Small Bites
May 4, 2022
creating opportunities to promote
& sell more VT products to more buyers
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Laying the groundwork for successful business relations rests on the assumption that everyone knows what's going on. As for the food world, & in particular the local food in a global environment it is hard to fully understand. The roles of farmers, food manufacturers, distributors, brokers, freight forwarders & retail food stores are each a complex association of people making each distinct business run.
How do farmers who raise the crops & the animals who tend to on-farm processing gain the best traction within the food system that aims to "increase" sales by buyers? Through professing trust, transparency & open communication of course! But does it really work that easily. No. Not always.
Why not? Well, there my friend, lies the conundrum of the local food system. Hear this out. We don't have the time or space to map all the complexities but here are a few realities that can mess with the process of getting more local food onto more shelves into more shopping carts. This comes to us directly from folks trying to gain sales at stores.
Shelf space: Buyers are looking to gain margin dollars with the perfect mix of product selection & pricing advantages (think distributor promotions). Product location can have a huge impact on sales & depending on the overall performance of the department, local food may or may not be given premium space for lack of contributing strongly to the category's margin. Better margin & even increased volume may be a contributing factor for the buyers' decision to not place your fabulous Vermont product at "eye level"
Communication of lost sales: What happens if your local product dips in sales? We'd like you to consider the variables we outline as the Bell Curve of Buying & Merchandising. Throughout the assessment of dropped sales you may find that stores participated in a national promotion directly linked to your product or category. Was a competing product given preferred pricing status, premium display space, heavy internal & external visibility? Your orders have dropped- something you had not planned for. Communicating with buyers can be a tight rope walk. Not wanting to dip too far for fear of losing future sales as a "pest" vendor. Using data helps.
Data Does Matter: For both stores & vendors, sales data matters. For a buyer you may have a DSD vendor approach you about dipped sales. They come to the table with their data showing a drop for a distinct period. In our scenario it coincides with a national product promotion. You can discuss the vendor data & see that the local food sales decreased. This can help create a strong communication framework because it is based on dollars & reduces emotions.
Local Food Paradox: Stores say "YES!" Customers say "YES!" Store philosophy says "YES".... But category, department or overall store margin says "whoa"- we need lower price perception & better margins which are often available through distributor contracts & vendor terms. Grocery stores operate on razor thin margins & they compete in an exceedingly complex world of shopper preferences. When our local producers (farmers & food manufacturers) have strong relations with stores, it helps our overall local economy flow. However, touting relationships & community is not enough. By diving into how each sector makes its money, we can build a stronger that fosters our local economy within the global framework of complex variables.
Read on info on store retooling, products, resources & big picture stuff.
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A new produce cooler is already cranking out higher sales at the Buffalo Mountain Market
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Growth @ Buffalo Mountain MKT
Through a "new" manager just prior to the pandemic, the Coop has been hard at work to address the full needs of the community. From all the trials & tribulations that covid brought, the community rallied to make significant changes to blend two stores.
Cooperatively owned distributor AGNE, has provided immense support fast-tracking the move to the re-tooled & revitalized Village Market space. One of the early tasks was upgrading the Produce Department with a new cooler & refreshing the merchandising & product selection. What has happened is part of the thrill-ride. Sales have significantly increased with the new attention to detail. This bodes well for the time in June when the two stores complete the final merger.
A huge shout out to GM Emily Hershberger for spearheading the project & the staff of both stores for stepping up & undertaking the project with renewed vitality. Congratulations to the NEW Buffalo Mountain Market!
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Seasonal Transitions
Now that it is Spring, farmers are prepping fields for new plantings for summer & fall harvest.
Morningstar Meadows in Glover was thrilled to plant 17 acres of wheat before the rain fell this week. That is pure joy for farmers as it winds down its inventory. Their dry beans & flour are bulk department staples at coops & independent stores across the state. Cafes that include local ingredients provide an opportunity to create signature dishes & promote the relationships to their shoppers.
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Jakes Market Old North End in BTV, & its "older relative" Jake's Queechee Market support Vermont producers by purchasing through Vermont distributors. Long known for building relationships with their customers they also take care to do so with their truck drivers, sales reps, & DSD producers. The owner loves creating community at both of their stores.
" I often describe Jake’s ONE as a modern and responsive general store. Growing up in a small town, the general store was an important part of the community."
-James K
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The South Royalton Coop has just completed a fabulous reset with all hands on deck. The team worked so diligently in the cleaning, resetting of new shelves & re-merchandising. The changes to new shelving & the reworking of space for a refreshed bulk department will provide an improved shopping experience. The buyers will continue to promote VT products with strong product placement while navigating the balance of "national product promos". Congratulations & well-done team SORO!
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For the Beverage Cooler
It is no surprise to stores or beverage manufacturers that there is serious competition in this category. The nationals (think Coke & Pepsi as a starting point)
have their hands in every piece of the pie. The drivers are geniuses at copping space for all their brands. It takes diligence for store buyers to manage the "shelf creep" & to support local brands.
It is a challenge to build the momentum to go up against the BIG TWO. Think chicken & egg: Distributors like proven sales to bring on new companies yet it can be hard to penetrate the market without strong capital behind you to build sales incrementally through self- distribution.
Surely it is not impossible to gain market access. Stores can assist our emerging brands with optimal product placement on shelves & promotions through all possible media & merchandising. So, help the emerging brands build their mojo.
Speaking of growing brands, have you seen the just released Aqua Vitea Seltzer? It is probiotic, organic, & with a favorable lower price point. Check it out!
