What Can a Farmer's Market do for your small business?

I knew I would get a lot out of being part of the Withrow Farmer’s Market this summer, but I suppose there is still a small part of me that is amazed by how just HOW MUCH valuable information came out of being at the market every 2^nd Saturday this summer.

For anyone considering becoming a part of a farmer’s market or weighing the pro’s and con’s to determine if it is a commitment they would be interested in, here are some of the benefits the market had for me and my small business.

•  On my very first market day a lovely lady by the name of Cheryl came by my booth and sampled some of my jams and pickles. Turns out she is a chef and was just about to start a new job at a local Butcher Shop. She signed up to be on my mailing list and asked me to reach out in 4-6 weeks so we could talk. I am happy to say that The Meat Dept on the Danforth has been carrying Manning Canning products for several months now and that my local market customers can find my products there during the winter months.

•  It gave me direct access to customers. People that did not know me and would provide me with true reactions to my product. I know what each customer liked, didn’t like, bought repeatedly. Based on these learnings I even tweaked a couple of my products to make them better and appeal to a wider audience

•  I used the market as a testing ground for new seasonal products and got customers input on price point, how they would use the product and it’s selling features

•  I made great connections with local farmers also selling at the market. Bought direct and was able to show my market customers exactly where the product in my jars came from. Very powerful selling feature

•  Was able to test my packaging with new faces on a bi-weekly basis. The perfect focus group to put the design to the test

• Formed a great relationship with the market itself and have partnered with them to provide canning and preserving lessons. Next up Caramel Apple Jam on Monday, November 19^th.  See here for details. http://www.eventbrite.ca/org/2611193294

•  Met wonderful people who shared with me family preserving recipes, spices, herbs and vegetables from their gardens. I even had people bringing me mason jars from home so that I could put them to good use

•  Market visitors signed up to be on my mailing list and now I have the ability to communicate with them on an on-going basis which would have been impossible otherwise
  

• Really got a much better understanding of the demands of replenishing supplies for each market. How much produce did I need to purchase, how much time did I need in the commercial kitchen. It prepared me to venture to store sales and understand how much I could take on at a time

• Met people like me who have a small food business that they are either trying to grow or even start up. Bounced ideas off of them and shared experiences

• Allowed me to practice different techniques to describe my product, which has helped me feel more confident doing in-store sampling days like the one I just completed at The Meat Dept this past Saturday

• Gained an understanding over the 6 months of the market as to my average daily sales and how often customers returned to purchase

•  And this final point is still in the works, but I may have met Manning Canning’s very first employee at the market ;).

So if you are wondering if participating in a Farmer’s Market is worth the work that goes into it, re-read the list above and think about whether any of those items would help you build your business. I am sure you will find yourself nodding your head and saying yes at least a few times.

To Market I Go - Five Tips on Getting There

I will be the first to admit that I have never taken part in a Farmer's Market before, so take that into consideration when you read this post. I am speaking in theory alone. Sure, I have been to LOTS and LOTS of markets as a consumer, but this will be my first time on the other side of the table. But also take into consideration that I started my career with a branding and packaged goods agency and have spent the last 18 years helping other people market their products, so I think I have a good foundation for the 5 tips I am about to share.

Just because it is a Farmer's Market and all the items for sale are either home made or home grown (ie. small farmers and people like me), your product still needs to look professional. Signs should not be hand-written. This does not add appeal to the consumer or make your business look professional and trust worthy. People are drawn to the product in your jar because it looks appealing, but before they even get to your jar they have to be drawn to your table.

Don't make people have to speak to you to know the price. Just because it is a farmer's market and you LOVE talking to your customers and other vendors at the market, not everyone is as open or chatty as you. Some people even though they enjoy the idea of the market, still like the anonymity of a Loblaw's or Metro. So have a price list available and make your pricing clear and easy to see and understand.

One of the things that differentiates you from the person at the table across the market from you is your story. On a busy day, you might not have the opportunity to speak to every person that comes to your table and you may miss the chance to let someone know that all the ingredients you use are sourced locally, are organic or fair trade or even grown in your own garden. Have your story printed somewhere that visitors to your table can see if they are interested.

