Small Bites August 4, 2021
dedicated to creating opportunities to promote & sell more VT products to more buyers
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General Stores:
Backbones in our Communities
We all know the iconic architecture. It has been the center piece of communities for over 200 years. Across the state, stores have adapted to the whims of change, while buildings have mostly "just been there" with few updates or renovations which even in the best of times can be hard to recoup. Add to that a pandemic with its many twists & turns. Selling food locally within a community while also trying to maintain the building from deterioration is hard.
Historic community stores across the state have taken many routes to stay or reopen. In Albany, the store was in a sense reclaimed through the efforts of a local community- based nonprofit & run by the team at the Genny (formerly known as the Craftsbury General Store). In East Calais another community endeavor is playing out too to reclaim the old general store in the town center.
Meanwhile store ownership changes in the small communities of Ripton, Jamaica & East Poultney were handed over to individual buyers not affiliated with nonprofit trusts. These stores are working to invest in the physical infrastructures of the buildings recognizing money invested is hard to recoup on tight operating margins.
Old buildings always need to be invested in. Structural renovation in addition to new refrigeration equipment & enhanced lighting are ongoing costs. Efficiency Vermont offers renovation & construction support, audits & rebates which have helped stores, but the needs go beyond that.
Sometimes the old stores' character is what is appealing, until it’s not. Driving traffic requires the intersection of product selection in a space that is safe & comfortable. Here lies the conundrum of store owners: investing in upgrades are costly, creating product selection to match customer needs while merchandising in less than adequate spaces to create a repeat customer experience.
The Preservation Trust of Vermont, recognizes the historical nature of community while looking ahead to the relocalization efforts due to our current climate emergency. Through Village Revitalization Grants & Revolving Loans, they are bridging the past with current & future economic viability. A focused re-investment in our building structures along with complementary services including Farm to Plate's retail support services, helps support community stores as outlets for local products.
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West River Provisions, formerly the Jamaica General Store is assiduously promoting their inhouse baking for locals & their vibrant summer traffic.
This is one of our classic old stores richly entrenched in the community. Generations upon generations have heard the slam of the old door & the creaking of the floor along with the scent of the old building, entwined with the freshly baked goods.
The pandemic has increased prepared foods helping many of our stores to remain viable. In Jamaica, the old store, under new ownership is meeting their community needs while introducing more VT products & expanded services featured in mouth-watering promotions via instagram & facebook.
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Product Highlights
It’s been a stressful spell for all of us in different ways. Looking at some VT products to help keep us content we feature a few farm-based tonics. These are all the rage across the state. A few that come to mind this week:
Vermont Elderberry located in Putney, produces cordials & tonics sold to stores DSD, online & at farmers markets
Sisters of Anarchy Aronia & Elderberry syrups made with their fruit juices combined Marquette wine grapes, & VT crystallized honey. Contact them for wholesale details.
Last Resort Farm producers of Elderberry & Fire Tonic Cider selling from their farmstand & at farmers' markets in the Champlain Valley.
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Today's Beverage Highlight
Carrier Coffee in cans from their flagship location in Northfield, freshly roasted beans & canned coffee are available to stores & farmstands DSD.
In Waitsfield, at the Von Trapp Farmstead store they love the canned coffee so much they pick it up. They do this when they are on their existing delivery route selling their own
keep adventurers & the environment free of broken glass while supporting a
favorite summer “chill-down” beverage!
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Located in Waterford, Eddie's Bakery celebrates 65 years in business! Known for their hand-cut maple donuts, they are sold to stores around Vermont & a top seller at Sweet Clover Market in Essex. Congratulations to your longevity & your fabulous recipes! The maple donuts are ridiculous & their cookies a fan favorite as well! You aren't in the know? You'd best get on board & contact them now!
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Chilling out this week
Just over the border from Rupert in NY is the Battenkill Creamery. As a family-owned operation with a herd of milkers & on-farm processing they create a line of premium products from their own milk. They are recipients of a distinguished award for NY's top dairy.
Along with their dairy operation & delivery service, they have a farm store that sells Vermont products including Cabot & Maplebrook Farm cheese. For farm stores in the SW corner of Vermont, Battenkill provides a selection of premium ice cream to enhance sales. Our stores sell their products. Their store sells our products. That is how a regional food shed works! Wayward Goose Farm is one of the many farm stores connected to the local food shed.
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Promotion Partnership
Distributing is partnering with Snow Farm Winery for a give-back program to the Vermont Fresh Network. For all bottles of Marquette & Naked Mermaid sold, Farrell will donate $1 back to the network. Plan a display to support this valuable mutually beneficial promotion!
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"The recycling market is a commodities market and can be volatile. And, recycling has become extremely expensive for municipal governments. The idea behind the Maine (and Oregon laws) is that, with sufficient funding, more of what gets thrown away could be recycled instead of dumped in landfills or burned in incinerators.
