://www.heatware.com/eval.php?id=80153

[TECSHARE]

I'll take a lb

[Kluge]

ANARCHY GRANOLA IS NOW SELLING!!! 


In celebration of anarchistic/absurdist business policy, the first twenty orders will be shipped roughly at cost! However, prior to getting everything sorted, I will only be shipping within the Lower 48 of the US.

Prices for the first 20 orders is as follows (USD price takes precedence -- BTC price invalid if exchange rate fluctuates +-$.50 from $4.75):
1/2lb bag: 1.1BTC (~$5.20) shipped!
1lb bag: 2.1BTC (~$10) shipped!
3lb bag: 4.35BTC (~$20.66) shipped!
6lb bag: 7BTC (~$33.25) shipped!

Bit-pay account is also not yet set up as there currently is no LLC, so you'll have to place orders with me through PM. Please follow this format:

Name:
Street name:
Town, state abbreviation, zip code:

BTC Address to pay @: 1GFj95WsPGLGUFaGKv2coCfquf8TE1qxiy

Bump.

[bitjet]

Ordered a 6lb bag will report back when it arrives.

[Maged]

My order is in.

Here's to it being as good as I hope!

[Kluge]

My order is in.

Here's to it being as good as I hope!

Confirmed & marked 

The first batches (10 lbs. worth!) are about to be baked. Right now, we're planning on shipping tomorrow (ETA: Will be shipped on 3/23). I do not want to ship any after that until reviews are in confirming or denying the tastiness of the granola, so if you'd like in on the first batch, please contact me within ~2 hours after this post. you're out of luck. 

We're assuming the granola will stay fresh one week after shipped. After that, it will likely start to go stale. If anyone gets stale granola, we'll rethink, re-bake, and re-ship at no charge. We can always vacuum-seal the bags of granola if necessary, then put those vacuum-sealed bags in a reclosable bag. This makes everything a little less elegant and a bit more costly, however.

Also please note the labeling on the first batch will not be what's on the "real" product. It'll likely be an unlabeled bag, maybe with a sticker noting it contains nuts if we can find some in the house. In case anyone had ideas otherwise, the granola does indeed contain nuts. If there's interest, we can make nut-free batches which'd be significantly cheaper since almonds are relatively spendy.

Cheers & thanks for everyone's patronage! 

ETA: If anyone's interested, ingredient % by volume and sources of ingredients is as follows (edit: These % numbers are incorrect. It used the generic, much runnier honey [we need more of the thicker honey to get the right consistency, which is fine - I was worried some people may be used to sugary granola, anyway], and was measured by volume because that's how I buy it. We've weighed everything on an industrial scale and I'll update these #s soon):
Oats (sold in bulk locally @ unionized store, unsure of origin) - ~33%
Almonds (multiple mixed sources) - ~22%
Sunflower seeds (certified organic, locally-grown) - ~16%
Pumpkin seeds (locally-grown) - ~11%
Flax seeds (boxed, grown & packaged in US) - ~6.5%
Honey & brown sugar (honey grown in UT by Bitcoin-accepting Bees Brothers, brown sugar comes from a bag, unsure of origin) - ~5.5% each
Soy oil, vanilla extract, cinnamon (soy oil & vanilla produced in US, unsure of source on cinnamon) - <.35% each

Will get a better handle on where all ingredients come from in the future.

P.S. The next item we're expecting to make is crackers, followed by cheese some time in Summer (once the Amish start to populate a nearby selling area)

[Global BTC]

$10/pound for granola seems a bit steep. What's the store price of granola in the US?

[Kluge]

$10/pound for granola seems a bit steep. What's the store price of granola in the US?

I'm not sure about stores. Supermarkets tend to carry "honey & oats" (solidified oatmeal posing as granola) or trail mix.

Here're the first three I found online:
http://www.olivenation.com/Nuts-About-Granola-P3163.aspx (largely oats & peanuts) 3/4lb -- $2.99 + $6.32 (cheapest shipping) = $9.31, or $12.41/lb

http://www.amazon.com/Homemade-Granola-1-lb-Bag/dp/B0039VTQ8O 1lb -- $6.20 + $9.00 (cheapest shipping) = $15.20/lb

http://www.amazon.com/Erin-Bakers-Homestyle-Granola-12-Ounce/dp/B000K8PO26 4.5 lbs -- $23.94 + $7.88 (cheapest shipping) = $31.82, or ~$7.07/lb


Now, the last link is a bulk purchase (though, I also excluded the S&S discount & assumed you wouldn't be purchasing something else to get Super Saver shipping). I'm currently doing 6 lbs @ $33.25 shipped. $33.25/6=$5.54/lb -- At regular price, $48, $/lb comes to $48/6=$8/lb.



So.... I think my prices are quite competitive, and quite reasonable given the ingredients used. Am I the cheapest? No, but I'm not trying to be the cheapest granola-producer.

[Kluge]

Jenny, our friendly "not enough postage"-covering USPS carrier, is picking up everyone's shipments tomorrow (usually around 11am Eastern). The delivery confirmation #s should be active after they're taken back to base & processed - maybe a couple hours after picking up.

However, only earlier today did I discover the USPS website fails to note that a "large envelope" can only be up to half a pound in weight. I took quite a bit of time ensuring the packaging I purchased fit the specs, but was not alerted to the weight requirement until I tried to ship it. You can see how misleading it could be by checking out the info page on large envelopes: http://postcalc.usps.gov/PopUps/LargeEnvelope.htm . Unfortunately, this forced me to either pay 2x the price I assumed and still ship them in probably-adequate bubble-mailers, or satisfyingly-adequate crush-proof boxes for 3x the shipping price I assumed. For this reason alone, I consider this business to be non-viable except perhaps for bulk orders (which take a looong time to bake) and gift baskets. Now, local pickup would bring price down to something online stores couldn't compete with, but I don't believe the Boomers' suburb I live in would be willing to accept Bitcoin.

So, I'm fairly sure the first batch will be the last batch. This makes all other baked goods (and really, just about all food not extremely value-dense) effectively non-viable (though now I'm considering gift baskets with a wide variety of goods). Not knowing where this will eventually go (if anywhere), we'd certainly still appreciate reviews, and the refund offer for dissatisfaction is still in effect, of course. 

- And, if anyone's interested in this kind of stuff like I am - here's a quick costs/revenues sheet on the granola (I still haven't done weight calculations, and the ingredient % total calculations are still based on the original recipe which was modified. In the shipped product, almonds & oats are almost equal in weight, and honey ends up making up the largest % of weight -- should also note the shipping costs are a rough guesstimate as I don't have much data to base them on but shipping in boxes, which is too expensive [though, shipping in bubble-mailers is too expensive, too!]): *snip* Plan on baking & selling again with optimized ingredients.

Last edit before I go to bed: the return address should be Box 39, not whatever I accidentally wrote. I think 4/5 orders have the incorrect # on them.

[bitjet]

I'll give you extra for shipping. let me know how much you need.

[Kluge]

I'll give you extra for shipping. let me know how much you need.

Nah, it's cool. We were going back and forth whether just to offer the first few free. We're thinking we'll just do bulk orders later if the reviews are good. The amount of postage required on smaller orders is obscene.

Appreciate the generosity, though. 

[bitjet]

Alright, I cant wait to start crunching!

[Kluge]

Anyone with a 1st batch order care to critique before I get to making a second batch tonight? There was a lot of honey added when we modified the recipe. It makes it much more sugary. Too much? Packaging will be changed soon. Big waste to buy what I did, but a good learning experience.