3Looking for a way to increase sales of fresh fruits and vegetables? Knowledge is power! Purdue Extension FoodLink IS Produce Knowledge!
My thought has always been that a knowledgeable consumer will be in a better place to make informed purchasing decisions and will likely purchase more of a given product.
If they can see an easy way to use fresh produce in the weekly meal or snack preparation for their family… perhaps they will be more likely to buy that fresh product from you rather than a prepared product from the grocery.
https://extension.purdue.edu/foodlink/food.php?food=tomato
It is all about choices…Their stomach capacity and available spending power are only so big.
What can you do to influence the choice the consumer makes? How can you encourage them to buy from YOU?
Think about all of the professional marketing that your shopper is inundated with each day…How can your beautiful healthful produce compete for that shopper’s attention?
If they see fresh tomatoes in your attractive market display they might impulse buy a pound.
If your shoppers have easy access to a recipe https://extension.purdue.edu/foodlink/recipes.php that inspires them to prepare something once or twice in the week ahead for their family…perhaps they will buy a couple of pounds.
If you can tantalize them a couple of weeks in advance with the promise of the harvest and market availability you might be able to “prime the pump” and get folks thinking in advance of how they will use Indiana tomatoes throughout the year. Consider using QR codes and URLs in your print and social media promotions. https://extension.purdue.edu/foodlink/getSign.php?food=tomato.
Perhaps you need a way to share where shoppers can find your products and what you have available https://extension.purdue.edu/foodlink/about.php.
If you can encourage them that since this is a once a year availability and they should “stock up” and enjoy the harvest through the year…they will need instructions on how to freeze and can them https://edustore.purdue.edu/item.asp?Item_Number=HHS-803-W freeze and can tomatoes.
But who has the time to do all of this???… You barely have time to produce and harvest the crop with all the rain!
FoodLink https://extension.purdue.edu/foodlink/index.php does the work for you for over 65 different Hoosier crops… not just tomatoes…Literally HUNDREDS of recipes that require your fresh farm products…Videos of 12 seasonal recipes https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D29ezSadd3g&list=PLtXSf1tu3Jd82ZjlNoQTjNpEBjmNVW7NG and even an online and hard copy recipe book https://extension.purdue.edu/foodlink/includes/pubs/recipebooklet.pdf.
Crop selection and basic use and preparation info, recipes galore, access to freezing and canning instructions etc… enough to motivate even the least imaginative shopper….All FREE to you… easy online access to all resources…and all materials TRIPLE reviewed (EXPERT REVIEWED) for accuracy! We even have individual crop/recipe cards that you can print and share with your customers each week as needed. https://extension.purdue.edu/foodlink/includes/pubs/Print1perpaper/Vegetables/TOMATO.pdf
How do you stand out among your competitors?
Have great quality product at a fair price of course… but also be that marketer who really CARES about the shopper…and is willing to go the extra mile to educate them…This takes time and patience…FoodLink can save you the time and make you stand out… way out…especially when you consider the level of product education the consumer may receive in some of today’s major chain stores.
FoodLink also has a monthly newsletter https://app.delivra.net/vo/?FileID=52F7DD92-C50C-4D22-ABE5-CB1277D97DB8&ListID=122731 to those who enroll AND we have weekly professionally produced Facebook posts https://www.facebook.com/purduefoodlink/ to increase consumer awareness of current market availability… please like and share!!!
If I can do it… you can too!
Consider enrolling in FoodLink! https://extension.purdue.edu/foodlink/enrollment.php
Hope you have a bountiful harvest and safe and profitable market season…Let us know how we can help!
