Advice Needed on Value Added Products

[FarmerChick]

hey PP

I can't do alot of crafts only cause I am bad at them, no patience kinda....and the biggie, I am in the produce area of the market with my sausage and veggies.......anything else more crafty has to go "into the craft barn" which is another building. My soap is a craft but Frank the manager lets me slide by in the produce building cause 90% of our stuff is food and produce.

Hey how much did they sell those little bird feeders for? that is smart and so cheap and easy. literally easy money there!


WHAT do you mean no farmer markets near you?????? I thought everyone, no matter how desolate, had a market near them...LOL-LOL

you might want to see if you have a local flea market. Your items would sell great there also!

 

[Beekissed]

Once you establish herb beds, they can really pay off in a farmer's market venue. You can sell the potted cooking herbs as you mentioned before or you can offer fresh cut herbs (on ice). Some of the better restuarants look at farmer's markets for fresher produce and better flavor. A lot of herbs grow well in dryer, sandier soils. YOu could incorporate the herbs into your soaps and balms as well.

Have you thought of having bees? They do most of the work for you and you just bottle and sell. No canning, no processing...just extracting(which can be done small scale without purchasing honey extractors if one is patient) and bottling. Slap on a cute label and there ya go....raw honey as a healthy end product. Also you can use the wax and honey in your balms, soaps, etc.

 

[PamsPride]

She sold small ones for a $1 and slightly bigger ones for $2...I think. They were like 4" or 6".

The nearest flea market is over 45 minutes away and it is definetly a 'flea' market. Not hardly any handmade goods/crafts at all. A lot of Amish come to that flea market. I have not gone for a couple of years but from what I remember it was mostly items that people bought in bulk and resold....like cheapo gloves, tools, knick knacks, hats...then one produce person and one cheese person and one meat person, then antique junk!
When I have had garage sales before I have packaged up my kiddos parade candy and resold it in little bags with like 5 assorted pieces for .25. Those sold quick because a lot of parents will buy them for their kiddos...some adults are candy junkies too! And with 5 kiddos we can get TONS of candy just by going to one parade. Of course, I check it all over and make sure that it is good with no tears or anything in the wrappers.

 

[PamsPride]

What about dip seasoning mixes...the kind where you have to add the mayo or sour cream to them. They seem to go for outrageous prices around here and the packages are only big enough to make one or two dips and they still have to add the wet ingredients.

 

[Beekissed]

No farmer's markets near me either! The closest one is 24 miles away, in the basement of an old school building and consists of about 6 tables with a few piles of wilted produce, some baked goods and some old guy selling tacky wooden clocks with enough varnish to cover a yacht!

 

[PamsPride]

No farmer's markets near me either! The closest one is 24 miles away, in the basement of an old school building and consists of about 6 tables with a few piles of wilted produce, some baked goods and some old guy selling tacky wooden clocks with enough varnish to cover a yacht!

LOL!!

 

[FarmerChick]

actually that is super cheap for those feeders cause her time alone to make them is worth more than that.......never under price your value I say..LOL

WOW GUYS---your areas stink for markets. flea markets are hard cause they do have "junk" alot of times. And if you have enough junk over and over eventually you make customers NOT come and that sure hurts the market value.

Charlotte is an hour drive for me but worth every single penny....um, dollars..LOL



seasoning packs is a great idea...so simple and light to carry and stores forever. I will be thinking hard on that one also.



BEE
the honey market is loaded here. I was amazed at how many people do honey. bees must be popular here..LOL...I don't want to learn about bees or hives or that. I buy local honey from Jason, my farmer market buddy and the "old man and his wife" from the mountains. never a shortage of honey here. I don't think the competition is worth the work...hahaha

 

[enjoy the ride]

There are so many good ideas here that I can't think of much to add.
Maybe dried herbs- as mentioned most herbs are sooooo easy to grow and pest resistant. Drying would use some energy but most people are more used to cooking with dried than fresh and the prices for them are outrageous. Easy to pack up really cute.
Stevia might grow where you are and is great too. Rosemary is fast drying as is time and oregano (which grows incredibly fast here,) - Basil takes longer to dry and would use more energy. In the summer could you do some drying in the sun? i can't here because of the humidity.

Re: green onions- I use a couple of dozens each week- they are low carb and low calorie- basically a great food for dieters. Maybe you could print out some green onion recipes and tag each group.
Also could you make a deal with a Chinese or other oriental restaurant or market because they use lots of them.

I put a recipe for an spring onion egg pancake on this site somewhere. I use green onions in making egg salad or sauces or sprinkling on soups.

Coming up with a recipe card that uses what you want to sell might help????? Like egg and green onion or whatever............
I'm a terrible sales person- others seem much better at it.

Maybe having large jars of dried herbs and a little scoop that you could use to put it into little baggies? Selling it as so much per ounce? Maybe there is a local herb that people use a lot? Or you design your own herb blend for dry rubs on meat? I make up my own all the time. But calling is something quaint or traditional sounding might get people to buy some dried herbs at a larger price than just plain herbs?
Thrill of the Grill Spice Rub? Or Hot Rub? or Farmer's Famous Bar-b-que Rub? Granny's Great Grilling Spice?

 

[me&thegals]

Two things that ALWAYS sell at our markets: Flowers and great salad greens.

I don't sell the flowers, but folks at my market charge $5 for a bouquet of snapdragons, sunflowers, and other wildflowers. They're gorgeous and sell like hotcakes.

I sell gallon bags of SSE's heirloom lettuce mix for $3, and I'm always sold out. A $1 packet of spinach this year grew enough spinach to sell $80 of spinach. Very easy to grow. Plus, they don't take up much space. I grow everything in 5'-wide beds, so I can get a LOT of greens in a relatively small space. One lady at my market tosses in nasturtiums to her salad mix. It adds a nice colorful touch and appeals to people with more adventurous tastes. Plus, it gets used up so quickly that people are back for more the next week.

One more thing I just thought of: Garlic. If you find somebody who grows it locally, you can probably get a good price on starter garlic plus know that it grows well in your region. Every time I went to market this year (VERY small markets!), I sold at least 50 garlic bulbs at $1 each. People go crazy for it. Even though it can take a whle to use up, people buy in bulk since they know it will store for so long. Plus, planted 8" on the square in 5' beds, again it takes up little space and is very easy to grow.

Good luck!

 

[TanksHill]

Wow, such great ideas. I might need to borrow a couple.