How to Sell Produce Online
Why Sell Your Produce Online?
As a produce Farm business, you should look for ways to expand your reach within your local community. You may have an inventory of perishable, local goods, so it is crucial to find a customer base that will consistently purchase from you to keep your crops moving through your store. Sell produce online to access the 99% of Buyers who do not attend Farmer markets regularly with convenient purchasing options, streamlined inventory and a system to manage your orders, fulfillments and customer details. To be successful, it is imperative to find an eCommerce platform built for Farmers and best suited for your online produce store.
Whether you are a vegetable Farmer or a fruit Farmer, your operation needs to streamline your business efforts, align harvest dates with your fulfillment schedules, track payments and attract Pre-Orders. Ask yourself these questions to determine if selling online and using a Farm eCommerce can help you save time, access more customers and increase sales:
1. What Produce eCommerce Should I Use?
There are many solutions that offer an online platform for businesses to sell consumer product goods (e.g. shirts, purses, watches) and professional services (e.g. haircuts, salons, counseling). However, Farm products are unique with different harvest dates, shelf lives and packaging requirements, especially for perishable goods like fruits and vegetables. As a produce Farmer, it is important that you find an eCommerce platform built with your business in mind, with features specific to the industry. There is no ‘one size fits all’ eCommerce solution that is suitable for every product, service or goods. A Farmer must have a solution that offers various capabilities that make it easy and convenient to manage your products, and easy for your Buyers to shop and place an order.
Barn2Door offers patented, patent-pending and proprietary features such as Sell-by-Weight and Combined Inventory to make it simple for Farmers to keep track of their produce inventory and collect accurate payments for the full value of their products. With various pricing sheets available for different Buyer types, your Farm can offer a storefront to serve your wholesale produce customers, as well as retail consumers or private Buyers. Take multiple payment options online and in-person (with Barn2Door’s POS device), so you never miss out on a sale and have an efficient checkout process.
2. Who Should I Sell My Produce To ?
Retail Produce Sales
Consider all the groups within your community that want access to your products: retail, wholesale and private Buyers. Your retail produce Buyers may include individuals, couples or families within your community that are looking for a healthier alternative to the fruits and vegetables at the grocery store. It is wise to survey these groups to understand the best ways to price, package and fulfill your orders to make a purchase convenient, and a no-brainer for your community.
Offer various package sizes for your sustainable produce to best serve multiple household sizes, including 1, 2 and 4 person homes. This will give Buyers the option to choose what best suits their needs without creating decision fatigue or overwhelming them with too many items. Send emails to your local customers to buy produce online based on their purchasing habits and behaviors (e.g. first-time, loyal or infrequent customers), throwing in promos and Farm updates with your newsletters.
Wholesale Produce Sales
Your wholesale produce Buyers may include local grocers, chefs and schools. When selling produce to restaurants, consider how you need to price and package your items as opposed to smaller retail orders. You will need to provide wholesale pricing, tailored packaging options and a fulfillment schedule that will best fit the routines of these businesses. Offer bulk pricing incentives to ensure your profit margins are preserved, while growing your wholesale customer list. Make it easy by tracking all of your customers and orders through the Barn2Door platform.
Private Produce Sales
Your private produce Buyers could include buying clubs or loyal customers with limited or exclusive access to your fruits and vegetables (e.g. a CSA Subscription). Through Barn2Door, you can set up a private storefront on your eCommerce for high-demand or limited quantity items that are reserved for your best customers. Your private store can be marketed as an exclusive club that can only be “unlocked” when Buyers buy a specific product/subscription, or sign-up for early access to an item. Make Subscriptions more attractive by offering add-on products that can only be unlocked after signing on to a produce Subscription box.
3. How Do I Market My Produce Farm?
Produce Farm marketing will help you attract Buyers with efforts that have been proven effective for independent Farmers. There are various steps you can take online and in-person to expand your reach to increase sales.
