21 Jul Tue 2009
Can't Get This at a Store
I recently received my copy of Gene Logsdon's Small-Scale Grain Raising, 2nd ed. (2009, originally 1977). Besides the info on raising various grains, there are recipes to encourage people to get out and grow some of their own grain. I tried the soy milk recipe the last two nights and it is quite delicious. Last night I was up until 11:00 pm, finishing off a triple batch, so Toni and I would have soy milk for several days. Since it takes quite a bit of time to make and this is my busiest time of the year, it really doesn't pencil out costwise compared to soy milk from Costco. However, as I exclaimed this morning, "You can't get this at a store!"
Suddenly, I realized how effective this simple phrase can be. I am not much of a marketer, as my base assumption is that marketing is all about manipulation, so I have gravitated towards talking about taste and nutrition with potential customers, rather than establishing a "brand" that is cool and hip. As with the soy milk made in the kitchen, my customers cannot get produce as high quality as mine in a food store, even in a co-op or natural foods store that try to sell high quality products. For my customers in turn, they can grow their own produce on their own land or in containers that should be of higher quality (for them) than mine. Thus we are back to the 3 levels of risk management and quality (the two are inextricably linked). 1) Grow some of your own food - it is good for you and you have more control over the safety. 2) Buy from local farmers you trust - they want you to be satisfied and can grow items you may not be able to. 3) Make choices at the food store - we vote with our dollars and choosing clean, nutritious food helps both yourself and the system at large.
Having worked for a bunch of years in a University business department, I quite readily agree that much of modern marketing is about manipulation. But it doesn't have to be. It can be about providing your (potential) customers with information about your product, giving them reasons for buying your product, summing up these ideas in a slogan (like "You can't get this at a store!"). For an independent farmer like yourself, it seems to me that marketing is more important than ever, if you are not going to just sell to the corporate wholesaler, if you want to direct-sell to retail customers.