The unsung heroes of the world are plants. Plants are a wonderful way to enjoy nature and provide therapeutic benefits that keep you healthy and happy. It turns out that plants can fill in the gaps in our social lives when there is an event like the COVID-19 pandemic. You can make money selling plants online as more people purchase plants for these purposes.
7 Steps to Starting an Online Plant Business
Choose which plants you want to sell
The botanical world is full of variety, from herbs and spices to seeds and bulbs to outdoor plants and seeds and many other items. When choosing plants to sell, it is important to consider your interests and what products you have available, how much space you have, and other factors.
There are many options available for plants that you can sell online.
- Indoor plants. Think succulents, ferns and spider plants.
- You can grow bulbs and seeds. You can think of bulbs, seeds, or other growing materials to help customers start from scratch.
- Plant care products. You can think of fertilizer, soil, grow lights and special plant food. These products can be sold together with live plants.
- Home decor. You can sell hanging planters, decorative pots and trays separately or with the plants they hold.
- Kits and Terrariums. For building terrariums at your home, you can use a combination of live plants and plant suppliers.
- Subscriptions Why don’t you offer recurring plant deliveries with a theme like “seeds of the month” or “seeds of the year”?
Get your plants from a reliable source
Two popular methods to locate the plants you need for customers are available. You can grow your plants to sell. This is the most time-consuming option. You have the option to grow plants in your garden, make a greenhouse or rent space on an allotment.
It takes a lot of knowledge to grow plants. Also, it would help if you thought about how you will scale up production as your order volumes increase. You need to ask yourself: Do I have the right conditions and space for growing and caring for plants?
For many sellers, it is easier to source plants from nurseries, greenhouses, professional growers, or suppliers. Visit local greenhouses or visit websites owned by companies. Remember these things when searching for the best plants:
- Compare prices. Different suppliers may offer different benefits. Some suppliers have lower minimums for how many plants you can buy. Other companies may offer additional support and consult.
- Look into local growers. Local providers can often offer better deals because they don’t spend as much on shipping and packaging.
- Establish relationships. Your supplier should be a partner in your success. Good relationships with suppliers can lead to long-term better deals.
- Be aware of seasonality. It would help to consider what plants are available at different times of the year from different suppliers. It is possible to need to change suppliers throughout the year.
- You should have multiple suppliers. A single supplier can cause serious problems if something goes wrong with their products. Multiple suppliers will ensure you have backups and a wider selection of products.
- Dropshipping is a great option. Dropshipping companies like Houseplant Dropship can store, pack, and ship your products. This allows you to save time and money by not fulfilling orders yourself.
Photograph your plants
If you are selling a product with many aesthetics, such as plants or flowers, product photography is essential to draw people’s attention. Either hire a professional photographer or go DIY with plant photography. You can use either of these approaches to product photography. They are applicable across all categories.
Tips for photographing plants:
- Photograph in natural light. Natural lighting will give your customers a better idea of the plants you are selling. Filters can lead to unmet customer expectations.
- Use your smartphone. Smartphones today can take plant care videos, behind-the-scenes images and other photos to be used on ecommerce websites.
- Think about 3D photography. 3D photography will allow your customers to use AR technology for placing plants in their homes.
- Create a photo of your customers living in the space where your item will be placed.
- Pay attention to the finer points. Take close-up photos to show the plant’s colors and textures.
Online plant shop
You will need a website to sell plants online. This will allow you to showcase your products and take orders from customers.
Shopify makes it easy to build a plant shop, even if your skills are not in coding.
Shopify offers all the necessary functionality, including marketing tools and payment gateways. You can add apps to your Shopify store to make it more profitable for your plant business. There are many apps in the Shopify app store that can be used to make your website more manageable. Apps for marketing, customer support, dropshipping and many other areas are available.
Your product pages should include standard information such as size, species and plant description. Clear product images are also important. This space can also be used for education. You can provide useful information such as the ideal pH for growing conditions or plant care tips to engage your audience.
Consider creating collections to organize your products by size, species or other useful categories such as “beginner friendly” or “pet friendly”.
Your plant brand
Branding is key to distinguishing your plant store from other websites selling them plants. Your value proposition should reflect your uniqueness. Grounded, an online retailer of plants has its branding rooted in the power and beauty of plants to bring peace and mindfulness into everyday life. This proposition is sprinkled throughout its website as well as marketing copy.
Have a brand story to share? It can be shared on your About page, social media and packaging. Let customers see your humble beginnings by sharing your business values and details about any charitable partnerships. To show your knowledge and care for your products, you can also offer educational content.
Your plants should be priced
If you are a new company, pricing any product can be challenging, even plants. It is possible to get a good idea of other businesses’ prices for similar products by looking at their pricing. Consider the following pricing formula:
- Know your shipping costs, packaging and freight costs
- A small profit margin
- Fixed costs, such as the cost of renting a greenhouse, are addressed
Many factors can affect the price of plants. Consider your target customer as an important factor. A rare and desirable plant will attract a higher price from flower enthusiasts or high-end plants. Others may be more willing to purchase lots of the same plant at a lower price.
It would help if you also considered the following:
- Seasonality. You can charge a premium if you offer difficult plants to find elsewhere. You will need to have a reliable supply network with a wide range of products to take advantage of seasonality.
- Variety. Some seeds and plants are more difficult to find than others. The best pricing is determined by knowing which plants are in high demand with your target audience.
- Market price. The industry standard pricing range. Although your brand may offer high-quality starter plants and seeds, the pricing should be comparable to what customers can find online.
Send your plants packaged and shipped
Packaging and Shipping Plants correctly can be complicated because you will be shipping “living things”. This means that you need to research the best ways to protect everything, from stems to flowers seeds, to ensure they are safe.
Make sure you:
- Establish rules and regulations. According to rules, certain types of soil and organic matter can be transported across borders. Canada, for example, allows soil imports from the US provided that the documentation is correct. However, it does not allow soil imports from any other country.
- Learn about the climate. You may need heat packs or vans for transporting your plants.
- Protect your plant with protection measures. You can protect your plants by taking various steps, including wrapping cardboard around the plant’s base and covering it with bubble wrap. Do not cut corners.
- Be careful when choosing your carriers. Express delivery is sometimes the best way to ship plants. Choose carriers that work seven days per week to ensure that your plants don’t go without care or light.
- Lower shipping costs wherever possible. You may be able to ship plants without soil or other accessories. This can increase shipping costs and weight.
