There is Much to Celebrate at Our Retail Stores!
2022 was another amazing year for the South Royalton Market & reason to recently gather in celebration. Sales grew just under 10% from the previous year. Two new eight-foot coolers were added, taller shelving in grocery, & a major reset to the bulk department helped generate the sales.
Newly installed automatic doors had been a challenge, but kinks have been worked out. Delivery drivers & customers with limited mobility are thankful to not have to struggle with old, heavy, wooden doors. For 2023, a new energy efficient 6-door dairy cooler & refinished floors are slated as big upgrades.
At the Springfield Food Coop, celebrations in another form have been going on. Congratulations & well wishes have been shared with Neomi Lauritsen on her upcoming retirement. She led the Coop through years of growth. Through her leadership the store has a significant local food purchasing program. Long term customers appreciate the results of a years-long move to a new, upgraded location in 2021 (during a pandemic). Her vibrant personality & willingness to share her insights helped build the strong community market while supporting vendors grow their brands, create a professional ethos for staff, & build alliances with local & statewide organizations.
The greater coop & business community wishes her all the best with multiple gatherings of celebration up to her last day, February 20. Farm to Plate wishes Neomi well as she settles into her new role as general manager, retired.
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Expanding & Emerging Brands: So Much to Learn
Bringing new products to market has a lot of learning curves. Going beyond the 'perfection' of the recipe one must engage in getting products on shelves. There are so many variables to creating the sales you are setting as your goals.
Below, Giacomo of Trenchers Farmhouse showcases new packaging & sharing samples as a marketing strategy. Their pasta is made exclusively from Vermont grains & their own farm-raised eggs. They work with NEK Grains & Nitty Gritty Grains for grains to make their superior pastas.
At the retail level, it helps new brands be given some 'preferential" exposure which can provide a boost in product recognition. This can foster product inventory turns while giving the vendor a positive step in their growth & providing return sales for the store. "New Product" signage, prominent product placement, demos, & samples are some of the ways stores support new vendors. Through advertising or marketing shout-outs stores help support new & expanding brands.
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As businesses grow, changes in production schedules occur when moving to new facilities. This impacts staffing, sales, & cashflow. A move to a new location requires clear communication with DSD stores & of course with distributors & even locally sourced ingredient vendors. When there are disruptions in production it is imperative to offer clear timeline for going offline & the expected return to delivery schedules.
The Springfield Coop has a long relationship with Yalla Yalla organic hummus locally made organic hummus. They gave a big shout via social media that there will be a short pause in delivery due to the move to a new facility. And this week at the Middlebury Coop, Yalla Yalla received prominent merchandising in a standalone cooler to help drive sales & push inventory along. By being informed by the producer that a change is imminent, stores can do much to help inform customers & filling space temporarily until it returns.
The goal of growth is expanding sales at existing & bringing on new accounts. Communication is a part of the process to maintain sales & not lose out when production schedules change.
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Keep Your Eyes Peeled
Speaking of expanding brands & moving to new locations Krin's Bakery is in the middle of a move. They have been cranking out high quality baking for decades & are strategically growing their business. With a move into the new production facility, comes the challenge of relocating production creating gaps in sales. Informing stores that of a gap means a shift in production, delivery, & cash flow
Krin’s brand was built from humble farmers’ market beginnings, through online direct to consumer shopping. Supported by area stores including Sweet Clover Market in Essex which will readily restock the macaroons, cupcakes & more when production returns in the new location.
This year Krin’s is gearing up to service a wider distribution area in Vermont & adjoining states. The products are currently available through Kathy Killam, Lesser Distribution, & DSD. Other avenues of distribution are in consideration. 2023 is the icing on the cake so to speak. Congratulations for the expansion & your truly wonderful products! Krin's will be back better than ever after a short relocation-gap in production.
As mentioned Yalla Yalla, Trenchers Farmhous,e & Krin's are expanding sales & distribution ranges are slated to grow. Stores looking to expand Vermont product lines have these companies to consider.
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Haymaker Bun Company in Middlebury, along with four other VT businesses, is a semi-finalist for James Beard Awards. This is a wonderful honor to receive. Check out the VT Digger shout out on the five food & beverage companies gaining national (& international!) recognition.
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Food Service Pack Size Available!
Butterworks Farm, makers of fabulous yogurt are also key producers of buttermilk sold in food service & retail pack sizes. In prepared meals programs at stores & farm-based gatherings the larger size can be the base for signature 'ranch-style' dressing for salads or a key ingredient for farm-made fried chicken & biscuits. Of course, many baked goods can utilize buttermilk too. Create multiplier effect recipes at your cafe or your farm dinner extravaganzas. This larger size serves food service folks who are looking to make Vermont-based signature dishes.
