Do you need to market your farm’s produce? Growing isn’t a problem for most farmers. They know how to grow excellent produce, but many fail when marketing, pricing, selling, and fulfilling produce sales. There is a saying that, “If you build it, they will come.” That has not been the case in my experience or the farmers I’ve worked with.
Just because you grow it doesn’t mean that you will sell it. That may sound obvious, but repeatedly, I talk to farmers who decide to grow a specific crop or raise a unique breed of livestock without marketing or having existing customers.
Marketing and sales should be a significant part of your efforts when farming. It doesn’t have to take away from your time on the farm, but it will need to be effective if you intend to grow your sales season after season.
In this article, we’ll cover strategies to help you market your farm produce successfully, reach more customers, and build a loyal customer base.
You can get your farm’s name in front of potential customers in multiple ways. The best produce marketing strategy for you will depend on your context and your goals. It will look different if you ship your fruit nationwide, like Miami Fruit or Peach Haus, or if you sell vegetables exclusively to your CSA members and local farmer’s markets. You can use similar tools but in different ways.
Always start with the end in mind, working backward to achieve your farm’s specific goals. No matter what.
Here are 6 steps to help you successfully market farm products:
Before you start marketing your farm’s produce, you need to understand who you are selling to. Start by identifying the specific demographics for your produce, whether they are local consumers, restaurants, grocery stores, or other buyers.
Here’s how to break it down:
Creating a memorable brand identity is crucial. You want to be memorable and consistent, like “Betterful” blueberries. Now look at their packaging and tell me you’d rather buy different box of blueberries! Here are some farm logo ideas to help with your branding.
Aside from your brand's aesthetics, you want to work on communicating your farm’s story and values. It is important that you look and sound consistent across all of your marketing channels, whether it be at the farmer’s market or advertising farm produce on Facebook.
Selling direct-to-consumer (DTC) is a huge advantage, especially if your local community has a big enough market to support your growth!
Selling at the farmer’s market (LINK) is one of the best ways to build your brand. Word-of-mouth marketing is the most powerful way to acquire new customers, and farmer’s markets offer many opportunities to deepen relationships with customers, which makes them want to tell their friends about you.
Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) is another way to build a loyal customer base. By providing produce throughout the entire season, your farm becomes central to the lives of your customers. If done right, you will have a long waitlist because your existing customers won’t want to leave. Use this handbook for successfully marketing your CSA.
It’s never been easier to get in front of the right customers. Using social media for your farm, you can promote your farm’s produce and set yourself apart online. You can easily build direct relationships with customers and your online community. Sharing behind the scenes from the farm can deepen the rapport your customers have with you, and make them appreciate all of your hardwork more.
Email marketing is one of the best ways to convert your online marketing to sales. From the beginning, make sure you are building your farm’s email list. This is the most direct way of communicating with your customers, and they trust you enough to email them, so make sure you don’t spam them!
Lastly, Google Business is one of the most overlooked online tools, especially for local businesses. When your community searches for “food” or “fresh food,” does your farm pop up on Google? Simply making a business profile could improve local SEO (Search Engine Optimization) for your farm to help bring in a handful of customers monthly.
If you are already selling produce to restaurants and chefs, you know how powerful those relationships are. If you aren’t, they are one of the best ways to position your farm successfully.
At restaurants, chefs turn raw ingredients into experiences, and your farm can be at the center of that transformation, which can introduce more and more customers to you.
Selling your farm’s produce to grocery stores can have a similar effect, but only if your branding stands out from your competition. Sometimes, selling to food hubs and farm-to-table organizations allows you to maintain some of the unique storytelling from their shelves.
As flashy and effective as digital marketing is, local marketing can be even more effective. As a farm, you are part of the community you live in. If your local geography can support your farm’s production with enough customers, lean into it. Your community is full of other food businesses–restaurants, food trucks, grocery stores, schools, and bakeries.
These relationships across food locally is your farm’s marketing lifeline. Consider partnering with local food scene if you are a new grower looking to launch a farm, or a more established grower looking for new sales channels and creative marketing strategies.
Once again, any opportunity to build relationships with your local community and encourage word-of-mouth marketing is a huge wine for your marketing efforts.
When you begin marketing, prioritize consistent effort and gradual improvement. As momentum builds, use data to refine your approach—but keep your focus on a few key metrics to avoid overwhelm. We’ve narrowed down the exact marketing metrics to determine whether or not your efforts are successful.
For farms, valuable metrics for marketing farm produce include:
Tracking these metrics can help you fine-tune your efforts, identify what’s working, and make data-driven decisions to grow your farm's visibility and sales.
It’s simple to market your farm’s produce, but it won’t always be easy. The steps are clear.
Marketing is a dynamic industry, and new channels and strategies are constantly popping up. Don’t become overwhelmed by all the bells and whistles. Find a few channels and strategies that work for you and double down on those.
Local Line is here to help you with your farm’s marketing, online and offline. It’s never been easier through features like our farm e-commerce tools, website builder, inventory management, subscription tools, and more.
To determine your farm's target market, analyze your existing customer base by gathering data on demographics, purchasing habits, motivations, and future interests. Understanding your ideal customers helps you tailor your marketing strategies to reach the right audience effectively.
Small farms can benefit from budget-friendly marketing strategies like collaborating with local influencers, building an email list for direct communication, and engaging with audiences of nearby businesses. These approaches help build brand awareness and foster community connections without a significant financial investment.
Differentiating your farm brand requires providing exceptional customer service if you sell locally and using branding, storytelling, and content marketing if you sell online. Communicating your farm's unique story and purpose helps create an emotional connection with customers, setting your brand apart.
Online marketing is crucial for small farms, even those focusing on local sales, as it enhances visibility and customer engagement. Maintaining an online presence through social media, websites, or email newsletters helps drive awareness and keep customers informed.
Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) programs provide financial stability by securing upfront payments and strengthen customer relationships through consistent interactions. CSA memberships also create a reliable channel for recurring revenue, which helps with planning and sustainability.
The marketing of farm produce involves promoting, pricing, and selling agricultural products to customers using various channels, both online and offline. Effective farm marketing connects high-quality produce to a targeted audience that values local and sustainable food.
To market a product to farmers, focus on demonstrating practical benefits and showcasing how the product solves their challenges or improves efficiency. Use channels like online platforms, trade shows, and direct community outreach to build credibility and gain trust.
Marketing channels for farm produce include farmers' markets, Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) programs, direct-to-consumer online sales, local grocery stores, restaurants, and social media platforms. Leveraging a mix of these channels helps maximize exposure and sales opportunities.
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