BRITISH AGRICULTURE MARKETING

The world works better through co-operation, not corporations

Farmers have taken their produce to local markets for many centuries. In Poland, where retailers are less dominant, 40% of fresh produce is still sold via traditional markets and there is a huge variety of fresh fruit, meat, salads and vegetables for consumers to buy. By 2004, only 1% of fresh produce was sold via traditional markets in the UK, as most of them had been wiped out by central supermarket distribution centres. Supermarkets demand direct supply and are increasingly demanding solus supply contracts. In other words, suppliers are only allowed to supply one supermarket. Farmers and suppliers have to send their fresh fruit and vegetables direct to the vast warehouses of the supermarket national distribution system, making little room in the marketplace for traditional markets to operate. As a result, the traditional fruit and vegetable markets have almost disappeared in the UK. There are fewer and fewer routes to market for smaller volume products (i.e. local food). London street fruit sellers say that the Covent Garden market is not what it used to be, as it "only sells the rejected imported produce the supermarkets don’t want. This is then hoovered up by the London market stallholders and other London shops."

The first farmers’ market was started in Bristol in 1997. Numbers grew rapidly to 470 by 2003 in response to consumer demand for fresh, seasonal, local and fully traceable produce.

Farmers’ markets are temporary retail sites, often in traditional market towns or villages, run by farmers or local authorities. They are open for about for four to five hours on the market day, as the stalls need to be set up and cleared away again.

There is continuing demand for more farmers’ markets, market days and stallholders - consumers want to buy from farmers. This has led to a number of farmers’ markets being set up in major city centres (e.g. BBC White City, Shepherd’s Bush) where people have limited access to fresh, local produce. This was highlighted in a report by London Food Links called Capital Eats

This report found that Londoners spend £1 billion on food each year. However, it also highlighted the lack of access to nutritious food for people on low incomes. It showed that 53 per cent of inner-London children and 33 per cent of outer-London children live below the poverty line, while 13 wards in east London boroughs were identified as ‘food deserts’ where there was no local provision for fresh food.

There is also demand for more farmers’ markets from farmers wanting to earn a viable return for their produce. More than 3,000 farmers sell their produce via farmers’ markets and there is a long waiting list of many more wanting to become stallholders. There were 25 farmers were on the waiting list for Bridport farmers’ market in March 2006.

Provenance – knowing where the food has come from and how it was produced - is an important part of the philosophy.

FARMA is the largest farmer co-operative, representing direct sales to consumers via farmers’ markets, farm shops, home-delivery box schemes, on-farm catering and farm entertainment. FARMA resulted from the merger in 2003 of the National Association of Farmers’ Markets (NAFM) and the Farm Retail Association (FRA). However, not all farmers’ markets are members of FARMA and many are run by their own dedicated teams.

For a guide to all UK farmers’ markets in 2005 see the FARMA website guide produced in conjunction with Country Life butter www.farma.org.uk.

Fred McCaig, Local Food and Farming Consultant.
Fred has worked at many farmers’ markets in the West Country and was responsible for their development while at Devon Food Links, to help deliver regional Local Authority outputs. Fred has a good understanding of their advantages and disadvantages from a farmer's perspective and has provided some useful advice and tips below:

"Farmers’ markets are a very useful way to break into the market for new products. They provide a network of customers that will, if satisfied, deliver the most cost-effective method of promotion and recommendation."

What consumers look for at farmers’ markets
The majority want:

• Producers on hand to provide information about how the food is produced
• Markets runs by the local authority so that trading standards will be good
• The majority of their money to go to the producer
• Fresh produce
• New varieties and products to try

What farmers need to know:

• Stands cost between £15 and £25 a day
• There is competition, but that is what a market is all about
• The customers are genuinely interested in what you are selling
• It takes a full day to deliver a market
• Farmers arrive to set up their stands about an hour before the market starts

You need to have the following as a stallholder:

• Strong trestle table
• Sufficient stock for the day
• A money float so you can give change
• Bags for customers wanting to buy several items
• Insurance
• A basic Food Hygiene Certificate
• Transport to and from the market
• Somewhere to park for the day
• Ice boxes, if applicable
• Food temperature recording equipment
• Leaflets or contact details for further orders

This is the bare minimum and will cost about £150, but it is possible to spend a great deal more. It is worth noting that Environmental Health Officers are starting to insist that producers provide refrigerated displays where appropriate and hand-washing facilities. When selling perishable or 'high risk' products, it is worth discussing your activity with the Environmental Health Officer at your local authority. The bottom line is that you are taking on the responsibility of selling a product to a customer and will therefore have to follow the rules. To try to operate under the radar is:

• Risky for your business
• Unfair on the other producers that operate within the law and unfair on customers
• Undermining to the image of farmers’ markets

Before signing up to a farmers’ market, it is worthwhile:

1. Visiting it to see the action:

• Who are the customers?
• Who is the competition?
• What do other producers say about the market?

2. Helping out on a stand to gain experience.

3. Developing your stand and doing a rehearsal to:

• See what it looks like
• Test your sales talk
• See how easy it is to set up and take back down

4. Deciding what to do if you:

The benefits of operating at farmers' markets can be great. They can be an important stepping-stone in the process of building a strong relationship with your customers.

To discuss this and other topics about direct selling to customers, contact:
Fred McCaig on 0777 909 2107