If you’ve been paying attention on social media for the last few years, you’ve probably noticed a trend around Easter each year: small businesses offering “Yard Egging.” It’s a unique way for bakers, candy makers, and other small food businesses to get their names out there, attract new customers, and of course, make a holiday extra special.
The biggest selling point, though, might be that it takes all of the work out of putting on an egg hunt.
We asked Christina Marquez, owner of Twisted Sifter’s Baked Goods, to tell us how she got started with yard egging — and to share how she’s managing the yard egging process this year.
What is Yard Egging?
If you haven’t heard of yard egging, it’s exactly what it sounds like. Remember participating in Easter egg hunts as a child? Well, some artisans are taking all of the work out of putting on an Easter egg hunt and offering them as a service. Yard egging includes everything you’d need to put on an egg hunt — plastic, candy-filled Easter eggs hidden around the yard.
“I got the idea from the Sugar Cookie Marketing Facebook group,” Christina said. “I saw it, and I thought ‘Where was this when my kids were little?’ I’m always looking for things that make holidays fun, things that create a little bit of magic for the kids. I try to make that magic for my kids — it’s a big bonus that I get to do it for other kids, too.”
“I thought that this could really help a lot of moms who don’t have time to plan all of this and make every holiday an extravagant event,” Christina said.
Some artisans are offering more than just eggs filled with candy. Christina offers her customers a few “Egg My Yard” options. Her basic package includes 30 candy-filled eggs and a basket, while her Egg-streme Package includes 50 candy-filled eggs, a plastic basket, and a note from the Easter Bunny himself. For her top of the line package, Christina offers the Egg-stravagant Package: 100 candy-filled eggs, a plastic basket, a note from the Easter Bunny, a personalized Easter Egg decorated sugar cookie, and a special snack from the Easter Bunny.
Her offerings target a range of price points and customer preferences, allowing her to serve a wide range of customers. Christina’s yard egging packages range in price from $28 to $88, and include the delivery and distribution of Easter eggs. She also offers her customers the option to add on additional baskets and cookies, and every package comes with the option to add on personalized festive sugar cookies.
How to Egg a Yard
There are a number of moving parts involved with yard egging, Christina says, but with a little bit of planning and organization, the process can be smooth.
Yard Egging Logistics
Start by deciding your limits, she says. Will you only be delivering to a certain area? Limit your orders by zip code, city, or neighborhood if you have to. If you’re working to deliver the eggs solo, or with the help of just one other person, this is key. You won’t want to spend all night driving long distances, because that means you’ll be spending more time driving than doing what makes you a profit: dropping off Easter eggs and baskets.
“I limited my orders by zip code,” Christina says. “To plan my delivery route, I use Mapquest because it will reorder all of your stops to show you the fastest route. As of right now, we have two teams that will be going out to fulfill around 50 orders. With the logistics of making sure we can make all of the stops and do all of the drops, we needed some helpers, so we’ll have two teams of two people each. Each route will take about three hours.”
To make deliveries easier, Christina is preparing well in advance. To organize orders and ensure that everyone receives the right package, she’s separating each order into its own bag and numbering it in delivery order.
“Since I can’t be on both routes, I want to make the deliveries and packages as spelled out as possible. We’re going to scatter the eggs in front yards only, and we’re not hiding them. We’ve set some ground rules, which are included in my order descriptions, like that customers have to leave their porch light on since we’re delivering overnight. A basket comes with each order, and it will be left on the porch. Some people added cookies to their orders, and one package comes with a snack for the Easter bunny, as well as a note. I want to make this magical and fun for the kids, and I want it to be a smooth process all around.”
Yard Egging Orders
Christina uses Castiron for Twisted Sifter’s online store, which makes it easy for her customers to select the yard egging package that suits their needs. She’s included detailed descriptions and FAQs for each of her products, and allows customers to easily add on additional products to their Easter orders.
In addition to simplifying the ordering process, Christina is giving herself plenty of time to plan and buy supplies for her orders. Orders close two weeks before delivery so that she can make sure she has the right supplies.
Yard Egging Supplies
Once you have an idea of how many orders you’ll be fulfilling for Easter, it’s time to buy your supplies. For an Easter egg hunt, the supplies are pretty straightforward:
- Plastic Easter eggs
- Candy to fill the eggs
- Easter baskets
- Any additional supplies needed for customized cookies, notes from the Easter bunny, or other items
Christina recommends buying your Easter eggs in bulk to get the best deal.
“I found a wholesaler, so I have 3,000 Easter eggs sitting in my garage right now. My neighbors probably wonder what’s going on over here,” she said. “I’m not sure how I’m going to pull this off without my kids thinking I’m the Easter bunny.”
As for candy, she’s making purchases in bulk as well. Sam’s Club is one bulk retailer that she’s frequented for candy, and she buys her Easter baskets from Walmart.
How to Market Your “Egg My Yard” Service
When it’s time to promote her yard egging service, Christina turns to Facebook.
“I’ve just been promoting it on my business’ Facebook page and in the mom groups that I belong to. Could you imagine if I really pushed it?”
“I’m posting about once a day, it really depends on the groups,” Christina said. “I think I’ve posted it on my business page three times total, a few days apart. I’ve also posted it on my personal page, so that I can make sure friends see it. I’d say that about 90% of my orders are from people that I don’t know, not my friends or family. Maybe they’ve ordered hot cocoa bombs or something from me before, but I don’t know them personally.”
Some customers prefer to send secret yard eggings so that their friends or family members are surprised on Easter morning. Use that to your advantage in your marketing efforts!
No matter how you’re marketing your yard egging, make sure that you’re meeting your customers where they are. If they spend a lot of time on Facebook, be sure to promote your service on Facebook. If they prefer Instagram or Nextdoor, make sure to post there. Make it easy for customers to find you!
Ready to launch your own online store? Start taking yard egging orders — or any other online food orders — with your free ecommerce store from Castiron.