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Senator Leahy. Listen to the Senator's recognition of the importance of historic buildings & the work of Paul Bruhn who helped save our old general stores, grange halls, & barns across the state. The grants help preserve & maintain our historic buildings & appeal to locals & travelers.
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At the Ripton Country Store, you can almost hear the old screen door slam, the floors creak & the scents that drew the old pup in! |
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Relocalizing our Communities:
a Multitude of Factors
As noted, our stores located in historic structures are challenged by the 'math" of running small community stores.
We always remind our readers that your product mix has to match your customer's needs. Included in this is the product mix, the pricing, store ethos, & overall service provided by staff & owners.
Our local distributors have a range of products & services to help stores create a formula for success. Most have sales teams offering a slate of services & they have programs in place to assist with merchandising. Though sometimes you must be a squeaky wheel to keep guide them to your needs, especially if you are a small store
Our smaller solo operator distributors, such as Lesser, use their institutional knowledge to help stores stock appropriate products. Again, this may be based on pricing or even choosing appropriate pack sizes of products. Informing stores of the Farm to Plate Retail Services is not uncommon as part of their mission to increase sales to stores.
By having a balanced product mix, stores can best meet their customer needs. As we know, when producers sell DSD they may not fully understand their margins & that the store must capture margins too. The NOFA wholesale report can be a useful tool in helping producers (& stores) to better understand variables in retail food sales. Farm to Plate supports the re-reading of that network report & distribution cost calculating tool for farmers & food manufacturers.
For our community stores to regain vitality requires utilizing distributor support services, better understanding the cost factors & of course learning who your customer is & evolving your products & services to best meet their needs.
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Last week we posted a wonderful bee poster first seen at Clear Brook Farm in Shaftsbury. Since then the requests for it have been coming our way!
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With zucchini season well on its way, what lies ahead for 2021? We've had much more rain this July than we did last year, so time will tell.
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Northshire Grown Direct, based in Dorset is an online CSA providing fresh produce & locally sourced products to its community. It evolved to meet the needs during the early stages of the pandemic & is still going strong.
It is with the help of all the Bennington & Mettowee Valley pollinators that the bags of produce are luscious! Picked at peak perfection, field heat is removed at harvest. All the growers selling through NGD create a fabulous outlet to buy locally through a network run by a team of women volunteers well known & respected in their community.
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Summer Farmstand Sales
Across the state we have had a wild ride with the recent rain where Westminster West received up to 20 inches in July. Some farms are struggling with flooding. There is a lot of fungal & insect infestations affecting whole crops such as onions. Also reported are low pollination rates because of lack of sunny days. This will result in less yields & potentially higher wholesale pricing.
Farmstands are doing a banner business with summer traffic still running quite high. Products brought in through local distributors & DSD are strong sellers. It is surmised that our 84% vaccination rate contributes to strong tourism sales.
In Rupert at the Wayward Goose Farm store everything from local producers is selling well. Soap, Yoder Farm Tonic & yogurt made from their milk by the folks at Ice House Farm are some desired products this summer. This well merchandised store uses signage to help drive sales, along with a super clean shop & great lighting. Purchasing local products & merchandised with good signage supports the entire community by meeting the needs of their loyal shoppers.
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Produce merchandising pointers:
Because we cannot NOT drive this point home: Always stock your freshest, most vibrant produce. Do not wait for old product to sell before putting out the freshest. Your farmstand gains a reputation based on being "fresh".
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Keep shopping baskets in more than one location, especially if you are a super busy market. Have bags handy for your corn sales & always double check that you have easy to read signage in place.
Promote the Bounty of your County.
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It is full on pickling season. Farmers are offering bulk pricing on cucumbers, beets, beans & tomatoes for processing.
Known as premium garlic producers, after the garlic reaches full maturity, it is harvested (catch this video!), dried & ready for sale through farmers markets & as a dried garlic powder seasoning.
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Vermont Garlic is here! Farmers across the state shared their drying techniques with us to help inform produce buyers. Above is a picture of the drying
technique at Quill Hill Farm. Early season scapes are harvested for pickles, then the mature bulbs are cut short, then dried, which can differ from other methods of drying which hang the full bulbs for about two weeks then prepped for selling wholesale to stores around the state. Below Trillium Hillis tending to their bulbs. Mark your calendar for September 4th & the annual Garlictown USA aka Bennington Garlic Fest.
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Maple is a bounty in every Vermont county!
Use #VtMaple100 to promote your Vermont business & its maple affiliation: outdoor recreation, menu offerings, specialty foods, lodging discount, tour of sugar woods. Connect your business to Vermont maple & take advantage of this creative & uplifting marketing opportunity. Sign up today. It's free marketing for your business!
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Content created for farmers, food manufacturers, distributors, grocers, & anyone else interested in how food moves
Contact: Annie H Harlow
Unless otherwise noted, photo credits are from company social media, websites or Annie Harlow
Photo credit: zucchini WPTZ
Vaccinated image by Stanley Mouse
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