Produce Marketing Strategies Focus of Workshop

Guy Steucek
New England Correspondent

BRENTWOOD, N.H. — Having just worked with a difficult season, about 50 vegetable growers participated in a workshop on “10+ Marketing Strategies & Tips to Consider When Selling Produce.” Nada Haddad and Becky Sideman, UNH Cooperative Extension organized the day long workshop. Listening to farmers who have direct interactions with customers was most informative.

Rich Bonanno is the fourth generation at Pleasant Valley Garden, Methuen, Maine. They wholesale 40,000 boxes of produce a year with a third of it being lettuce. They set out lettuce plugs using a system they developed with home grown equipment that enables them to plant 30,000 lettuce plants in four hours. At one point Star Market took their entire product at good prices. With the merger of Star Market and Shaw Market, things changed; so they had to change.

Rich’s “goal was to be like California.” So he looked into bagged spinach and packed salads only to discover that anything ready to eat had to conform to the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) regulations. Not ready to satisfy these regulations he found that any intact plants could be packaged without HACCP certification. They packaged romaine hearts with a Red Tomato trade mark that sold very well. Also they marketed baby lettuce and cabbages. According to Rich, “everything that is scary with lettuce happens in the last two weeks of growth, so harvesting the ‘baby’ plants is a way of avoiding problems.” While lettuce may sell for $4 to $9 dollars a box, baby lettuce sells for $20.

New crops such as maxixe, a relative of cucumber with an egg shape and spikey skin has been a great seller said Rich; “it looks awful, but tastes great.” Ethnic foods have a surprising demand in our local because of the diverse population. Chipilin or edible alfalfa is another ethnic plant that sells well in the Northeast.

According to Rich, diversity is the road to survival. Rich has just started a CSA and the main complaint they receive is that customers get too much. In the fall they grow 40,000 mums and they are sold before they are planted. “Know if you are making money. And have fun!” were the two parting comments by Rich.

“Farmers markets are an easy startup for the small farm” said Josh Jennings, Meadow’s Mirth, Stratham, N.H. He grows primarily for farmers markets, restaurants and a CSA. “How you display your product at a farmers market is very important” said Josh. For repeat customers consistency is also important.

“You need to get a product to the market every week!” We do well with carrots and always have some at market. “A website is a must if you plan to sell produce at farmers markets and a CSA; it is an easy way to maintain contact with customers” said Josh. Being listed on the local harvest website is a help (www.localharvest.org).

Finding the right chefs is the key to restaurant sales and Josh has noted two typical responses to his produce. If the chef says: “That is beautiful, I love it,” Josh knows he has made a sale. Conversely, if the chef first wants to know:

“How much do you want for it?” Josh heads for the door. Also, Josh noted that with restaurant sales, you can spend a lot of time on the phone.

The best time for restaurant deliveries is Wednesday.

Winter farmers markets are gaining popularity and Josh has sold at farmers markets over the past 12 months. Winter does have challenges. For example, freezing is a problem; one can not pack the truck the evening before a farmers market and drive off before dawn without the product freezing. Also, for a winter CSA one needs lots of storage; a root cellar worked well for Josh.

“The value of winter sales is that farmers maintain contact with customer all year” said Josh.

John Moulton, Moulton Farm, Meredith, N.H grows primarily for their farm stand. In the 1960s, the first day of corn season John Moulton put a sign up “corn 50cents/dozen” and took the sign down when they were sold out. In the 1980s they had a farm stand and sold only what they grew. With a new farm stand in the 90s, they were open from May 1 until December 24. Now they “do a lot of purchasing” because that needed to add other products the customers expected. John recommended that one should do marketing surveys every three years to see what customers want.

In 2002, they added a commercial kitchen to the farm stand and saw that it accounted for 23 percent of the sales. Local bakers could not keep up with the demand for freshly baked pies so they purchase oven ready frozen pies and can bake on demand, as many as 100 pies a day.

All items in the stand that they produce are labeled “our own” and customers can see the students working in the crops adjacent to the stand. “Foodies visit our farm stand and are informed, so it is best to respect their knowledge,” said John.

Presently, all items in the farm stand are bar-coded so they have lots of information of what is sold and when it is sold. The time of day and day a sale is made helps with harvesting crops and managing help. Now John just needs a little more time to analyze all this information.

Because of their location near Lake Winnipesaukee, Moulton Farm grows strawberries that bear as late as possible because the summer folk arrive at the tail end of strawberry season and are willing to pay $5.75/quart. They try to get corn in early because the CSA customers want it early. Displaying the farm production is very important and always gets top billing at the farm stand. “The first thing they see is what we have grown” said John.

“Farm signage is really important and it should be changed frequently,” said John.

Partnering is another avenue to success. When “Sal’s Sea Food” occupied a small corner of the farm stand, Thursday, Friday and Saturday, John noticed sales got a boost and Sal split his profits with John. Visit www.moultonfarm.com for more information; you may wish to purchase a pie on-line.

At the Spiller Farm, Wells, Maine, Anna and Bill Spiller have a diversified farm that has focused on apples, corn, strawberries, raspberries and recently vegetables. While they sell at several farmers markets and their own farm stand, a large portion of their crops is sold as u-pick. They introduce their u-pick market with corn and strawberry festivals at the farm.

“In effort to enhance the farm experience, we keep the farm rustic” said Bill.

They have cattle and chickens to give the visitor-customers the full flavor of the farm. A play area is necessary for families that bring children to pick crops, the children tire of harvesting and enjoy the play area with hay bales and “hens for listening to and looking at.” Hay rides are another attraction that gives customers the farm experience.

“In order to have a successful u-pick operation, you need lead crops such as strawberries, corn, tomatoes, and pumpkins. But don’t do sweet corn u-pick, because they pick the wrong stuff” said Bill. Anna noted that “getting people to different locations on the farm for u-pick takes a lot of planning and good signs. Also people need to be educated how to pick various crops. People management is the real issue with u-pick.”

Recently the Spillers have been pressed into a vegetable u-pick because of customer demand. “Why can’t we pick those beautiful vegetables?” a customer would ask. So they responded and learned that harvest techniques became more of an issue. “One customer picked a huge amount of inch-long zucchini and halted production for a several days” said Anna.

Branding was discussed by Michelle Chambers of the “Red Tomato” Trade Team, a not-for-profit marketing organization with focus on the Northeast.

"The “Red Tomato” trade mark helps consumers identify a product because they have too many choices” said Michelle. This enhances sales. For more information about the “Red Tomato” brand for Northeast growers, see www.redtomato.org.