Cannabis cultivation nutrient pricing — competitive landscape
6 of 8 SKUs are private-labeled from three different manufacturers. Mapping per Drive labels + Alex confirmation. Identification risk applies to all three — all are named on the label per fertilizer regs.
| our SKU | manufacturer | source product | mfg location | confirmed? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Veg Powder | SGS | MetaGrow MFOOD (0.5-0-3 + 4% Ca, fish/Ca lignosulfonate/seaweed) | Clarksburg, CA | ✓ label |
| Bloom Powder | SGS | MetaGrow BLOOM (0.5-0.7-3 + 4.5% Ca + 30 minerals) | Clarksburg, CA | ✓ label |
| King Krustacean | SGS | MetaGrow CFOOD (corrected from BloomESSENTIALS) | Clarksburg, CA | ✓ alex |
| Microbes (liquid) | SGS | MetaGrow ST · earthworm compost tea · OMRI/CDFA/CCOF | Clarksburg, CA | ✓ label |
| Sea Food | Pacific Gro | SeaPhos · liquid fish hydrolysate · Creative Ag Products Inc | Raymond, WA | ✓ alex + 2020 lab report |
| Vitamin Sea | Ambrosia Tech | Sea-Crop® · 3% Mg + 89 sea minerals, NaCl 95% reduced | Raymond, WA | ✓ alex + sea-crop.com |
| Kelp It Real | — OWN FORMULATION — | soluble kelp extract | — | not white-labeled |
| Incredible Bulk | — OWN FORMULATION — | 0.1-10-25 high-PK bloom booster | — | not white-labeled |
Per-SKU wholesale margins per actual COGS data (raw material + packaging + label + labor). 2022 data — verify against current SGS/Pacific Gro/Ambrosia quotes if cost structure changed. Sorted best → worst margin.
| SKU | white-label? | raw mat. cost | wholesale GM (smallest) | wholesale GM (largest) | verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Incredible Bulk | own-formula | $3.00/lb | 74.48% | 78.33% / 65.56% | ★ BEST margin SKU |
| Sea Food | Pacific Gro | $9.00/gal | 61.80% | 69.62% | healthy |
| Kelp It Real | own-formula | $5.56/lb | 67.71% | 58.41% | healthy (NOT constrained!) |
| Microbes | SGS | $6.00/gal | 61.66% | 59.54% | healthy |
| Vitamin Sea | Ambrosia | $14.00/gal | 61.11% | 52.95% | moderate |
| Veg Powder | SGS | $10.00/lb | 47.52% | 42.79% | moderate |
| King Krustacean | SGS (CFOOD) | $14.00/lb | 38.34% | 25.27% | ⚠ NOT 90% as previously claimed |
| Bloom Powder | SGS | $17.00/lb | 25.57% | 9.27% | ⚠ TIGHTEST margin — never cut price |
Current King K label = SGS MetaGrow CFOOD label, formula-for-formula. Recipe is 5 ingredients, all publicly sourceable. With a friend's micronizer that can hit 100-mesh, the math is real.
| ingredient | % | $/lb input | $/lb blend |
|---|---|---|---|
| Crab meal 4-3-0 (DTE pallet via Compostwerks) | 50% | $0.86 | $0.43 |
| Kelp meal (Acadian via Biologic Crop / NoAmKelp) | 20% | $2.30 | $0.46 |
| CaCO3 Aragonite OMRI (Eden BlueGold) | 21% | ~$0.50-0.80 | ~$0.13 |
| Leonardite humic 70% (Huma OM-PULVERIZED OMRI) | 8% | ~$0.30-0.60 | ~$0.04 |
| KOH (CORECHEM 55lb) | 1% | $2.28 | $0.02 |
| RAW TOTAL (small-pallet tier) | 100% | ~$1.08/lb |
| layer | small-pallet | true-bulk |
|---|---|---|
| Raw inputs | $1.08 | $0.75 |
| Milling (friend) | $0.10 | $0.10 |
| Surfactant | $0.10 | $0.08 |
| Blending labor | $0.10 | $0.08 |
| Bag/label | $0.05 | $0.03 |
| Compliance amort. | $0.20 | $0.10 |
| DIY TOTAL | $1.63/lb | $1.14/lb |
| vs SGS landed ($16/lb + freight) | $17/lb | $17/lb |
| SAVINGS | 10.4× / $15.37 | 14.9× / $15.86 |
| SGS today | DIY (small-pallet) | DIY (true-bulk) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wholesale price | $749.99 | $749.99 | $749.99 |
| COGS | ~$680 | ~$65 | ~$46 |
| Profit / bucket | $70 (9%) | $685 (91%) | $704 (94%) |
| 500 40lb buckets/yr (King K only) | +$308k/yr |
| 1,000 40lb buckets/yr | +$615k/yr |
| If model extends to Veg + Bloom (same friend mill) | +$600-900k/yr |
| vendor | contact | ask for |
|---|---|---|
| Compostwerks (crab meal bulk) | 844-266-1512 / wholesale@compostwerks.com | DTE Crab Meal 4-3-0 pallet + truckload, OMRI cert, ship to Austin TX |
| North American Kelp (mfr) | noamkelp.com contact form | Kelp meal mfr pricing for 5-10k lb/yr, contract pack, OMRI/USDA cert |
| Huma Inc. (leonardite) | 800-961-1220 | OM PULVERIZED 50lb + 1-ton mini tote, OMRI cert, freight to TX |
| Eden BlueGold (CaCO3) | 307-275-7010 / office@edenbluegold.com | Aragonite OMRI 50×46# pallet + 1-ton raw, OMRI cert 13083 |
| CORECHEM / DudaDiesel (KOH) | 865-524-4239 | 55lb bag + pallet pricing, COA showing NOP-allowed process |
| SGS (negotiation anchor) | 916-284-9706 | Firm 2026 King K (CFOOD) quote + 12mo stability + TX freight |
| OMRI Crops Program | omri.org | Re-list King K under new TX mfg — application, fee, timeline |
| Friend with micronizer | direct | OMRI status of mill facility · capacity · 1k lb pilot availability |
Lower bar = cheaper. Green = us. Cyan = heritage organic. Pink = cannabis-organic. Gray = synthetic.
Mammoth P excluded ($687/gal — would break the scale; see table).
Normalizes for dose rate. This is the number a commercial cultivator budgets against.
REMOVED 2026-05-23 PM. The raw-amendment cost-floor estimates that lived here were materially wrong. See the REAL WHOLESALE MARGINS section above (sourced from 2022 internal COGS spreadsheet).
| tier | brand | product | form | pack | price | $/unit | $/gal-feed | OMRI | source |
|---|