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This fact sheet provides key strategies for marketing local foods based on demographic trends seen in recent scholarly literature.
Agricultural tourism increases the potential for on-farm sales with value-adding products and services, further diversifying the farm operation's product line. There are three agritourism basics: have something for visitors to see, something for them to do, and something for them to buy. This publication covers all elements of planning a successful agritourism enterprise, including business planning, marketing, learning legal rules and regulations, assessing risk and safety considerations, and considering customer satisfaction.
Social media usage is at an all time high, with the majority of individuals older than 18 saying they regularly use platforms like Facebook and YouTube. More than 60% of adults ages 18 to 29 routinely use Instagram, TikTok, and Snapchat. This means that one of the most effective ways to market local food to all age groups, and Millennials and Generation Z in particular, is through social media. Age, however, is not the only demographic to consider when marketing local food. Data also shows that gender plays a significant role in social media usage; women are more likely to use platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok than men regardless of their age. Agents should consider this when using social media and should focus on marketing to female consumers–a demographic that has already been shown to have favorable opinions of local food. Marketing local food is important for Extension agents who work in the local food space because N.C. Cooperative Extension’s purpose is to support agriculture and the people of North Carolina. The following is a set of best practices for social media usage to promote local food.
This publication provides basic information for small or medium-scale North Carolina egg producers to start marketing their products to retail stores.
PLU and UPC codes are two widely used tracking mechanisms that help retailers efficiently ring produce into the register in the checkout lane, track sales, control inventory, and market products. Being knowledgeable about these labels in advance of approaching a retailer shows a grower’s awareness of the retailer’s industry. This factsheet contains information adapted from the Produce Marketing Association (Produce Marketing Association 2013).
This publication explains how microentrepreneurs can use emerging web-based marketplaces to sell services, goods, and experiences to untapped markets.
This chapter of the North Carolina Organic Commodities Production Guide offers information on marketing organic grains.
Online sales can benefit tech-savvy local food producers who are looking for an emerging way to connect with consumers. There are multiple online sales platforms that can help ease the administrative burden of direct-to-consumer sales and help with online marketing to reach consumers. Here is a list of resources that farmers can utilize and a list of questions to consider when thinking about adopting an online platform. With the growing popularity of online shopping, producers should consider becoming involved in online sales to consumers as a strategy to make their agribusiness more resilient.
Agritourism – also known as farm tourism, agri-tainment, agricultural tourism, or agrotourism – has a long history in America. Because of the generation gap between farm and non-farm families, the demand for a slower paced farm experience has now become the catalyst for farm-based recreation to become an important business. Agritourism has become a tool that has a direct economic impact on farms and the surrounding communities.
This guide summarizes marketing options for grain and soybean growers and explains how to use basis, the difference between cash and futures prices, to evaluate marketing options.
This factsheet provides guidance to Extension agents on best practices when dealing with media like newspapers, magazines, or local news.
This factsheet describes important considerations for developing an effective marketing plan to promote an agritourism business.
The basis of any promotional program is product excellence. If your product or operation is excellent, promotion will enhance your sales. If your product is poor, all the advertising in the world will not help. This publication offers some suggestions for promoting your agritourism business.
This survey was conducted online from June 30, 2019 to July 15, 2019 to ask muscadine fresh-market growers about heir largest issues of concern. Marketing and consumer education as well as the development of extended seasons through new breeding material were among the highest ranked priorities for muscadine growers in NC.
