Artisan Seeds changed its name

[Shule]

I got an email at an old email address today that said Artisan Seeds by Fred Hempel changed its name to Bene Seeds. It looks like the website is beneseeds.com now.

[Shule]

Looks like I missed this thread: viewtopic.php?t=4926

Sorry to anyone who considers it a double post.

[patihum]

I've never wanted to grow anything badly enough that I'd pay $17.49 (or more) for a 25 pack of seeds!

[Cranraspberry]

$7 shipping too.

[bower]

I guess there's been a change in the business model.

[Setec Astronomy]

I guess there's been a change in the business model.

Certainly true. Used to be most seed packs were $4.95 with free shipping, my recollection. More recently Benevento had been $8.95 for 10 seeds, so the current price of $12.99 for 25 seeds is lower (unit price). A lot of things have gone up, however, and some have not made it to the new site (so far?). Looking at the wayback machine, it seems there had been an $8.95 pricing tier for some things:

https://web.archive.org/web/20230605074 ... tisan.com/

That's a shame about no more free shipping, but it's a lot better than the hybrid Artisan varieties disappearing.

[bower]

Well - hybrid seeds are more expensive to make. In the first place you have to breed two stable OP's that are never released, which are your parent stock for the F1. And realistically, you'd need quite a few to find the optimal F1.
And then the crosses have to be made by hand.
Then your seed harvesting, treatment if required, packaging.

If you compare some of Johnny's new hybrids, some of the Bene prices are comparable on a per seed basis. But Johnny's is still offering a 15 seed packet, in spite of their focus on small farm scale vs gardener sized packets overall. So the packet price is lower, and easier to sell. Especially for a new buyer, you don't want large numbers of expensive seeds to trial the first time. When you know you love it and have to have it, the reckoning is different and you can make a bigger buy.
So the decision at Bene to offer 25 seed packets of these expensive seeds, well it will price some buyers out of the market, obviously.
It's not only an 'elite' market, they are targeting commercial growers for sure. Several of the pricey hybrids are on special offer, buy 4 packets get one free. That's a lot of seed for one variety.
Many of the OP's are still about the same price as before though.

One good thing about tomato seeds, they have a really long shelf life compared to some other seeds.
But you have to be really committed to the product, to make that first buy at the high price.

[Setec Astronomy]

I agree, bower, that they might be better off offering smaller packets on some of the expensive seeds. On the other hand, they describe Artisan as having survived "hand to mouth", so as you previously noted, they are trying to change that business model. At any rate, I'm glad to see the new store up and running.

[habitat-gardener]

Last year, Benevento F1 was $19.95 for 30 seeds and Green Bee F1 was $8.95 .
I inquired about buying seeds a couple weeks ago for our master gardener sale that, I see now, are not listed in the new website. I haven’t received them yet, but it sounds like some seeds that are not listed may be available.

[Labradors]

I hope you are right habitat-gardener! My two favourites, Maglia Rosa and Blush (original) are not there.

I doubt they are looking for our business though.

[Setec Astronomy]

it sounds like some seeds that are not listed may be available.

My understanding is varieties that aren't shown are in short supply, but possibly will be available on special request.

My two favourites, Maglia Rosa and Blush (original) are not there.

The OP varieties are available elsewhere, Johnny's has Blush and AP Whaley has Maglia Rosa, those are two seed suppliers that Fred had partnered with, so I would use them before some of the others. I vaguely remember Fred deriding Burpee for selling "Maglia Rosa", when they had never even talked to him.

I doubt they are looking for our business though.

I don't think that's true. My sense is that like many entrepreneurs, Fred was striving for the one big success that would transform his business and make all the years of struggle worthwhile, and that the Benevento family seemed to be that. However my sense is also that Bene Seeds (which reportedly includes family members), doesn't intend to forget us gardeners, even as they strive to commercialize Benevento.

[bower]

One of the things I really admired about Fred, is that he was very creative when it came to trying new models of financing for his breeding projects. He built his reputation on the excellent OP's, but he was frank about the impossibility of ever being paid for the work through OP seed sales. He knew that the hybrid model is the only way to pay for a breeding business. "Hand to mouth" or break-even is alright for creative work you really love and you enjoy personal, non-monetary rewards for it as well. But it's always lacking the security that comes with a profitable enterprise, where something can be tucked away for unforeseen problems.
It's pretty tragic that he died just at the point where he had taken on investors (and therefore debt) to get over the hurdle to profitability.