When I started this business three and a half years ago, I was very wide-eyed and inspired to bring my community the highest quality sourdough and desserts money can buy. I pride myself on using as many organic ingredients as possible, even down to the sugar. As this small business started to grow, my costs started to grow as well. The upfront costs took almost two years to pay off: mixer, fermentation refrigerator, Simply Bread Oven, bannetons, bread tins, and so on. Going into the third year, I hoped that I was finally going to be out of the red and into profit. In the third year, I saw exponential growth due to my time at the farmers’ market. As my baking quadrupled, so did the cost to bake at that level.

If you ever wanted to know what it costs to operate at this level. I am about to be very frank so buckle up because it’s going to feel surprising. It may even help you appreciate the vendors at your next farmers market.

To be at one farmers market, including my event permit that allows you to sample food (costs more) and the daily rate costs $354 a month. If I can’t make a farmers market, I still pay to be there to secure my spot. If I choose not to pay when absent, they can place me in an undesirable location upon my return.

Hiring help was the next cost. On average I bake, label, and package 246 items. I am a scratch sourdough baker, which translates into long hours. Going into this fall season, I will double that number. I was killing myself being a one-woman show. I mean, I loved it so much, but it was definitely not sustainable. I brought on my Mom who was willing to help for free. However, everyone deserves to be paid for their time. This summer, I trained two lovely young ladies to help as backup. On any given day, I have one or two employees helping me get all the items baked, cooled, labeled, packaged, and out the door.

Inflation is the other factor making my profit margins razor thin. I haven’t raised my prices since I started three years ago. This year, we are finally seeing inflation come down a bit. Nonetheless, the price of food, gas, and housing has remained high. On average from 2020 to the present, food costs have increased 24.6%. The price of electricity in California has gone up 39% from 2020 to 2023, with plans to increase another 11% in the next year. In the city of Monrovia, our personal water bill has seen an increase to around 30%.

When I use my Square app or Venmo app to charge items at the farmers’ market, there is a 3% fee that I absorb. This does not include the costs I need to operate, including permits, required insurance, health inspections, website fees, and licenses.

The average cost for an artisan country loaf nationally is $12. This does not mean that it is organic, freshly milled local heritage grains. It could be the low-cost mass-produced glyphosate commodity flour that is stripped of important minerals and nutrition. This flour can contain additives to improve the flour’s shelf life and baking performance. Artisan flour is made by millers who work closely with farmers and pay fair prices for their grain. Wildflour works with local farmers and purchases the most expensive non-GMO heritage grain money can buy. The price difference is 3 to 1. Commodity flour: $1 per pound or less. Heritage grain: $3 per pound. The next time you see sourdough at the farmer’s market, question the quality. They may be your local baker, but do they buy locally? Do they pay attention to the quality of ingredients? Is there transparency? Wildflour Artisan Sourdough is organic-freshly milled heritage grains that is long cold fermented for optimal flavor and digestibility. It is important to know what you are paying for.

As a small business owner, I am now faced with a decision. Do I find a way to cut costs via cheaper, lower-quality ingredients when I cannot change the variables discussed above? Do I raise my prices to keep the quality, knowing I may lose some customers? For me, there is only one answer: raise my prices and hope that my customers trust that I am doing my best to keep things affordable while balancing quality. I take so much pride in being our community’s sourdough baker. I am not interested in being too expensive for the community. I have held out as long as I can to give you something amazing and affordable. I care about my community and hope you understand. I know times are tough right now. Just know that I am in the same boat as you.

All inflation statistics found on Google AI Overview.