Improving the Farmer’s Market Business Model
Because most farmers’ markets are operated by not-for-profits or local government employees, and few have full time staff, there is often not the time, resources or inclination to effect change to the fundamental way markets do business.
Farmers markets exist to bring together farmers and foodmakers with consumers who wish to purchase their products. The market entity arranges the location, attracts vendors who represent a spectrum of local food and produce, publicizes the existence of the market, and sets and polices the rules by which the market operates. These functions take a great deal of time to execute, leaving little, if any, time or resource for making improvements that may be in the interests of the vendors and the consumers who shop the market.
Though the vendors and consumers in the market are captive to the basic way the market operates, they often can, and do, adopt new ways of conducting business that improves the overall experience. The best recent example of this is the increased use of mobile smart phone attachments that enable vendors to accept credit card payments. Not only does this increase vendor sales, but consumers also like the flexibility of paying with credit cards.
Last summer we conducted a survey of 400 farmer’s market shoppers. One of the most surprising results of the survey was that 47 percent of respondents would have liked to pre-order their food and produce online for pick up later at the market. The main reasons for this preference were that (1) shoppers could avoid out-of-stocks on their favorite items, and (2) they would not have to arrive early at the market to get the best produce. (The benefit to vendors would be increased sales and the ability to better plan how much food to bring to each market).
In addition, our survey respondents wanted to hear more from the particular vendors they liked. The farmers and foodmakers who produce the food at the market have a great deal of knowledge to share with consumers but often are not available or accessible at every market.
In response to these customer needs, Fresh Nation developed a simple, free, easy-to-use interface allowing vendors to pre-sell their products online (for later pick-up at the market), and to communicate with their customers about the food they sell. Vendors who utilize these new services can over time experience a substantial rise in their revenues from an increasingly loyal and connected customer base.
In addition, we found that vendors had few opportunities to present their businesses in the most favorable light to attract not only individual customers, but also restaurants and wholesale accounts, so we created a free business Profile for every vendor that requires zero maintenance and can include a wholesale price list. Vendors can add photos and narrative to their Profiles making their products all the more attractive to prospective buyers.
Farmers and foodmakers must begin to take more responsibility for the success of their businesses outside of the traditional farmer’s market, and not leave their success solely in the hands of market operators who can provide only the physical space in which the vendors operate. New methodologies are now available to vendors to increase their revenues and customer retention, and open up new audiences to their products both during the traditional farmer’s market season, and after.
Fresh Food, Fresh Ideas, Fresh Nation
Markets have been part of society since its earliest days. It was not in the too distant past when your grandparents or great-grandparents went to the market several times a week to buy all the food needed to keep their home kitchen stocked and bustling. The food they bought was wholesome, fresh and local.
As society became more efficient and mass production became the norm, we traded some of that wholesomeness, most of the freshness and all of that local for the convenience of one-stop shopping. Not that there is anything wrong with modern conveniences! Knowing that the supermarket will have everything that you are looking for—and several payment options— is something we have become accustomed to. And let’s be honest, the convenience of the supermarket is almost essential since our harried twenty-four- hour day seems so much shorter than the twenty-four hours that our grandparents experienced. And yet with all that, a part of us longs for that old-fashioned, in-person local market experience.
So here we are in the twenty-first century, our craving revived for wholesome, fresh and local food: that craving drives the modern Farmers’ Market movement. Across our Westchester community and across the nation, Farmers’ Markets of all different styles and sizes are dotting the landscape as we rediscover what our grandparents knew. Fresh food, simply, is the best food. Small farms are again basking in the glow of feeding their local communities. As patrons of these local Farmers’ Markets we benefit as we eat healthier, once again connect to friends and neighbors and begin to heal our environment one weekend at a time.
And yet, some of the convenience is missing…..enter Fresh Nation.
Fresh Nation is a regional organization that has the potential to enhance how we shop at our local Farmers’ Market! Their services embrace the convenience of supermarket shopping while, crucially, preserving the local experience that is the soul of Farmers’ Market shopping. What Fresh Nation is attempting to do—and we at Gossett Brothers think they have an excellent shot at achieving this goal—is to give you the consumer the ability to pre-order your favorite items from each vendor and pay for those items on the internet with your credit or debit card. Then, on market day, you simply pick up your special order and enjoy!
So think about this for a moment or two. Imagine being able to pre-order your favorite Farmers’ Market staples from your favorite vendors and having your parcels magically waiting for you on Market day! Imagine being able to pay in advance on a secure site and not having to worry about having enough cash to pay for all your goods! (Most vendors, as you probably know, aren’t yet equipped to accept credit cards.) With Fresh Nation, you still have the fun of going to your local market to see what’s new and exciting, talk to the farmers about what they are growing and connect to friends and neighbors. It’s the best of the world of technology and the best of old-fashioned community.
Our farmers are an amazing group of people. Not only do they work the land, they are also part businesspeople, part transportation company and part salespeople. They have to grow crops and take care of livestock, get up before the sunrise to transport their wares to our neighborhood, share their fresh-picked crops, go back home, do the bookkeeping (hopefully making a bit of a profit) and then do it all over again the following week. Like our business here at Gossett Nursery, our farmers’ business is a seasonal one and subject to uncertainly of weather and other variables that nature throws their way. Farming is demanding; it takes a persevering spirit to create a thriving local business.
BUT, thriving businesses—even time-honored businesses like farming— embrace change and Gossetts’ Farm Market is looking forward to exploring, along with Fresh Nation, new ways to benefit both our market patrons and our farmers. Fresh Nation is a Fresh Idea. So how do you benefit from what Fresh Nation has to offer?
- CLICK HERE to go to the Gossetts’ Farm Market Fresh Nation Page to learn more about this up-and-coming service.
