The Rural Voice, 1993-12, Page 33for a year and a half, getting up at 4
a.m. to make the trek to the Guelph
market, arriving at sunrise. "We were
frightened we'd forget what got us
here. We kept going for the
marketing value."
In a farmers' market you are
dealing one on one with potential
customers and you can stay right on
top of what's selling. They could talk
to people and find out what they
really wanted. They experimented
with how they displayed their jams,
jellies and vinegars, and tried
different shaped jars to make their
product stand out (they quickly
moved away from mason jars
because everybody else sold their
products that way).
"If you can sell it at the farmers'
market it's the toughest thing you can
do," Judie says. "You're competing
for attention (with all the other
products on sale)."
Dave adds that a big proportion of
the people who shop at the market
are there because they think it's a
place to save money so that if you
can sell a high-end product there,
you've really accomplished
something.
The farmers' market can be an
entry to the wholesale market
because a lot of store owners go there
to see what the latest products are,
the. couple says. Their first approach
from a store was when a buyer from
the gift shop at the Art Gallery of
Ontario spotted their products at the
market.
The couple studies constantly,
reading business papers and watching
what's happening in the industry,
even studying the fluctuations in the
value of the Canadian dollar to see
how it will affect their market. They
have studied the history of the
specialty food business, for instance,
and found that in times of recession
people turn to specialty foods as a
way of giving themselves (or their
friends — gift baskets are a big part
of their business) a small luxury
when they can't afford a large one.
"We wanted to be the hottest line
coming out of this recession," Dave
says.
"Working for yourself is very hard
work but it's a good kind of hard
work," Judie adds. "The payoff is
immediate as far as gratification
goes. The sky's the limit. There's no
climbing the corporate ladder."0
May the peace ancfjoy
at Christmas be with you
throughout the coming year.
HOWSON &
HOWSON Ltd.
BLYTH AGRICULTURAL DIVISION523-9624
CARGILL 366-2224
WINGHAM 357-2700
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DECEMBER 1993 29