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Fresh Facts
Providing knowledge and leadership to grow the farm fresh experience.
While flipping back through some of my notes from past conferences, meetings and Membership News 2
webinars, I highlighted a few key points I have circled or put a big star beside that I feel
I need to keep in front of me during this very busy time of year. Here are three of them I Ask the Expert 3
thought to share that might be pertinent to many of you as well…
13 Merchandising 4
Tips to Increase
Prioritize my to do list. I don’t know about the rest of you, but I never get through my Sales
to do list every day! There can be way too many interruptions and distractions some
days to get it all done. I have had to take a deep breath and accept that I might not be What is Curb Ap- 6
peal?
able to do it all (a tough thing for many of us to accept ;-) but if I can at least get the
most important things done in the day and maybe delegate a few of the others, the low- Upcoming events 8
er priority items can usually be dealt with tomorrow.
“When walking, walk, When eating, eat.” I’m not sure where this quote came from
but I have to remind myself of this all the time! I’m an ineffective multi-
tasker, which I hear is true of many us. This little quote reminds me to
focus on one thing and get it done before trying to move to the next
item. It’s also a reminder to be present in the moment… having dinner
with family, talking to a friend, playing with the kids… especially when
we are busy.
Kristin
Kristin Ego MacPhail
OFFMA President
Page 2 Fresh Facts
At the February 2019 Farmers’ Market husks? What about rows of potted mums
sessions of the Ontario Fruit and Vegeta- for colour contrast in the fall? If people
ble Convention (OFVC), Doug and Gail are selecting individual fruit or vegetables
Hayden of the California Farmers’ Mar- from bins or baskets intentionally adding
kets Association provided tips on low cost green or coloured leaves as need be can
solutions to improving a farmers’ market help create colour contrast.
stall. Many of these ideas could also ap-
ply to on-farm markets. I have expanded 3. Lift up your products.
their ideas with some additional thoughts In grocery stores,
of my own. products that are
placed on the
1. Use of a table cloth versus a bare shelves at eye
table can increase sales! level and at arms
Tables should be covered with table length sell faster
cloths that extend to the floor at the front. than those on the
The table cloth colour should provide a top and bottom
colour that makes the produce “pop”. shelves. You can
Often a grower will use the colour of the create tiers by
primary crop as a marketing theme, for adding a shelf at
example, a tomato grower uses red; a the back of a ta-
blueberry grower uses blue. That is fine ble or counter and
but red tomatoes get “lost” on a red table this can still be
cloth etc. Using a table cloth with a con- covered by the
trasting colour makes the produce catch table cloth.
your eye. Keep your theme colour for Tipped boxes or
staff shirts and branding but create colour crates on the
contrast beside your produce. shelf can create
additional height.
2. Contrasting colours create sales.
Contrasting colours draw your eyes to the 4. People like wood.
produce. Think of the many ways that Wood speaks to craftsmanship, a closer
you can merchan- connection to nature, authenticity and
dize your produce nostalgia among other things. These are
with contrasting col- good subliminal messages that support
ours. Rows of dif- farm fresh food. Consider incorporating
ferent coloured to- wood into your retail space. Wooden
matoes or fruit side crates and boxes could display products.
by side to create Wood can be heavy so take that into con-
colour contrast. sideration in your plans.
Can rows of baked
pies beside rows of 5. Farm artifacts
fresh strawberries People love farm artifacts. They do not
create the colour always have to be historical. Artifacts are
contrast? Or a row educational and you won’t find them in
of preserves with a the grocery store. Make a point to rotate
contrasting colour your artifacts over time so that people
label or lid? Or see new things.
rows or baskets/
boxes of husked 6. Keep products off the ground or
yellow corn beside floor.
baskets or boxes of Turn an empty box or carton upside down
green corn in the and put it on the bottom if you are stack-
Newsletter #336 Page 5
ing cartons. It just reinforces that you package. Regardless keep records to
have gone the extra step to keep prod- know if you get your intended result of
ucts clean. increased sales of the new product.
According to the dictionary, it is the at- agreed with them that when I was in
tractiveness of the exterior of a residen- the store, this message was strongly
tial or commercial property, as viewed communicated to the visitor. I could
from the street. understand why they believed in this
statement, but how does the consumer
Retail is detail is an old saying, but a perceive it?
critical one, especially in today’s
market place. Once outside the business, I chal-
lenged them on the peeling paint-work
In the rapidly changing world of retail, on the facia of the building, old fash-
we often forget some of the basic rules ioned neon signs in the window, post-
of retailing, especially the importance of ers plastered on the window and a
curb appeal. This can consist of en- dirty front door that had not been
hancing exterior signage, a fresh coat cleaned that week.
of paint, creating banners, pictures or Their reaction was one of surprise, that
product displays, adding foliage, clean- they had not noticed these blemishes
ing up the parking lot, and keeping eve- to their brand before. Yes, you do
rything clean. need to look at your business through
There is a lot of focus in today’s press outside eyes. The secret, though, is
on online retailing and the decline of putting those eyes on and looking at
“bricks” retailing. I am a strong believer your business as a customer would
in the future of “bricks” retailing, but al- look at it.
so that we need to provide an experi-
ence for the consumer; that starts out- As a farm retailer myself, I realise this
side of the business, on the street. is not easy, time pressure is always
Improving curb appeal is one simple there and we often neglect the im-
low-cost way of improving business. portance of first impressions and how
they impact the customer.
Curb appeal is an ongoing process and
one that needs to be checked daily, How do you improve your curb
even if your farm shop is located on the appeal?
farm. How often do you cross the road
from your business and look at the The key areas are:
business from a consumer’s point of ● Check your first impressions daily
view? Something every customer does and at the same time every day. It
every time they visit your farm retail es- needs to become a habit.
tablishment. ● Have a checklist so you know what
you are looking for. Keep it simple, list
I was recently asked to carry out some the key points and provide a box for
consulting work for a farm retailer and the “tick”.
the first thing I did was take them ● Rotate the inspection between the
across the road to look at their busi- team so nobody becomes store blind.
ness.
Once across the road, I asked them to
describe their brand to me and what An engaging shop front can draw cus-
message they wanted to communicate tomers into your store. Make the most
to their customers. The description they of the window display areas you have
gave was about wanting to be a quality, to showcase your offerings to their
premium brand which was modern in its best potential. I’m often told image
approach to retailing farm products. I observations are “common sense“ but
Newsletter #336 Page 7
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