Online Produce Marketing
Online, utilize platforms such as social media profiles, your Farm website and email newsletters. On your website, share your Farm story with pictures and text that describes who works on the Farm, how you got started in the industry and what products you grow. Then, link to your eCommerce site for easy access for Buyers to place an order.
Share information, entertaining stories and snippets of your daily life on the Farm on your social media platform to help build a relationship with Buyers and make them feel loyal to your Farm brand and products. Use keywords on your website and in your store for high-demand products, so your Farm improves search engine optimization when Buyers are researching online. Use attractive photos to entice customers and catch their attention across social platforms.
In-Person Produce Marketing
When you are marketing your produce products in your community, consider avenues to reach the most potential Buyers. Attend high-traffic Farmers’ Markets, partner with local businesses to sell your products in store, and place pick-up locations at local businesses, churches and schools to make fulfillments easy. When you market across your community, customers will find it simple to access your products, try new products from the farm and increase your visibility among potential new Buyers.
Place signage at all your market booths, pop-up events and pick-up locations to showcase your Farm brand and make your products memorable. Add a QR code on any signage, banners, flyers, bags and vehicles to link directly to your eCommerce Farm store to make it easy for customers to find you and make a purchase.
4. How Do I Manage Produce Fulfillments & Inventory?
Your produce inventory should be easy to shop, with purchase options that fit the needs of your local Buyers - from product mix, to fulfillments to package sizes. Offer Bundle Boxes to pair more produce together and move more items through your inventory. Consider partnering with a local protein or dairy Farm to add other attractive, complementary products to your mix and expand cart size. Utilize Subscriptions to lock in recurring orders and increase cash flow. Entice Buyers with weekly salad Subscription boxes, bi-weekly fruit & vegetable boxes or a mixed meat and veggies bundle.
Listen: Produce Packaging Basics
Limit the number of individual items to high-value items that can be unlocked with a Subscription, Bundle Box, or Pre-Order to entice Buyers to commit to your store to receive “exclusive” access to desirable products. Upsell any value-added products you make on the Farm or source from partners, such as fruit jams and preserves or salsas. These will make great gifts and offer cross-promotional opportunities to spread the word about your Farm. Value-added products also make valuable additions to Subscription boxes to further encourage sign-ups. Offer convenient delivery (for a fixed price) and pick-up locations (for free) within your community to make it easy for Buyers to get their orders. Consider what your community is searching for from your Farm (product mix, packaging size, etc.) to maintain loyalty among customers.
5. How Should I Price My Produce Products?
9 out of 10 Buyers are willing to pay more for sustainable Farm products, so market your sustainable produce and price them at a premium to improve your margins and increase your product value. Ensure that you are sharing your practices to grow sustainable produce on your Farm, as well as educating Buyers on the benefits (versus conventional products), highlighting your items as a healthier and more nutritional option. Buyers will then understand why they should pay more for sustainable fruits and vegetables, and you make it easy for them to shop and purchase your products. Incentivize your Subscription offerings by offering 10% off when Buyers pay upfront versus a pay-as-you-go model.
Charge a fixed delivery fee to ensure your labor and fuel costs are covered (even Amazon does this for food), and/or incentivize free delivery after a minimum purchase threshold (e.g. orders over $100). Run your numbers to ensure you are covering all of your operating and production costs and turning a profit. Do not be afraid to raise prices when necessary; your loyal Buyers value their relationship with you and will return to purchase.
Conclusion
Selling your Farm produce online enables you to access more Buyers, streamline and organize your operations, and make it convenient to reach your community. Ensure you research which Farm eCommerce platform will be the best fit for your Farm, with capabilities that are right-sized for your operation. Be sure you can serve multiple Buyer types with various functions, such as different storefronts, price lists and accepting multiple payment methods. Market to your community to increase brand awareness and attract sales, while managing your inventory and fulfillments with a solution built for Farmers.
Barn2Door offers software for Independent Farmers to create and promote their brand, sell online and in-person, and save time managing their business. If you’re curious to learn more, watch this 5-minute video.