CSA and Farmer Vendors

A new global survey of consumer sentiment about the people who put food on our tables indicates that there is a lack of understanding of how providing safe, affordable food arrives, according to a new study from Cargill Inc. A majority of the respondents in the Food4Thought survey — 55% — believe farmers should care most about providing safe, healthy, abundant and affordable food. Farmers are under pressure to feed the world and protect the Earth’s resources through sustainable practices in addition to cost-effectively providing for their own families, the survey reported.”

The USDA’s first survey of Local Food Marketing Practices, conducted in 2015, found 167,009 U.S. farms sold $8.7 billion in edible food directly to consumers, retailers, institutions, and local distributors. Consumers accounted for 35 percent of these direct food sales, and retailers, 27 percent. Direct farm sales include both fresh foods and processed or value added products such as bottled milk, cheese, meat, jam, cider, wine, etc.

Loyalty programs have proven themselves to be one of the best most effective marketing tools retail markets and service providers can implement for increasing revenue and repeat customers. As many as 84% of consumers say they are more apt to stick with a brand that offers a loyalty program and 66% of customers say the ability to earn rewards changes their spending behavior.

Just before Christmas, the USDA released the results of its first Local Food Marketing Practices Survey. The survey asked about the marketing of food directly from farm producers directly to consumers, retailers, institutions, and a variety of local food intermediaries such as distributors and wholesalers that market and sell locally branded products.

Despite months of sales disruptions across every retail category, people are now eager to “get out and do or buy something.” Agritourism activities and events remain popular this year, abet different in activities and protocols. Cashless and online ordering are now the expected forms of purchasing. Holiday shopping for anything from Halloween costumes to Thanksgiving turkeys, and even Christmas gifts, has already begun.

You have a quality product. You’ve identified your target customers and crafted your promotional materials for that audience. But, consumers have so many buying outlets and product options, how can you convince them to them to choose yours? It’s a crowded marketplace out there.

Farmers’ markets (FMs) could be considered the original flag bearer of the local foods movement. They represent one avenue in addressing customer demand for “locally grown” and provide a means for farmers to capture 100% of the customer dollar. FMs may also increase customer loyalty and create noneconomic benefits and ties between farmers, consumers, and communities.

Happy New Year 2021, and like every new year before, this is prime planning time for your business. But unlike every year before, 2020 has given producers marketing challenges tagged by terms such as “pivoting,” “resilience,” and even “survival.” We are going into a new year but with the old year’s problems, “How much should I produce, and are people going to keep buying my products at their current rate?

Despite the colder temps and slow start to the growing season, farmers markets, roadside stands and on-farm markets, need to get ready for sunnier days and the first flush of customers looking for fresh local produce, fruits, and other locally produced foods.

Christmas has not been canceled for 2020! The September 2020, issue of the Mastering Marketing newsletter featured tools for holiday planning.This article builds on those tools and features making specific marketing strategies for the 2020 Christmas season.