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Community Connections
From The Genny: Everyone Eats
For the first time, VT Everyone Eats is seeking state funding. Up until now the program has been 100% funded by federal dollars from FEMA. While it's anticipated that FEMA will continue to support VEE as part of VT's covid response, they will be transitioning from 100% reimbursement to 90% reimbursement, which means we need to identify 10% to come from somewhere else. We are asking lawmakers to authorize $1.8M, which in turn could bring home $17M from FEMA. The $1.8M is currently written into bill S.11, and now all lawmakers need to do is vote for it!
Find your legislator here:
Many readers of Small Bites participated in Everyone Eats & knows first-hand the values espoused through the community connections & the ability to continue to operate store cafes & prepared meals programs at our stores.
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Red House Sweets
sourcing sells wholesale to stores, farmstands & cafes. Based in St Albans
they have a legion of fans for their perfectly flaky croissants & vegan
chocolate chip cookies along with other delectable treats! Round out your baked
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Receiving local products from locally owned Lesser Distribution, at the Richmond Market
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Balancing Act: Product Mix
Here at the Richmond Market, a member of the AGNE fleet of stores, the receiver is checking in an order of Myers Bagels delivered by Lesser Distribution an independent distributor with distinct routes of product pick-up & sales to stores.
When it comes to balancing product mix, buyers can struggle to meet the needs of their customers while evaluating pricing, product availability, & department margin metrics & the values & ethos of their store. As noted above, it is not always an easy set of decisions to make.
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Balancing Retail & Wholesale
Happy Bird Poultry Farm way up in the very NW corner of VT are getting their retail store ready for the onslaught of summer folks. Many will come down from Canada, others from just about anywhere to spend time in the magic of Isle La Motte. As the only store on the island, they do a booming business with their curated line of farm-produced or purchased inventory of primarily local products.
With inter-state travel rising, Ember & Stacey are full tilt boogie getting their chicken to wholesale markets while prepping for the seasonal uptick in retail sales. If you are not familiar with their wholesale chicken check them out. Delivery is available DSD to select stores along their route. Contact them for product details & shipping routes.
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Stores in every corner of the state have fantastic cheese departments. We hear over & over that an informed buyers can drive sales. And how informed distributors help drive the sales too.
Some of the way buyers get info is through the VT Cheese Council website & in-person events which are being planned again for 2022. Distributors- most notably Provisions International excels at selling VT cheese with information from the dedicated sales team.
Our cheese producers also sell a heck of a lot of cheese to independent stores & coops via DSD. Stan at MT Mansfield Creamery, is known for his cheese, his love of skiing, & delivering cheese by motorcycle on gorgeous days. The MMC website shares info on each cheese to help store cheese departments sell with confidence. Mad River Taste Place in Waitsfield is an easy ride (think motorcycle DSD) from Morrisville & lucky for Stan- MRTP is a huge seller of many varieties from MT Mansfield Creamery!
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Farmer Retail News & Stuff
"Cashflow in" is a big thing this week with Mother's Day coming up. Across Vermont farms & stores are gearing up for sales of garden bedding plants, cut flowers, specialty products, delectable treats & wine.
At Clear Brook Farm, they have been seeing "cashflow out" for a few months prepping for this week & leading up to all the vital plant sales that come every May. By now, pretty much all farmstands are buffed up having & undertaken retail auditing processes & procedures as part of Spring cleaning.
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Does your farmstand sell health & beauty products from "gateway" producers in your community? If not, consider ordering from Free Verse Farm for their herbal body care products, or Elmore Mountain Utility Balm. Your customers (or staff!) will love them all. Across the state there are dozens of farm-based small operations that can help round out your farmstand inventory.
If you want to reward your farm team with a monthly bonus-how about dosing them with Natural Patches of Vermont aromatherapy applications; there is nothing like a Friday evening or post farmers market herbal boost.
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It's not pretty
Direct conversation with manufacturers paints a bit of a bleak picture for obtaining parts, pieces & assembly of both food & non-food consumer packaged goods.
The current cause of stress is that all Shanghai ports have stopped shipping. 100% halt. That's HUGE for the US economy where so much of what is needed to bring products to market are sourced in China. The rough road of the pandemic is long & dirty. Look for months-long delays & adjust your projections & price impacts accordingly.
Through updating our food manufacturing database, we spoke with one company who has completely changed their products in response to packaging shortages. They have bottles but absolutely no caps to fit them. They are still in the process of retooling their business to a model that they fully intend will be less anxiety & less pressure, & less sales initially.
For our larger businesses across all sectors, supply-chain managers & facilitators are quitting in droves due to the high levels of stress & unyielding demands of budget & sales projections. In our existing employment nightmare, this is another thing that is not pretty.
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Are you a food manufacturer? Are you stumped about how to land on store shelves? Are you confounded by all there is to learn to gain traction?
May we suggest checking out some of the services of Alli Ball Consulting. She offers free or fee for services. As a former store category buyer, she shares loads of info through multiple channels including a podcast. Her useful info can help folks better understand the consumer products & retail landscape.
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Farm & Food Partner Links
Farm Retail Licenses
VAAFM is responsible for licensing a variety of items found in retail stores & farmstands you might not connect with agriculture. There are many retailers not aware of the requirement to license in order to sell or use certain devices. Take some time & check out the Agency's Library for details.
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Have you ever wondered what it must be like to be an economist with the FDA? Well now you can know one man's experience in navigating the behemoth. Fixing Food has landed & is available through your independent bookstore
or the interlibrary loan service of VT libraries. For those who wish to dive
into the complexities & the behind the scenes perspective- this is for you!
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Small Bites comes to you via USDA & High Meadows grants. Content is created for farmers, food manufacturers, distributors, grocers to increase VT food sales
Contact: Annie H Harlow
smallbites802@gmail.com
Unless otherwise noted, photo credits are from company social media, websites or Annie Harlow
New Yorker Cheese cartoon illustrated by Jana Rajan
All info is subject to change; thank you to all the who contributed to this issue!
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