- If you like what you see on the Fresh Nation page, then consider choosing to “favorite” Gossetts’ Farm Market. (By “Favoriting” us, you will receive updates both directly from our vendors and from Gossetts” Farm Market)
- Ask your favorite vendors if they are willing to explore this exciting new opportunity to partner with Fresh Nation so that their products could be available to you for pre-order.
Want to be sure that you come back home with all the fresh foods you need to create your perfect week’s menu? Then start a dialogue this Saturday with all your favorite Gossetts’ Farm Market vendors about Fresh Nation. Starting now you are invited to be part of something wonderful, a conversation that links Fresh Nation, Farmer and you. Let our Gossetts’ Farm Market vendors know that you are willing to make a commitment to their product for the convenience Fresh Nation offers.
The Fresh Nation team is not expecting our farmers and vendors to go it alone. They are behind the scenes helping them along the way until this Fresh Idea becomes the norm. It is going to take lots of work and some time, but the end result will be more of your dollars going directly to the farmer and greater convenience to you. This is a win-win situation that Fresh Nation can make a reality if we all do this together, and doing things together for the greater good is something your grandparents would have understood and what the modern American Farmer’s Market movement is all about.
-Gossett Farmers Market
Source: gossettnursery.com
Fresh bread! Giant onion pockets from Orwasher’s Bakery http://freshnation.com/vendor/profile/5308 (Taken with Instagram)
Hot pepper olive oil at the Islip farmers market http://freshnation.com/market/profile/7160 (Taken with Instagram)
At the Islip farmers market! http://freshnation.com/market/profile/7160 (Taken with Instagram)
What Women Want!
Tony Lee - Founder & CEO
In researching her 2003 book “Just Ask A Woman”, Mary Lou Quinlan surveyed 3,000 women and found that the number one issue that influenced their lives above all others was stress. She writes “women’s feelings about stress in their lives threaded through every one of the 3,000 conversations”.
Though they comprise just over one half of the U.S. population, women buy or influence the purchase of 85 percent of all products and services. For the most part they control what their families eat, and are responsible for making sure there is an adequate supply of food in the house at all times. But finding the most healthy and nutritious food for their families can add to their already stressed lives because it is not always available when and where they want it.
Farmers’ markets are the best place to pick up fresh local food that is nutritionally dense and the most flavorful. Yet sometimes when you go to the market the vendor you went to see is not there, or has run out of the food you want to buy. Plus, there can be long lines at some vendor stands, turning your visit to the market into a chore.
That’s why we added “Pre-Order Online, Pick Up At The Market” to the Fresh Nation site, enabling you to pre-order your produce and food from your favorite vendors a day or two before the market, and then pick it up from them at the market already bagged and ready to go.
It’s our way of reducing all that stress.
Source: freshnation.com
Why I Buy Local
Hannah - Community Manager
A year ago I was given the opportunity to work with local farmers, farmers’ markets and create delicious foods. When I did this, I was instantly catapulted into the world of farmers markets! For the next six months, I ate only fresh and local food from farmers’ markets and it was amazing! Fresh green including spinach and the multiple varieties of kale were my favorites. The sweet Japanese turnips were also a great discovery my family and I loved. All the local and fresh vegetables were tastier, more nutritious, and I was able to connect with the farmers who grew them.
I am thrilled to be working with Fresh Nation to connect others with fresh, nutritious foods from their local farms and farmers’ markets. After doing a little research, I learned there are over 2 million farms in the United States today. I am not talking about big agribusiness farms (of which there are a few), but rather small-scale family run farms. Out of these 2 million farms, 90% are small farms that you may bump into at your local farmers’ market. That is a lot of local fresh food! Recently harvested, fresh, ripe food is the most nutrient dense and allows your body to get the most bang for your buck. Plus, the flavors of the produce are more pronounced so you can fully enjoy the wonderfulness of your fresh foods. I spent all year creating delicious recipes with season produce that I will share in future posts.
Spring is near and summer farmers’ markets will begin. Summer vegetables, fruits and herbs will be available. I can’t wait!
Source: freshnation.com
Why I Created Fresh Nation
Tony Lee - Fresh Nation Founder & CEO
I founded Fresh Nation in January 2011 (we were called Elite Farmers’ Markets then). My original idea was to create a new form of farmer’s market which made fresh, local food available to people who were visiting their local shopping mall. Pursuing this goal, we opened our market in the summer of 2011 on the grounds of the Danbury Fair Mall in Danbury, CT.
It was an amazing experience operating our own farmer’s market. We came to know so many wonderfully talented and passionate farmers and artisans who sold their products in the market, and the market proved to be very popular with consumers. But in running the market we also saw the problems that the market system presents to vendors and consumers, and indeed to market operators too. Chief among these problems were that the vendors, who often sold their products at multiple markets, could not easily identify or communicate with their customers about what produce had just arrived, or new foods they were introducing. Neither were they able to sell products to their customers online for pickup at the market. Market operators also found it very hard to communicate with visitors about new vendors, and special events happening at the market. And the visitors to the market couldn’t easily get information in a timely fashion about which vendors were present on any particular day, what new produce and foods were on display, and whether there were any special offers or promotions.
After the 2011 season came to a close, we decided that we wanted to address these problems to try to make farmers’ markets everywhere more relevant and convenient for consumers, and more profitable and productive for the vendors and the markets. Because our backgrounds are in technology and marketing, we decided to design a free-to-use online platform that radically improves the farmer’s market experience for all the parties involved, and Fresh Nation as it exists today, was born.
I believe that technology can be applied to the business of farmers’ markets to help the markets and the vendors be more productive and profitable, and to enrich the experience for consumers so that they make buying fresh, local food an integral and important part of their families’ lives.
Source: freshnation.com
