Rethinking the Way Farmers Reach Their Customers
“We definitely envisioned being a farmers market farm. That’s kind of how we anticipated our lifestyle would be: Saturdays at the farmers market,” shares Jesse Way of Milky Way Farm in Woodstock, Ontario, Canada.
Today that couldn’t be further from the truth. Throughout 2020, Milky Way Farm pivoted their CSA program and direct-to-consumer sales to 100 percent online. At the time, it was a forced decision as the local farmers markets closed; but today, they don’t see themselves ever going back.
It’s safe to say that farmers are innovating more than ever — looking for new ways to find customers, alter their offerings and compete with large corporations. The family farmer is doing it right.
In 2022, the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) released the Local Food Marketing Practices data. They found that over 147,000 U.S. farms produced and sold food locally through direct-marketing practices. This resulted in $9.0 billion in revenue in 2020 alone. Direct-to-consumer sales brought in the second-most revenue, at $2.9 billion, following food sold directly to institutions and intermediates.
As consumer routines, shopping behaviors and sales channels change, farmers need to adapt with them. Selling online, selling through social media platforms and offering alternative purchasing models are all ways farmers can find their customers and market directly to them.
Perfecting the Brand
“Our eggs are very Instagramable,” says Erich Schultz of Steadfast Farm in Meza, Arizona.
When you order eggs from Steadfast Farm, they come in a clean, branded box with the recognizable shovel and pitchfork logo on top. The sticker is clear and sharp and represents the brand they have spent years perfecting. Each egg is stamped with the Steadfast logo as you open the carton.
Why would you take the time to do that?
“We’re staying competitive. But to add to that, we want to represent a premium product. We want to do little things to add value to our customers, whether it’s stamping each egg in a set of a dozen or printing a personalized sticker for each CSA box. It only really adds a couple of minutes to our daily egg washing and packaging system.
“When customers open up that box, it’s really special to them. That’s why we do it,” shares Erich. “To add to that, we also think it sells.”
Like any product you purchase, branding plays a large role in whether you decide to purchase it or not. If your customer judges your product, you might as well help control what they are looking at.
The Looney Farm
Carrie and Joe Chlebanowski are the owners of The Looney Farm in Alex, Oklahoma, growing their market vegetables on half an acre. They participate in two main markets in the Oklahoma City area. Carrie and Joe also have an online store offering vegetables a-la-carte and via their Buyer’s Club CSA.
Carrie and Joe care about their branding. “Everything we have has our logo on it, other than the bulk items or bunched greens. Our display is very vertical, so when people walk in, they’re seeing things at eye level, and it looks nice. It doesn’t look like I just came and dumped a bunch of stuff on a table. I think that helps build rapport.”
When you walk through their farmers market, The Looney Farm’s booth stands out. Their vertical stand is modular and puts the product at eye level. The lowest product displayed is at waist height. From there, they mix and match different colored vegetables to make them visually appealing. Everything looks clean, organized and inviting.
Beyond their market stand, Carrie and Joe take pride in their online store. They want to offer their customers the same or similar experience of what they see at the market. Conveying that online requires a few adjustments.
“I think it’s important to have pictures representing what happens on the farm — not just a picture of the item. The glossy bunch of beets or carrots are really nicely presented — really nicely displayed — for that initial catch, but having a picture of one of the crew holding that item, or getting a reference of size, or of the packaging — or any of the other things that you might see at the market — is important,” shares Joe.
Equally important is the product description. How do you best communicate the things you can’t tangibly do online that you do in person, such as the size, the package and cooking instructions/tips?
Joe says, “Less is more sometimes. We don’t have paragraphs. It’s a sentence or two at most — a very basic description. It’ll be product size or weight in layman’s terms — in ounces or pounds or how many things you get per bunch.
You try to convey that in as basic English as possible. But in addition to that, what I tried to do, starting at the end of last year, was at the end of the description putting a link to a recipe or a collection of recipes.”
The Instagram Scout
Instagram, the popular photo-sharing platform hosted by Meta, has over 2 billion monthly users, of which 59 percent use the app daily — a trend that was almost unheard of 15 years ago. It’s a place where businesses, consumers, government and industry share, promote and connect.
Over 44 percent of Instagram users say they use it for shopping. A platform that used to be predominantly for photo-sharing with family and friends has become a billion-dollar advertising machine.
