Buying serving boards for your shop: what to look for?

Serving boards are grateful retail products. People buy them for themselves and as gifts, they come in no sizes, and they do not break on the shelf. Yet buyers keep asking us the same questions. These are the five points that decide whether a board sits or sells.

Work back from the retail price

Do not start from the purchase price, start from what your customer will pay. Say a serving board with handle sells for € 24.95 in your shop. First deduct VAT. Of what remains you want a healthy margin, so the purchase price has to sit well below that.

So work with tiered prices: the more you buy, the lower the unit price. Your margin then grows with your sales. You can see our tiers after creating a free business account.

Choose a size mix, not one standard size

Buying a single size is gambling. A compact size around 33 x 18 cm does well as a gift. Round boards of Ø 30 cm are the most searched model online. And a 69 cm XL board is the eye-catcher that fills your display, even if it sells less often itself.

With three to four sizes you cover most of the demand. After a season, check which size moves fastest and shift your buying towards it.

Judge the wood and finish yourself

A photo says little about weight, finish and grain. Ask for samples before you place an order; with us a pack of three boards costs € 25 ex VAT. When judging, look closely at the edge finishing and whether the board has a food-safe finish. Customers put these boards to real use, so this is not a detail.

Origin is also a selling point in the shop. Our boards are made of European-felled wood, and that story is easily told at the till.

Check stock and restocking

The biggest risk is not buying too much. It is saying no in December. Serving boards peak around the holidays and Mother's Day, and a container from overseas cannot be reordered in time.

So choose a supplier with stock nearby. We deliver from stock in the Netherlands and show the available quantity per product, so you know where you stand before ordering. The low minimum order also lets you test a new model small.

Use personalisation for extra margin

An engraved board sells for more than a blank one, while the difference in cost price is small. Think of your shop name as a private label, a regional design or a seasonal promotion. Through our engraving service you pay € 29 setup per design and then € 1 to € 3.50 per engraving.

Want to know more about how we supply retailers and supermarkets? Read on at for retail & supermarkets, or create a business account right away to see the tiered prices.