You and Your Farmer's Market

BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT - -
Sell Your Home Grown Products Locally

Farmer’s Markets are great places to sell produce from your larger than family size garden, farm garden plot or from your kitchen. Following are some “pros” “cons” and “suggestions” for successful selling at local farmer’s markets.

Pros: You’ll get the best prices for your produce. You are ‘face to face’ with your buyers and see their satisfaction. Customers get to know your quality and will be repeat buyers. Minor imperfections do not normally affect sales. Large zucchini will sell here, nowhere else. Decorative items like fall gourds, pumpkins, colored corn, broom corn, etc. will sell very well. Home baked bread, dinner and breakfast rolls are in high demand. Urban markets allow you to charge more, but rural markets have cheaper vendor fees.

Cons: You must be there every week selling something in order to build a customer base. Pick, clean, package and take time to arrange your presentation. Sometimes you sell out and sometimes you take produce home and have to decide what to do with it. Have your vehicle clean and ready to pack weekly. You will need: tables, produce display containers, cash box, change, calculator, signage and canopy. These markets require planning, time management and a strict schedule, no exceptions.

Suggestions: Have a clean, well-organized stand and a clean vehicle if visible to the public. Adopt an outgoing personality and be able to “sell” your product over and over repeatedly throughout the market while you build a customer base. Present yourself in a neat, well groomed manner with clothing or apron that states your name so that your customer associates you with the produce.

Growing produce and homemade products can be an excellent source of additional family income. You will get best results by following good preparation and sales practices.

For more suggestions on sales at Farmer’s Markets, 

contact Bob Hobbs, mncaloans@mnca.net, 308-865-5675.