The True Crumb: What Should Your Flour Really Cost?
Hello, flour lovers.
If you follow us, you’ll know I usually have a light dusting of our product on my person. It’s in my hair, under my nails, and in every single thing I bake. But there’s another way I’m immersed in flour every day: the numbers.
We’ve talked about what fresh truly means (it’s a matter of days, not months). We’ve championed the health of our farmers, because paying them fairly is the bedrock of this new-old system we’re building.
Today, let’s pull back the curtain on a question we get a lot: Why does good flour cost what it does?
This isn't about justifying a price; it's about showing you the journey from a field of heritage grain to a bag on your shelf, and what it takes to make that journey sustainable.
Let's break down the real cost of 1kg of our organic heritage flour.
The Nuts, Bolts, and Wheat Berries: Our Direct Costs
Before we can talk about a price, we have to look at what it costs us to get it into a bag. This is the raw reality of small-scale milling.
The Elements of Cost The Calculation Cost per 1kg
The Grain (The Soul) Paying our farmers a proper price for their organic, heritage wheat. £0.84
The Labour (The Love). 2 hours of skilled milling & bagging (@ £20/hr) for a 150kg batch. £0.27
The Energy (The Grind). The power to turn the stones. £0.01🚜
The True Cost of Flour 🚜 £1.12
That £1.12 is our direct cost. But a business is more than just its raw inputs. That number doesn’t include the bag it goes in, the label on the front, the roof over the mill, the lights, the insurance, or the van that delivers it.
So, What’s a Fair Price for the Miller?
To build a business that lasts, that creates jobs, and that revitalises our high streets, we need a wholesale price that covers everything and leaves a crumb of profit to reinvest.
We’ve looked at a few models:
The Standard Practice (Keystone): Simply double the cost. £1.12 x 2 = £2.24/kg
The Artisanal Value: A higher mark-up for a specialist, live-product. £1.12 + 150% = £2.80/kg
For a product of this quality, we believe a price that sits confidently between these figures is honest and fair.
Our recommended wholesale price: £2.75 - £3.00 per kg.
Why This Price is the Real Deal
It’s Sustainable for Us: At £2.75, we have £1.63 per bag to cover all those hidden costs (packaging, rent, utilities) and, crucially, to invest back into the business. This is how we grow, create local jobs, and keep the millstones turning.
It’s Justified for You: This means a 1kg bag in a lovely bakery or deli might retail for around £5.50 - £7.00. When you understand that this is for a freshly milled, organic, heritage flour with a story you can trace, we think that’s a fantastic value. You’re not just buying flour; you’re buying flavour, nutrition, and a piece of a local food revolution.
It’s Transparent: We’re showing you our workings! This price reflects a business model that values every part of the process, from farmer to miller to you.
A Final, Floury Note on Our “Waste” Not
The savvy among you might note that with a 75% extraction rate, 25% of the grain becomes bran. The textbooks say to sell it for human consumption to boost profits. At our scale, that’s a tough market to crack.
So, what do we do? We get creative.
We don’t see it as waste; we see it as a resource. We exchange it with local mushroom growers who use it as a nutrient-rich growing medium. And of course, we channel it right back into our own products, adding its goodness and flavour to our crackers and bread mixes.
It’s all part of the same philosophy: to build a resilient, circular, and utterly delicious local food economy.
We hope this gives you some food for thought.
The Fresh Flour Team