Building A Consumer Connection
The last 100 years has seen vegetable growers become much more
marketing savvy.
By Laura Drotleff
Senior Staff Writer
MARKETING is one of the most important, yet also one of the most neglected areas of the produce business. Over the past 100 years, marketing has evolved from signage to e-mail newsletters and from roadside stands to full-blown, crop-specific festivals and celebrations. Growers have moved beyond a production-only mentality to become very creative marketers of vegetable crops and value-added vegetable products. The following factors have contributed to the importance placed upon marketing and subsequently, increased consumption of vegetables.
Two-Income Families
One hundred years ago, vegetable marketing was largely a backyard or truck farming business, according to Russ Tronstad, specialist and professor in the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics at the University of Arizona. In the 1950s and 60s, households often bought vegetables in bulk for canning purposes, and price was a driving factor. As women began to pursue full-time careers outside the home, the importance of price waned and quality became a higher priority than quantity.
"For better or worse, families transitioned from one-income to two-income households, in which both parents worked outside the home and had higher incomes," Tronstad says. "Truck farmers in the 50s and 60s have told me they really saw a shift from people looking to buy the low price to moreso the quality attributes - the quality of the produce mattered more than the pricing points, and in some cases, the buying experience is higher in priority than price."
Today, as consumers buy vegetables more for fresh consumption and assurances of food safety, quality is of utmost importance. Tronstad says this is one reason why organic produce is becoming such a focus - because consumers view organic as the highest standard in food quality and safety.
Marketing health aspects of fresh produce versus canned or frozen vegetables also has played a part in increasing fresh consumption, Tronstad adds.
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Better Availablilty
Diversification has been a huge aspect of produce marketing, Tronstad says. The growing availability of a wide variety of vegetable crops in the grocery store is one area that has improved vegetable consumption tremendously over the years.
"Having produce that can compete with what is in the grocery store 24/7/365 is what the consumer wants," Tronstad says. "For example, just 20 years ago, citrus used to be the sole fruit in the stores in the winter months. But anymore, citrus is such a small part of the store with produce being sourced from all over. The produce is available now, so consumers are buying and eating it on a fresh basis."
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Branding
Whereas 30 to 40 years ago, few companies offered produce year round, such as Del Monte and other big brands, today more branding has occurred with companies that offer more year-round produce. Thus, year-round producers will invest more in their logo and creating an identity to attract more repeat purchase customers, Tronstad says.
"In the truck gardening days, you were there for a season and then gone, and I think customers would associate quality with the face behind it," he says. "Some of that still goes on today in the farmers markets in that there isn’t as much of a need for a brand name recogniation as there is face recognition from one year to the next, such as in the example of a roadside stand."
Branded campaigns, such as the work done by the Produce For Better Health Foundation on its "Fruits & Veggies-More Matters" campaign also has created recognition and awareness among consumers about the health benefits of several daily servings of fresh produce.
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The Internet
The rise and popularity of the Internet has played a big role in high-tech produce marketing. Having a Web site is one of the most critical tools for vegetable growers today, according to Jane Eckert, owner of Eckert AgriMarketing. "Many farmers don’t embrace the idea of building their own Web site, but the Internet is, in fact, where most people are getting their information today," Eckert says. "The younger generations who want to come out to local farms for the experience are not subscribing to newspapers - they are getting their information from the Internet and to be competitive, farms need to have a good Web site."
Growers should not feel they have to do it all themselves, however. If marketing is not a strong suit and production is the larger focus, it is important to enlist a family member who is marketing savvy, or hire a professional, to take over marketing.
"We have to become more tech-savvy," Eckert says. "Growers have to understand that when they get a customer, they need to communicate regularly with them, so I believe that electronic or e-newsletters are an important part of the marketing component. It’s about really targeting urban customers that they need to know when crops are ready to be picked and when you have specials. having a Web site connected with an e-mail newsletter are two things that run hand-in-hand as far as being really important."
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Agritourism
What was once direct farm marketing is now agritourism, defined by Eckert as the combination of the two most vital industries in most states - agriculture and tourism. She encourages growers to partner and attend tourism meetings, and market their locations as tourist attractions in the state.
"Tourism people are responsible for marketing your local area and they need attractions to sell," Eckert says. "A farm is a local attraction, so now you have someone else spending their money to put you on the Internet, send your visitors guids, put you on the racks in the welcome centers and get you launched to a far larger audience than a farm could if they tried to market themselves. Making the tourism connection reginally and within your state is very imporant - The farmers who have maximized those relationships sing their praises."
Agritourism is growing in many suburban and rural areas in recent years, Eckert says, because it offers an emotional and innocent appeal.
"People want a new experience - an escape from the stress of traffic jams, office cubicles, and carpooling," she says. "Parents want their children to know how food is grown. Families enjoy a drive to the country and spending the day together, especially in these times."
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The Media
The consumer media can be a both a grower’s worst enemy and his best friend. Though well-publicized food safety scares have wreaked havoc on crops in recent years, the media is also becoming more responsive to doing feel-good stories about farm marketing and agritourism, says Eckert.
"The media now is also helping retail direct farm marketing to increase and whether it be retail or the whole buy local, buy fresh message going on everywhere now, all of that is really helping and fostering the ability for farmers to grow their businesses," she says. "Growers still have to have some marketing savvy about how to get their message out to the media, by taking advantage of free publicity and writing press releases. But the media has been very helpful."
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