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  • From: Sweet Valley Organics <sweetvalleyorganics AT gmail.com>
  • To: Market Farming <market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [Market-farming] Need Help with Sales
  • Date: Thu, 19 Aug 2010 12:09:35 -0700

We have a saying on our farm "It's not what you can grow. it's what you can sell". Why put all the time and effort into something you will eventually throw away. I was in the restaurant business for 12 years so we have a bit of a leg up in understanding what chefs are looking for but I think anyone can sell wholesale if they are persistent. Keep in mind that many potential customers, like ours, need as much food education as they do any sales tactics. This is a looong process but we, as growers, are responsible for building this long term sustainable, local/organic food system. We are attempting to reverse 50+ years of a food system that has been hitting the wrong bullseye.
 
We will never compete with the "Big Boys", nor should we. You MUST differentiate your product. The best example I can give is tomatoes. When a chef or produce manager tells me that they can buy tomatoes for 15 or 30 cents a pound I explain to them with a humble approach that what they are buying are not tomatoes at all but more like a "false tomato" - for all the reasons we as farmers already know. Then I let them taste one of our vine-ripened heirlooms. Then they get it.
 
Also, you have to "play ball". Multiple deliveries per week are standard. You should not expect farmers market prices from wholesale accounts. Find out your true cost of production, add your profit margin 20-50% depending factors specific to your operation, and then set volume based pricing. Then spend 3-10 years developing your market. Try to get some agreements with your biggest customers prior to planting. Listen to what your customers want then decide if you can give it to them. If not, give them an alternative that works for both of you.
 
I could go on but I think you get the point. Good luck ! 
 
Chris
Sweet Valley Organics
Sweet, Idaho

On Thu, Aug 19, 2010 at 10:59 AM, Jay Sleichter <jaysleichter AT yahoo.com> wrote:
As I read about many of your operations and customers, it makes me feel smaller and smaller.  Sometimes I wonder if other feel this way too?  All that aside, I only sell at Farmers Markets.  Last year it was 3, this year I was forced down to 2 because I was selling so much at my Wednesday market it didn't leave anything for my Thursday market, so I quit going.  Last year I sold tomatoes to a local grocery store because I had more than I could sell.  I am going to start up a CSA with LocallyGrown.net, but it isn't ready yet.

I am a one man operation, I get family help but they are really too young harvest.  They are great for marketing. People always ask were my kids are if they aren't with me at the market.

Due to crop failures, bugs, weather and the economy, I have produced less, sold it for less and the strange thing is I have made more than ever before and I still have two months of Farmers Markets and a winter CSA.

Marketing at Farmers Markets is probably the easiest and hardest places to sell. The easiest because for some/most markets you can just show up and pay any fees and start to sell. The hardest because it is hard to establish markets (customers), low ball pricing and the weather.

Mark, have you tried other Farmers Markets?

My problem with marketing and starting a small CSA is this. If I sell too much produce through the CSA, it doesn't give me enough to sell at the Farmers Market. Does anyone have this same problem. I know that either way I still sell the produce. But I don't want to just sit at the Farmers Market with empty tables.

Wonderful discussions!

Jay



Jay's Jellies, Produce and More
Clay Center, Kansas
www.jaysjellies.com
http://highfarming.blogspot.com/

--- On Thu, 8/19/10, Brigette Leach <afhg AT ctsmail.net> wrote:

From: Brigette Leach <afhg AT ctsmail.net>
Subject: Re: [Market-farming] Need Help with Sales
To: "Market Farming" <market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org>
Date: Thursday, August 19, 2010, 9:40 AM


My sympathy to you...it must be very frustrating. What kind of restaurants are you contacting? We are in an area where there are something like 4,000 licensed food establishments within 100 miles, and even when you take out the church and school kitchens, it leaves a lot. Then you have to take out any of the chain/franchise stores, their distribution channels are set.
 
I know there are a lot of ways to do things, but let me share our experience. When we were writing the business plan for our operation, some of the best advice we got was to know where we were going to sell before we grew it. We looked at all the potential customers for the crops we wanted to grow, then we starting making contacts to see what they might be interested in buying and at what price. We asked ourselves if we could grow it for what they were willing to pay. This process took considerable time, but it has paid off in the end. Our restaurant customers are loyal because they get the quality they want. We appreciate them because they are willing to pay for what we are growing. We also learned that chefs take a lot of tender, loving care...when they call at 10 pm and need something the next morning, we break our necks to accommodate them. Chefs are also highly mobile, so the relationship is critical, you will be dealing with the chef more so than the restaurant.
 
Writing the business plan was critical to initial success. We revisit the plan often and make changes, but the process of writing it is the important aspect, because it forces you to think things through and do the research.
 
We currently have several restaurant accounts within about 20 miles of the farm, a 200+ member CSA, participate in 5 nearby farmers markets, and sell a small amount of product at the farm. So several revenue sources. But then conditions are constantly in flux and we find that we have to work really, really hard at marketing and customer service.
 
Are you a one person operation or do you have some help?
 
Hope this helps and generates some helpful conversation from the list,
Brigette
SW Michigan
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Thursday, August 19, 2010 9:45 AM
Subject: [Market-farming] Need Help with Sales

Hope some of you can share your wisdom and tricks of the trade with me.
 
I have a wonderful five acre garden and my 40' cooler is overflowing with fresh produce.
 
My problem is sales, or should I say lack of sales.  Oh sure, there's the Farmers' Market and a few people who want some things delivered, but I need real sales!
 
I've contacted every restaurant, cafe, grocery store, and health food store in my county as well as surrounding counties with no luck.
 
The problem with selling to restaurants and cafes seems to be the large food distributers - they deal in huge quantities, have a large selection, deliver in refrigerated trucks, and are very cheap.  None of the eateries around here gives a flip about being local or fresh or anything else.  They just want it cheap, delivered, and already cut up and bagged. 
 
Grocery stores want me to have huge amounts of insurance and be preapproved by their corporate headquarters.  This is also the case with chain restaurants. 
 
Obviously, I'm doing something very wrong here.  I just can't sell what I grow.
 
Sure could use a little help.
 
Thanks,
 
Mark
The Coldiron Farm (West Texas)


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Sweet Valley Organics




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