Farmers Market - Any tips for a successful stall?

[susiedart]

After 3 years of waiting my daughter has finally got into the Tavistock Farmers Market, having had her Ruby Red Devon cattle inspected & a joint of beef tasted by the organizer!

Any tips would help in this difficult market with the papers saying don't eat red meat too often? She hopes to sell some organic lamb later on.

[Ma Larkin]

My advice for what its worth would be ignore the papers telling us whats bad about eating red meat and find some positives to tell or display to your customers about red meat or your meat at that. also dont add other products to your stall that everyman and his dog are selling, i have been to a few markets and farm shops and it very off putting when you see the same product (bought through a chain of suppliers) then have their own label put on, people arent stupid and will cotton on to this like i did, people like to think that they are getting a real bit of country life, even if you have to add extra's just check out the other stalls prior and see if you can offer something different.

Also try putting out some EBLEX lealets if you contact them they will send you some of their info including recipies and booklets and make sure you hammer home to the public its country of origin ie: BRITISH, WELSH OR SCOTTISH. we love the thought of helping our own. good luck!!!

Hope this helps!

Ma larkin

[Oola]

You could spin it into a positive saying that so you're not supposed to eat red meat every day, so when you do eat it, make it something really special and choose a quality piece of meat. Adding a small discreet (but well done) display of photographs of the cattle, where they live is good as I think people that shop at farmer's markets like to know where their meat is coming from.

You could have a leaflet - perhaps offer beef as an alternative to a Christmas Turkey? If they are free ranging she could push that idea of things maybe? IE no concrete cows!

[Healing Hands]

Quite agree with Ma Larkin, do not take any notice of the news, there is always something that is bad for our health, if we eat things in moderate surely there is no risk to our healths. Good luck for your daughter and I hope she will have a lot of success with her stall.

[Ma Larkin]

Just another thought you could offer a Local veg box with your meat for xmas orders.

[eleanor2]

if i go to a farmers market.i like to see the the meat is local and if the person who is selling it is a friendly local farmer.that means a lot to me.i am sure many people just like to support their locals.if it is organic then that is even better.it has to be well presented to catch the eye.my daughter came home with boar sausages and burgers when she was over.from a farmers market.she said it was because they were different she wanted to buy them.lets face it so many meat products are tampered with so much in the supermarkets.

[franbee]

I agree with all the replies, being friendly and knowledgable will attract customers, and leaflets and literature will help educate them. Make sure they know when you will be back, or if you are elsewhere in between these markets, customers can be fickle too, you need to build up loyalty.

[susiedart]

Thank you all SO much for really good advice. Just hope it won't be raining & I can see it will be my turn pretty quickly to man the stall!

[JerseyLily]

Wishing your daughter all the best with her enterprise.

Can I make one comment about photos: of cattle. Go for a photo of a Red Devon Bull, (the sire) in preference to using that of the herd whom are part of what will be on sale as butchered meat. A lot of people do like to know where their meat comes from, but not to actually see (what they are about to purchase) as it once was when on the hoof.

;)

[lily]

I would think it will do well in traditional Tavistock, some of what I've seen there in the past hasn't been very convincingly local. I think the latest media scares re red meat apply more to factory farm style production. It's not just about meat itself but about the whole product- how raised and how fed etc. I don't think this angle is investigated much.

[sunflower]

I seem to remember finding a website where, a lady kept a herd of ruby red devon cattle. Would this lady happen to be your daughter by any chance? The cattle looked beautiful and indeed were ruby red!!!

[SheepyJames]

I think the more adverse publicity there is about our food, the more keen people are to know where their food comes from. Surely that is why Farmers' Markets and Farm Shops have become so popular.

Tavistock is a great Market. We go down there from Taunton from time to time and always come back loaded with goodies. It's so lovely to see a beautiful,traditional market hall. I'll have to look out for her next time. All the best to her.