You know how good your products taste, but don't assume that your enthusiasm for the product is shared by anyone other than yourself. Sample, sample, sample. It could be the difference between a sale and having someone walk from your table.

You or the person working your table, represent your product. Dress appropriately, look professional and approachable and most importantly - be CLEAN! Don't chew gum, eat your Tim Horton's donut or chew your nails, etc.

I hope tomorrow I manage to follow all 5 of the tips above. I feel ready - do I look ready?

Spreading the word using MailChimp

My first farmer's market is tomorrow. Now this might not seem like a very big deal, but a lot of work has gone into getting to this point. So far, I have:

• got my safe food handling certification
• found a commercial kitchen
• made over 400 jars of preserves
• created a brief so I could get my logo and packaging designed
• decided which items I would sell/logo
• researched farmer's markets and applied
• printed off labels and applied them to approx 300 jars
• had a spreadsheet developed so I could determine exactly how much each product costs me to make
• made wholesale pricing lists
• made farmers market pricing list
• designed, printed and assembled price signs
• went out and bought what is needed for a hand washing station at the market

So now that the BIG DAY is this upcoming Wednesday, the next step was to get the word out. I had told a few people about the market, but I wanted to make sure all my family and friends were aware of it, so that if they could attend and provide me with some support - even if it was just to visit or spread the word to their friends who may live in the area.

I knew about a newsletter email program called MailChimp that was FREE and had been told it was relatively easy to use so yesterday I decided to look into a bit more. I uploaded my database from an excel spreadsheet and within an hour I had my first mailing written and set up to deploy. There are literally dozens of templates to choose from and editing them is as simple as a click of a button. You just choose the look and feel that you want and then add your own images and content. NO coding skills are required. Awesome!

MailChimp template examplesYou can even send up to 6 tests of the email to yourself or friends to make sure you get it right before it goes out to your entire list. You can link it up to your social networks such as twitter and facebook and they have a great little dashboard that shows you the results of your mailing whenever you want to access them. Who opened it, how many people clicked through to the different links within the mailing, how your mailing compares to similar mailings in the industry you are in and even WHO DIDN'T open it. Those that haven't opened my mailing will be having their houses egged later this evening. Let this be your warning :).

 

Now all that is left to do for Wednesday is to pack the car, go to the market, sample my preserves and hopefully sell a jar or two. Hope to see you there!

The Commercial Kitchen

I spent my first full day preserving in a commercial kitchen this week. When I first learned that if I wanted to sell my preserves at a farmer's market I would need to make them in a commercial kitchen I was disheartened. How the hell does one find a commercial kitchen? Well it turns out it is really not all that hard, you just have to hit the ground running.

My first stop was Craigslist. I looked in housing, under 'office/commercial' and stumbled across a couple of ads similar to this one. I got in touch with a couple of them and went and checked two of them out. Both of them were looking to get in the $15/hr range.

My next stop was to simply bottle up any insecurities I might have and walk into a local restaurant that I really like and sit at the bar for 30 minutes while I waited for the owner to become available. We chatted, I told him what I was looking for and he was intrigued. He promised to think it over and be in touch. Whew, that wasn't so hard :).

Then I did some research on local churches and community centres. There are actually quite a few with kitchens that would do the trick. Fortunate for me, before I could even begin to knock on doors, I heard back from the restaurant. The answer was 'yes'. And better yet, he suggested we barter rather than exchange funds - perfect.

The morning of my first day in his kitchen I packed up all the supplies I would need, and I mean ALL the supplies. I wanted him to not even know I had been there. Pots, measuring cups, bowls, tupperware, soup ladle, funnel, jars, every ingredient I would need, pot lifter, towels, dish rag, knives, paper towel, hand soap, timer. I brought it all.

I also brought him a jar of my orange onion jam with sage and thyme and in true creative fashion, he began to talk about the different ways you could use the jam. Some of them had never even occured to me. Within minutes he was making a pizza with the jam, parm, prosciutto. It was delicious.

I don't think you could have punched the smile off my face.