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Sharing video links is common, & it's not only on TikTok. Lenny's has been taking a cool approach in their marketing by cross-promoting with working-lands folks. Boston Post Dairy showed off their operation while featuring the rugged boots & work clothes they buy through Lenny's. Catch the 'Essential Collaboration' here!
Have you been catching the Rocket in Vermont videos? Here is one of his videos, that has fun bits of Springfield's history & great shout-outs for the Springfield Coop & Vermont Wagyu Beef. Well done Rocket, keep 'em coming!
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The Lincoln General Store recently did renovations their walk in cooler, but not before posting that they wanted folks to help reduce their inventory. Many hands make light work, so the community took heed & helped them reduce inventory before the renovation.
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Busy Days: The Heart of a Distribution Warehouse
Store loading docks can be hugely busy scenes. So can distribution centers & warehouses where products come in through loading docks geared to receiving. Often there is a second area for trucks to be loaded for delivery.
In between is the heart & soul of moving products from one area of a warehouse to another. Products need to be accurately received then precisely slotted while also put into the data management system: i.e., inventory, sales, & accounting programs so products can be sold & paid for within established terms.
Technology plays a huge role in the logistics of buying & selling food which of course includes efficient logistics software to save driver time, fuel, & allow for efficient shipping via BOL or cross docking on any given day.
Weaving pickups & freight services into delivery routes is an art & a science. It delicately balances vendor expectations for pickup & meeting the windows of opportunity at store loading docks.
Saving time at receiving while making sure food efficiently gets out on the sales floor is a store’s priority, yet the process can be rather intense with many details with numerous daily deliveries.
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Down on the Farm This Week
Maple operations were cranking this week with the high temperatures & cool nights. Bunker Farm in Dummerston had their wood fired operation going full tilt. Here is a video from last year to show you a window into their maple. The farm store features their syrup, meat, & in Spring a robust flower business raising all the plants from seeds selected for our northern growing regions.
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Wayward Goose Farm in West Pawlet, has seriously steamy compost & the pigs clearly enjoyed the warm sunshiny temps!
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Farmers as Retailers
This week Crossmolina Farm's Cookeville Market in the heart of West Corinth, opened after a January break. They are ready to serve the community with their farm-raised meat & produce dovetailed with a mix of fabulous VT products purchased from distributors & DSD. As participants in the Farmer as Retailer Winter Session they are giving as much as they are receiving.
Below is a picture of their melding of "old-time Vermonting" (note the cash register), along with the latest in streamlined cash & accounting through Square technology. Check out more pictures of the farm store here.
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Maple Wind Farm in Richmond is thrilled to have received their brand new up-right meat display freezer. They are upgrading their retail space to focus sales at the retail level. Just look at these smiling farm workers happy to have moved the equipment in & looking ahead to stocking it with pasture-raised organic meat.
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Winter Training Sessions
Coming up, a 6 week session for food stores to meet & cover pertinent topics, problem solve, & join in sharing good practices to learn from each other. Stay tuned for the upcoming details!
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Coming up soon!
12th Annual Local Food Trade Show of New England on March 1st in Wayland, MA. 65 of the most enticing local food products from throughout New England. Stores & distributors seeking to expand their regional products are encouraged to attend.
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Business Services & Grants
There are a number of great organizations & businesses supporting the healthy growth of our farm & food enterprises. With growth comes a lot of new responsibilities. Now more than ever, there are business support services to help with organization, accounting, & marketing.
Brahva Virtual Assistant eases your workload. Great for email management, scheduling calls with clients, business cards, copy for blogs, websites & much more!
Mercy Connections has business & entrepreneurial coaching & support services for women. They offer a number of free workshops ranging from branding to bookkeeping.
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Compliance Matters
Weights & Measures is hosting scale inspection events around the state during April for anyone who uses scale(s) at farmers’ markets or farm stands to sell produce or other commodities. This testing is required by law. Plan to attend one of the inspection sites listed here. Bring your legal for trade scale & any accessories that you use with it for weighing items for sale.
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February the Start of
Greenhouse Season!
Good Heart Farm in Worcester, VT is so happy to have 10 hours of daylight. Work in the greenhouses are cranking as 10 is a magic number for farmers, since plants need at least 10 hours of daylight to grow. The tipping point came at beginning of the month, and they starting to feel the energy of increasing sunlight in the greenhouses, hence many crops are now seeded in.
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Greenhouses are busy across the state. Maybe just beginning to crank up the heat to start the season, or simply cleaning out & prepping, but these long days are game changers in Vermont. The Sudsey Goat has its lisianthus flower starts well underway. It takes about 6 months from seed to become bouquets.
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