03 Sept 2006

Farmers markets, roadside stands attempt to keep up with the competition

September 03,2006

TRISHA CAPANSKY

STAFF WRITER

Dana Jacobs began shopping at local stands in the area several years ago as a protest against Wal-Mart’s practice of buying produce from outside the United States.

As Jacobs pondered over the display of tomatoes at the Kinston Farmers Market recently, the Greenville resident said, “It could be psychological, but I noticed that I really felt better after a few months of eating the same foods I had been eating, but raised only a few miles from my house.”

As health-conscious shoppers demand for quality, homegrown produce increases, farmers markets and roadside stands are looking for ways to show that they can meet that demand. Especially now that the average distance fresh food travels to local supermarkets is 1,500 miles.

At the same time, local growers have to learn how to compete with large-scale grocery chains that are looking to penetrate their market with sales of produce from local farms.

“Big box retail stores being bashed in the news and peoples’ desire to shop where they can get to know the salesperson are two of the reasons why buying locally has increased in interest,” said Larry Kent, manager of the Onslow County farmers market.

Because of the increase in popularity of Whole Foods Market — a natural and organic grocery store chain –owners of independent produce stands and farmers markets

have to consider marketing tactics beyond word of mouth and hand painted plywood signs.

Billy and Steven Dail who own a roadside stand on Highway 258 near Snow Hill have boosted their advertising tactics to another level.

“We had a customer appreciation day and gave out T-shirts with our stand name and location on it,” he said.

The Dail’s opened their first stand about 12 years ago with a table on the side of the road to sell sweet corn. Today he offers more than 20 varieties of produce.

“You can get just about anything that grows on a farm right here,” he said. “As demands continue, we do our best to continue to meet those demands.”

Steven Dail attributed a large part of the increase in their clientele to people who once owned gardens and now find it more convenient to get the same fresh produce at a roadside stand as opposed to the time involved in growing it themselves.

“We’re going to our garden” is what some of his customers call their trip to his stand, he said.

Because stores such as Whole Foods are trying to buy local produce and because they have the corporate structure behind them, they’ve become a huge competitor for local markets, said Mike Seitz, Jones County extension agent and commercial horticulture specialist.

In August, Seitz coordinated a field trip for area farmers to learn more on how to advertise and diversify their stands. The group toured the state farmers market and Whole Foods Market in Raleigh, as well as the Carrboro Farmers Market in Durham County. Advertising in newspapers and on radio, and expanding their produce options make the shortlist of likely changes some of the farmers said they’ll do after seeing others’ results.

For the smaller volume vendor, such as in this area, Carrboro practices provided the best option, which is to distinguish oneself from the next vendor by listing a variety name instead of just the commodity of green beans you’re selling.

For instance, repeat customers tend to increase when they know the variety of crop they like and a vendor offers it. Such as “silver queen sweet corn,” rather than just advertising sweet corn in general.

As in every business, the biggest incentive for venturing into other markets or spending money on advertising beyond the sign on the side of the road is the bottom line: money. Seitz quotes the United States Department of Agriculture as saying for every dollar spent on a vegetable at a grocery store in this country, only 19 cents goes back to the farm.

While he doesn’t see an immediate threat to local markets, if commercial markets continue to enter onto the playing field of local growers, there is a risk of losing some momentum. This, he said, is why it’s in the local sellers’ best interest to better learn how to advertise rather than continuing to rely on word of mouth.

According to the 2004 National Farmers Market Directory, more than 3,700 farmers markets operate in the United States. Three of them are in Lenoir County.

JC and Delma Moore operate a stand at the Kinston market and also sell produce from their farm. This is the first year they decided to operate their stand in Kinston fulltime. So far, Delma says, they will rely on the “old fashion tactics of word of mouth.”

“If we get something new in, then we’ll advertise it in the paper; otherwise, we’ll stick to word of mouth,” she said.

Belief in customer loyalty keep threats of outside groups competing with them at bay, she said.

Kent was one of the attendees on the fieldtrip with Seitz. He said he saw the benefit of learning new strategies to maintain current interests.

He likened the experience of shopping locally to the theme song on the 1980s hit television program Cheers that portrayed a bar in Boston “where everybody knows your name.”

“We’re fortunate enough that we’re in a building where there are benches down the middle. People come in and talk to each other, and we have found that people really enjoy that,” he said.