Farmers Markets

[sqkcrk]

I don't do Farmers Markets, I wholesale by direct store delivery. The few times, two actually, that I have spent the day selling honey, I had both, what I would call a good day and a not so good day. The not so good day was really a three day weekend at a Bluegrass Music Festival, so I got to listen to and see some really good performances. I can't say that the good day netted me much profit.

So, my question is, even if you are selling honey at a really high price, are you being profitable? I have friends who spend two days a week at a market selling nothing but honey. I often see them standing alone when I drive by w/ my van on my way to a store.

It seems to me, that if one is trying to make a living selling honey, that Farmers Markets would be a distraction from more profitible beekeeping. I can see that if you don't ower anyone anything and don't live off of your bees, that you would have plenty of time to spend taking in a small amount of money compared to what you could make doing something else. So, there must be reasons other than profit for why so many people do sell honey at Farmers Markets.

Today I drove 277 miles delivering honey and took in $15.18/mile in 10 hours. I'd love a day like that every three week. But I don't get them. Not as often as I'd like.

Comments?

[jmgi]

sqkcrk,

What kind of stores do you wholesale to? I assume you are getting a better price than if you sold to a packer. Just curious. John

[sqkcrk]

Healthfood Stores, Food Co-ops, Grocery Stores, Delis, Restaurants and Bakeries, Convenience Stores, Farm and Cheese Co-op Stores, BBQ/Seafood Shack, Diners, Orchards w/ Farm Stands, anywhere that will buy a case or two of honey. Some more worthwhile than others. But those are in between the worthwhile ones and don't rate a visit each trip around.

The Locovore Movement is alive and well in The Adirondack North Country.

I assume so also. I try to get twice what I am hearing is the barrels price. Not that that is what I base my price on alone.

[giant pumpkin peep]

I have a good beek friend who sells all his honey to a local/healthfood type store. He only runs about 35 hives. I was over to his place the other day and he said how he and his wife spent saterday afternoon at the store he sells his honey too. He sold 500 dollars of honey in that afternoon. This isnt the way he makes his living. He is in his late 70's/early 80's and its just a hobby buisness for him.

[jjt42]

I don't have any experience selling honey at farmer's markets- just vegetables (I'm a vegetable farmer).

I completely agree with your assesment of folks who sell their product at farmer's markets- there must be another reason that they do it. I chose a few years ago to quit the market scene and sell wholesale. For one, I did the math- sure I take a lower price dealing with a distributor, but I don't have the costs of market fees, sales tax (which you don't pay when selling wholesale), and most importantly- my time and energy (or even worse- paying an employee to go to the market). Secondly, I can sell much more of my product through a wholesaler then I can at the various farmer's markets around where I live. I think that unless you live within driving distance of a major urban market (like DC's Dupont Circle market), markets are just so hit or miss. You have good days when all of the stars align and there are lots of people out with money to spend, and you have bad days when it's raining or cold and you might only see a few cutomers all morning! With honey at least it's a product that you can take back with you and try again next week. With produce, if there is a bad market, I lose an entire weeks worth of perishable vegetables. So basically, I've decided that the retail mark-up I get at farmer's markets isn't worth the risk- plus the time and energy I save from not spending my weekends at market I can devote to growing more vegetables on the farm for wholesale (thus negating the higher mark-up income from the market).

So to get back to the question you posed- why do people go to farmer's markets. In my experience, most of the farmers that I know to go to markets I think go partly because they just like going. It's their "social outlet" for the week, and they enjoy the interaction with apprecitiative customers. And I can completely understand that. And some of them have developed a loyal fan base of customers, and I think do quite well at the markets. Personally, I would rather spend all of that time either on the farm, or spending some free time with my family. Maybe I'm just getting grumpier as I get older!

That's my experience anyway- I'm sure others have completely different experiences with farmer's markets.

[sqkcrk]

Who sells the most at Farmers Mkts, the gal or guy who looks like they just stepped out of the field or the person who took the time to take a shower, put on clean clothes and got their hair cut?

I understand that sales persons are taught to dress one level up from their customers. That's why, so often, you will see car salespersons at least wearing a tie or a nice businesslike dress. So, do you suppose that someone selling at a mkt would get more business dressed down or dressed up?

[bigbearomaha]

at least in my case, I go to markets to buy what I am looking for, not to see how someone is dressed.

Unless their dress is what I consider an extreme, I really don't care. I am more concerned with how they present the item I am looking at. Do they communicate clearly and handle transactions correctly.

people in these modern times are entirely too focused on frills and outside appearances when all the biggest skunks who will lie to you are wearing the prettiest clothes and the biggest smiles.

yes, the guy or gal who is in blue jeans and t shirt or biballs could be out to rook you too, I pay attention to what they do in terms of presenting product and handling business, the money end. that's what's important to me.

[brooksbeefarm]

Here in Mo. you have to process your honey in an approved honey house ($20,000 to build) to sell my honey wholesale to dealers, or i can sell retail from my home or farmers markets by putting a label stating not processed in an approved kitchen but very clean. Every state have similar or different laws. With only 60 hives the cost of a $20.000 honey house over the cost of a $7.00 setup fee at the farmers market is a better deal for me. Jack

[sqkcrk]

Okay, but are you making money? Is it more profitable than putting it in a barrel and selling it to a packer? Or less so? Considering what your time is worth and what else you could be doing to earn money. Or is that a consideration?

