Choosing between one seed group and many for a shop with limited storage

A small shop rarely fails because it chose the wrong variety; it fails because it tried to carry too many seed groups for its storage and shelves. This overview frames group breadth as a capacity question. Using the published catalogue structure — vegetables, flowers, herbs, microgreens and sprouts, houseplants, and additional varieties — it helps you decide how many groups to carry at all, before any variety is shortlisted.

Why group count matters more than variety count

Every seed group you add creates its own demands: a separate shelf section, its own labelling logic, its own storage conditions and its own reorder pattern. Two groups with few varieties can be easier to run than one group with many sub-sections. The catalogue's top-level groups are the natural unit for this decision because each one bundles species and sub-groups that a shop must present and store together. Decide the number of groups first, then the varieties inside them.

The published group structure as a planning frame

The catalogue is organised into broad groups — vegetables, flowers, herbs, microgreens and sprouts, houseplants, and additional varieties — and each group contains separate species records. Some groups are internally large: vegetables alone include many sub-sections such as cabbage and kale, peppers, root vegetables and leafy greens. Others are narrower. Treat the top-level group as the shelf unit and the species record as the line unit, so that breadth is measured in groups before it is measured in SKUs.

Storage realities that limit group breadth

Seed storage is not uniform across groups. Different groups arrive in different pack sizes and units, and weight-based and seed-count prices are different bases of comparison, so a group carried on a seed-count basis behaves differently in storage from one carried by weight. Bulk quantities, pack sizes and final prices are confirmed in the quotation, which means the physical space a group will occupy is only known once the offer is checked. Plan group breadth with a margin for that uncertainty.

Shelf logic: one group, one customer question

Each group answers a different shopper question. Vegetables serve the grow-your-own food customer; flowers serve the ornamental buyer; herbs sit between kitchen and garden; microgreens and sprouts attract a different, often faster-turnover buyer; houseplants stand apart from the outdoor flower routes. When two groups answer the same customer question, they compete for the same shelf space. When they answer different questions, they earn their space separately. Use that test to decide whether an additional group is additive or duplicative.

A simple in-or-out test per group

For each group, ask three questions: does it serve a customer I already attract, can I store its packs without mixing them into another group, and can I present its species records distinctly enough that a shopper can choose? A group that fails any of these is a candidate to leave out this season. This is a group-level decision; it does not require judging individual varieties, and it keeps the shortlist honest before variety work begins.

When to split a group into a separate enquiry

A group that passes the in-or-out test but sits at the edge of your capacity is better handled as its own enquiry rather than folded into the main request. The catalogue's structure supports this: species records are distinct, and a request can name the SKU, quantity and unit for each selection. Keeping an experimental group in a separate request lets you test demand without committing shelf space and storage to it in the same buying round as your core groups.

What the catalogue does not settle for you

The group structure tells you how the catalogue is organised, not how much space your shop has or how fast a group will sell. Category assignment does not establish suitability for a particular use, and a listed price is not a batch-specific statement. Available quantities, pack sizes and final prices are checked in the quotation. Use the quotation as the point where group breadth is confirmed against real pack sizes, rather than assuming a group will fit because its catalogue entry looks small.

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