Farmers’ Market – What You Think You Know

Hi Everyone,

Thank you for visiting our website and taking the time to read Rancho’s first blog post!

We are very excited about this topic, particularly since we are always asked, “How did you guys first start out?”. The simple answer to that question was at home in the kitchen, but the more complex version entails the Farmers’ Market. For many individuals trying to get started in the Food/Artisan/Craft industries, it is a very daunting task. Sure, when you have some friends or family over for dinner and you make that famous dip everyone likes, their first reaction is that they will certainly buy that item! However, the reality is that your recipe needs to cater for a larger demographic with many different taste pallets. The market provides an opportunity to pressure test your concept, allowing you to perfect your recipe for a wider consumer base. Not only do you get real time feedback from the general public, but you also get to test the level of awareness for your concept or product. What do we mean by concept? Well take kettle-corn popcorn for example, in Trinidad and Tobago many consumers are only accustomed to the regular butterfly popcorn we get at the movies or at bazaars, so engaging consumers at the Market can give you an idea of how much awareness the product has and the task ahead if you decide to continue pursuing the concept.

Norris Deonarine NAMDEVO Farmers’ Market – Macoya

Finally, I would like to talk about the commercialization of your concept and how the market fits into that scope as well. It may seem pretty straight forward, I have a product for sale and you (the consumer) tender money in exchange for that said product which you have a demand for. Well, the reality is very different from that text book example of the marketplace. The Farmers’ Market is an example of how the overall marketplace/economy operates at a basic level, the reality is that you are competing for the same consumers with a limited amount of disposable income. The art of selling and negotiation is now brought into the fray, whereby you would need to break through the clutter with a stand out display, try to empathize with your consumer and build rapport to close the deal. In reading the previous sentence, you would think to yourself that this is something out of a wall street movie with a broker closing high power deals. The truth is that even at the smallest/micro levels of the economy these traits are necessary in order to survive in the business place.

Personally, I am grateful to have started in the Macoya Farmers’ Market and even more so to live in a country whereby this facility was made available to us with basic infrastructure in place for FREE. That’s right, it is entirely free (for now) to take part in National Farmers’ Market. There are however a number of other non national Farmers’ Markets throughout Trinidad and Tobago which are not free, but cater for Artisan/Gourmet products and gives access to the niche market clientele where specialty items can be purchased. These are also very affordable and provides an avenue to grow not only entrepreneurship but creative thinking and innovation. In a country such as ours, where our economy is predominantly based on oil and gas revenues, the National and Private Farmers’ Markets throughout T&T gives a glimmer of hope towards diversification and food security.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank you again for visiting our blog, reading our post and would now like to invite you to post a comment or ask any questions you may have, to keep the discussion going.

Yours Truly,

The Rancho’s Team