[bigbearomaha]

I don't join farmers markets around here myself. I have found it less expensive to have a seasonal vendors license and set up my own open air stand on a lot of another business who lets me have access to the space.

because of this arrangement and the ability to set up whenever I decide to, be it once, twice, 6 times a week if I want, I find it a very profitable situation.

people are increasingly looking to open air markets to find fresh, local produce and products as the news is ever full of recalls and health issues in the mass marketed world.

I think people also like to interact with producers and growers. To talk firsthand to the people who grew and made the products. it's a bit more personal exchange than they might get at a big chain supermarket.

so for me, it's not just about how much money I can make out of it, though it's a big one, it's also about interacting with people and sharing my enthusiasm with others for bees and local production of items.

there is a lot to be gained in that as well.

Big Bear

[sqkcrk]

there is a lot to be gained in that as well. Big Bear

Good for the soul sorta stuff, eh BB?

[bigbearomaha]

I think so, plus, it gives me more direct feedback from the people who are buying as to what they are looking for. expectations they have, things they might like to see in the future, etc...

it has led to an improved product or even new products on more than one occasion because I talked with them.

Big Bear

[brooksbeefarm]

Sqkcrk,, I'm retired(72 yrs. old) truck farm 5 acres and have 60 bee hives, 20 cows and 1 bull. This keeps my wife and i busy and healthy, also helps pay the taxes and insurance on the farm. Like BB i like to talk bees and gardening to people. Fair Grove is a small town (less than two thousand people) and we know most of them and we get to meet new comers. The money helps and we get to visit and see people we haven't seen in a while. Never was one to set around doing nothing. Jack

[jean-marc]

Mark:

Very early on I understood that marketing honey would be a very costly proposition. I live in an area where real estate is very expensive. So putting up my own store was prohibitive. I spent my efforts beekeeping instead of peddling honey. I tried selling honey to stores like you did,but developping a milk run like you have takes time. So I decided to run more hives. I just didn't think it was worth the effort to sell cases of honey. It's the kind of thing that takes a lot of time and you probably need 10 years or so to get a fairly large customer base. We are fortunate to have pollination in the area so that's pretty good revenue. Spring comes early relative to the canadian prairies so that means bee sales for me. We are not in a very good honey producing area but we have a fairly large population so I get a premium for local honey relative to the "world market". I sell all my local honey to small beekeeper packers who don't produce enough for their needs.

Jean-Marc

[Grant]

Here in Mo. you have to process your honey in an approved honey house ($20,000 to build) to sell my honey wholesale to dealers,<snip by mod> Jack

Missouri has a "jelly law" that exempts honey from being processed in a food-approved, inspected kitchen.

Grant
Jackson, MO

[Grant]

I got started with Farmer's Markets because I didn't have enough product to consistently supply the wholesale trade year round. The entry was easy and I enjoyed the face-to-face experiences. I also got to explain my products, and I offer varietal honeys, free samples, and an education!

As I expanded, I added the wholesale trade which gave me year-round cash flow.

I'm at a point where selling at a Farmer's Market conflicts with the time I need to spend with my bees. However, I've met a lot of people such that the Farmer's Markets has opened many, many doors. It's a trade-off.

At the markets, my best market brings in around $400 gross for the day, for about 4 hours. But there is only so much time in a day and when the weather is decent, I really want to be with my bees.

Grant
Jackson, MO

[jmgi]

I can see where farmers markets would be a good place to sell your product at least initially, being able to explain your product, give free samples, pass out business cards, all these things get you known and then word of mouth kicks in. For those who don't produce enough to get year round contracts, farmers markets are valuable places to get your product sold. John

[alpha6]

Farmers markets are a lot of work in the prep of them and then spending the day selling to the public. However, if you have a good marketing plan and good products selling at what the market will bare you can make a good amount of money. Chef and myself have done well in this area and I credit Chef with passing on some of his strategies that have made my own markets more successful. Is it a lot of work and long hours? You bet. But as with any self employed business, getting started and being successful is all about the time you want to put into it. Also, do several markets as they all do differently. If one is not working drop it and move to the next. Try different things depending on the market type, we adjust our layout depending on where we are selling.

Some quick hints on markets:

Know your customer base. For me it's "raw, unheated, unfiltered" honey. They are willing to pay a premium for it.

Samples - once someone tastes our honey, even if they haven't planned on buying it they usually do because it is so much better then anything they have ever tasted from the supermarket.

Display/Labels - Don't under estimate your label and stand set up. Make it look nice, clean and neat. Dirty or torn table cloth and they will think the same of your honey. Make a nice label...make it country if you can...people like country when they buy ag products. Think about your jars. A nice jar will sell your honey and it may be worth the extra ten cents or so for a nicer jar. Start out with different types and find which sells the best then go with that. You will be amazed at how much this can make a difference.

Hope that helps.

[bigbearomaha]

here in my area, our county considers raw honey as "whole produce" which requires no commercial kitchen permit or anything. Only raw though. If it's heated, bam, here comes johnny law wanting your money.

Big Bear

[brooksbeefarm]

Grant, not to be argumentative, but just last week a member of the Greene,Co. Health Dept. jumped me for not having a sign or label stating that my honey was not processed in an approved kitchen. They inspected our basement kitchen and it would have passed if i had a triple stainless steel sink. (mine was a double) That was last year when i was thinking about building a honey house. That inspector said if it was him he would keep processing it in the basement and display the sign or labels. (i foregot my sign last week) If i put in a triple sink, i would have to tear out some of the kitchen cabnets and it just wouldn't look right (my wife said) Jack