As small businesses try to compete, how do they leverage this platform?
Sharing their business, lives and products on Instagram is a great way to gain customer following and convert viewers to shoppers. Farms selling direct-to-consumer most likely have an account. Having an Instagram page nowadays is similar to handing out business cards a decade ago.
Yet often, the platform can feel oversaturated, making it difficult to know where to find customers directly.
Hildan Produce
Hilary and Dan started their microgreens business, Hildan Produce, in 2020 as they looked to pivot their careers. Early on, they knew they would focus on direct-to-consumer sales; however, they were also interested in targeting local restaurants that could incorporate microgreens into their menus.
Chefs are busy people. Hilary didn’t know how to go about finding chefs that would be a good fit for her product and then how to reach out. She found a solution: “I go and scout businesses on Instagram. I go to their profile and see what their plating looks like. I can instantly tell if they’re using microgreens or not.”
Hilary looks through their entire menu and gets a gauge on what types of dishes they’re serving. All the information she needs is right there on their Instagram profile.
“If they are [using microgreens], I ask, ‘Where are you getting this from? Are you happy with the consistency?’”
Utilizing direct messaging on the app, Hilary will introduce herself and start the conversation. Her profile acts as a portfolio that includes beautiful photos of her products and reviews from previous customers. This has resulted in new and sustained sales partnerships.
Social media and Instagram have a plethora of creative use cases and opportunities for farmers, producers and suppliers to market their products.
The New CSA
For produce farmers, the CSA model is very attractive. Sell shares at the beginning of the season and ensure your products are sold throughout the months. But what if the market is too saturated, or you’re bringing a new concept to an area that’s less familiar with it? How can you differentiate your business from the competition?
Encompass Farm
Vannah Roddy is a first-generation young farmer. Her farm, Encompass, is located in Black Mountain, North Carolina, about twenty minutes outside of Asheville. Growing on a network of seven suburban front yards, most of her sales go into Asheville through a customizable veggie box. Vannah also attends a single farmers market, where she mainly sells flowers.
The CSA box program always interested Vannah, but she wanted to switch things up.
“My veggie boxes are not a season-long commitment — folks can choose their subscription length. They can buy a single box, which is $28. They can buy a one-month subscription — four boxes — and the price goes down to $25, or a three-month subscription — twelve boxes — and the price goes down to $23 per box. They’re being incentivized to subscribe for longer, but people have that flexibility.”
Through the flexibility she offers with the pick-as-you-choose box model, Vannah attracts a wider range of customers than a traditional CSA program. The one-off box can be bought as a gift for a friend or a trial box for someone unsure if they want to sign up for a full CSA. The one-month subscription is great for those customers who travel throughout the summer and cannot commit to the full season.
“Small growers know the quality of their produce, and when people try it, they want it again. With the single box, I allow people to customize it. It’s definitely a pain in the butt for me, but 75 percent of them end up turning into one-month or three-month subscribers,” shares Vannah.
To keep the one-off box customers engaged, Vannah includes fridge magnets with her logo and a QR code to her website for customers to scan and buy more produce easily. Vannah’s focus on convenience is how she keeps getting customers to come back.
On top of their boxes, customers have options to add on. “Currently, those options are flowers and seasoning blends. I dehydrate green onions. I dehydrate poblano peppers and blend them with sea salt. I have three different blends, and people really love those because, again, it’s reinforcing the quick-and-easy meal model.”
Her focus on the quick-and-easy meal model increasingly allows her to become a one-stop shop. She is adding laying hens this year, which will allow her to offer eggs as an add-on in the future.
A Digital Farming Manual
Transitioning from other sales channels to direct-to-consumer can be challenging without the adequate skills, training and community support to get started. It doesn’t take long for farmers to realize they have many critical jobs to do if they’re going to be successful. They must tackle the daily realities of running their own businesses and become creative marketers, tactful salespeople and customer service experts.
Ready Farmer One: The Farmer’s Guide to Selling and Marketing, written by Diego Footer and Nina Galle, is a sales and marketing book written specifically for farmers. This 400-page manual goes through everything from crafting your message, targeting customers, running your operations and, ultimately, how to make a healthy profit doing what you love. Learn more at readyfarmerone.com.
