The farmers securities industry can be an surpassing place to sell food , but that does n’t mean any and every farmers market provides the same reward . It also does n’t mean that every farm is the right field for every market .
judge some of the following variable quantity can be unmanageable to do before the season lead off , specially at a steel - newfangled market , but the broker below are decisive enough that it is worth asking other Farmer or investigating the market any way you could . So before you join a market this year or in the futurity , learn all you may and take in for these reason not to betray at a special market .
1. Inadequate Foot Traffic
The advantage of selling at a farmers market might deviate count on its location and how busy it is . I have been to large city markets that are dead , yet I ’ve visited smaller , more rural market that are overflowing with customers . The departure was n’t the universe of the city , but the quality of the food market and vendor .
2. Poor Customer Parking
Even the best venues can be cloud by customer not being able to find parking . It is , to an extent , already inconvenient to shop at a granger market , and the more inconvenient it gets for the customer , the fewer show up .
3. Too Few Vendors
I generally believe that more is better when it comes to farm seller . This is mainly because a grocery with too few vendors can expect unappealing to a customer . Also , more vendors bring their own customers , and some might amount support you . Customers like a board piled high with veggie , and they like a food market piled luxuriously with vendors .
4. Too Many Similar Vendors
Though this is not a trade - breaker for me if the grocery meets all the other criteria , a market where several vendors deal what I sell can be reason to go elsewhere . However , if you ’re secure at what you do — you’re able to be to market ahead of time , for instance , and you specialize in crop that others don’t — that can have a monumental advantage in a market where there are lots of produce seller but many sell the same thing . So like I said , not a plenty breaker , but worth consider if your crop or meat selection is similar that year to what many other seller trade .
5. Not Enough Foodies
Some grocery are really fun to attend as a client — several food trucks , gratuitous yoga , kids ’ entrainment , coffee marketer , live music and so on . In other words , markets with a lot of non - farm stuff . It ’s not a convention , by any means , but these can be difficult places to sell food because customers sometimes lean to occur for the amusement and get up food more than raw ingredients . I attempt to tell beginning Fannie Merritt Farmer not to go straight for the “ hip ” market , but rather to seek the one with the most bon vivant — the most citizenry who arrive to market and mean business . This can be gruelling to spot if you ’ve never get a line the market , so reach out to some other Fannie Farmer or the direction and ask generally about the market . My freehanded query would be “ Do the client issue forth to buy food ? ” Because if so , I ’m in .
6. Not Enough Time
Your farm and your time are also important divisor in deciding whether a farmers market is the veracious merchandising choice for you . Farmers markets are a big time consumer . Most granger markets are six or eight hours and take up the better part of two days in harvesting and packing then traveling , setting up and selling at the market . If husbandry is your hobby and you have a second job , that ’s a big clock time investment funds . It might be good for some to determine a fewrestaurantsorretailersto supply so as to reduce the amount of marketing and packing prison term down to a mere fraction .
