By Prem Bhandari and Lila Karki
What is Marketing
A set of processes, tools and tactics to make products and services available to customers.
Essentials of Marketing
The following six P’s of marketing can help increase sales and set a path toward profitability:
- Product: Decide what fruits, vegetables and value-added products (produce) you want to sell and make a profit.
- Price: Do you know the price of each fruit and/or vegetable you would like to grow in your area? What price would you like to set for your value-added products? Understanding the costs of production is important to remain competitive in the market. The cost of production accounts for fixed costs that do not remain constant with the change in production (such as land rent and taxes) and variable costs that change with the scale of production (such as seeds, inputs, irrigation and labor). Find the break-even point, or the point where costs and revenue are equal, then set the selling price to include a profit. Locally grown fresh fruits, vegetables and value-added products may fetch premium prices as they often have a higher nutritional value and longer shelf life. Organic and specialty crops may also command higher prices.
- Place: Where is the best place to produce and sell your products? Some options for locations to sell include a local market (farm stand, farmers market), wholesale market or direct to the customers. How would you like to make your products available in those areas?
- People: These are people you deal with such as employees, customers, competitors, suppliers, businesses and partners. Identify each of these in advance and make a strategy to engage with them. Prior to making a decision to produce, research your customers, supply and demand situation, and your potential competitors.
- Presentation: What types of products do you want to sell? Will it be fresh or processed, packed or open? How will you include branding to set your product apart? What presentation will best entice a customer to buy? Make a plan on how to display your produce to customers.
- Promotion: How would you like potential customers to learn about your product? You can consider: customer-to-customer, paid advertisements (newspapers, radio, TV), social media posts or paid advertisements on social media platforms, and/or announcements to mass media outlets.
Selling Your Products
Many small-scale producers adopt direct-sales approaches to get their produce to customers. By doing so, producers can save costs and thereby increase their profit margin. Common techniques are:
- Farm Stand: This is a structure such as a table, stall, or tent operated by farmers or vendors to sell fresh fruits, vegetables and other value-added products. Farm stands offer a set location for customers to select and purchase your produce from a display.
- You-Pick (U-Pick)/Pick-Your-Own: Farmers produce fruits and vegetables on their farms and organize events or set time periods during which customers harvest the quantity they desire. U-pick is a popular direct sales method for farmers who invite visitors to their farms. It can be a highly profitable, saving on labor costs and drawing an influx of customers.
- Online Marketing: Marketing of produce online is an increasing trend as social media and digital browsing is an everyday affair for many. Farmers who are tech-friendly use various methods, such as social media and websites.
- Community-Supported Agriculture (CSA): Also called “subscription farming,” this is a production and marketing model. It is a community of individuals or families who pledge support (subscribe) to a farm operation so the farmland becomes the community’s farm. CSAs can be advantageous to both producers and consumers. Both the growers and consumers provide mutual support and share the risks and benefits of food production locally.
- Farmers Market: Many farmers sell their produce (such as fruits, vegetables, crafts, baked goods and more) at a local marketplace that provides space for several small vendors. This allows consumers multiple choices in a single location. It also can increase foot traffic of potential customers who attend due to the draw of known vendors as they are introduced to lesser-known sellers’ offerings.
The Path Forward
Producers should prepare production and marketing plans to produce fruits, vegetables, as well as value-added products, in advance to successfully earn profits against a goal. While there are many ways farmers produce and sell their produce, there are pros and cons to each method. Consider the above six P’s of marketing along with deciding on a marketing approach that best match that producer’s priorities and products.
Resources
Greenfield, Myrna. 2022. Marketing your farm: A practical guide to attracting loyal customers and increasing sales. Salem, NY USA: Savvy Press.
Ross, Debbie. (2025). Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) Resource Guide For Farmers. N.C. State Extension. https://growingsmallfarms.ces.ncsu.edu/growingsmallfarms-csaguide/
Contact Us
Contact Dr. Prem B. Bhandari, UMES Extension specialist, at pbbhandari@umes.edu or agritourism@umes.edu.
This work is supported by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture.
