Bringing your Products to Market

I recently reviewed an agricultural marketing guide distributed by the Rutgers University Cooperative Extension titled; "To Market; To Market". This guide is fantastic tool for small farms to understand and develop a solid marketing strategy. You can get a copy of "To Market; Click HERE .

The guide reviews advantages and disadvantages of several wholesale and direct marketing approaches. Wholesale markets are typically selected by large scale growers selling their raw product into a value chain at a low unit price but because of the volume, are able to take advantage of economies of scale and ultimately make money. It typically involves very little effort or control over the end product or sales channel. Direct markets normally require growers maintain control over the complete process ultimately resulting in much higher unit prices but lower sales volumes. For the purposes of this discussion, I will only review the direct marketing approaches outlined in this guide because it is my personal belief that the U.S. Alpaca Industry is still fairly new in its development and should not consider commodity/wholesale markets as a viable approach.

Selecting a target market should not just be based on its profitability but also personal strengths , weaknesses, likes and dislikes. The Rutgers guide identifies six direct market channels; Pick your own (a.k.a. raw fleece sales), Farm Stores, Farmers Markets including Craft Fairs, Community Supported Agriculture (CSA), Agri-tourism and Internet/Mail Order. You should evaluate several of these alternatives to help determine which marketing channels to focus or target. Normally, the most important factors include the cost of participating in a certain channel, the potential net revenue to be generated from sales, the retail price and the physical distribution environment. Lets look at these in a little more detail.

Pick Your Fleece Markets - Hand spinners, knitters and crafters of all types love to have personal access to their raw materials and are willing to pay a premium price for the privilege.The approach can be combined with sheering demonstrations and open farm days where you can accept orders for particular animals fleece while it is still on the alpaca. An advantage to this approach is that the majority of the work is restricted to a very short season. Some disadvantages are that you probably won't receive the same price per pound as you would if you were offering finished products and the approach is difficult to scale much past 30 animals.

Farm Stores - A traditional on farm retail outlet for your alpaca products and others items you determine are complementary to your farms personality. Hand made soaps, candles and essential oils are always good choices. Alpaca farms are particularly suited for stores due to the high quality image alpaca has and customers willingness to be associated with high quality brands. Your farm is your show piece and customers most prefer to purchase directly from the farm. Farm stores do require more of an investment than other approaches ( building, displays and staff) and will require you to keep very specific store hours.

Community Supported Agriculture - CSA is classically reserved for produce farming and on the surface does not appear to be a good fit for alpaca farms. However, there is always synergy if you look hard enough. The normal way a CSA is structured is that community members join a CSA farm and pay the local farmer an annual membership fee to cover the production costs of the farm and in return receive a weekly share of the freshly picked harvest, (usually organic) vegetables during the local season. Some farms also offer fruit, herbs, flowers, and other products. In this way, farmers and members become partners in the production, distribution and consumption of locally grown food. During vegetable harvest, farmers are typically very busy in the fields and have very little time for retail distribution. Your farm store may fit the bill nicely and be mutually beneficial to all parties.

Farmers Markets and Craft Fairs have been making a resurgence since the 1990s. The New York TImes has recently coined the phrase "Renegade Craft Fairs" due to their high popularity across the country. There is a general trend with consumers to buy local and support local agriculture. Alpaca fits well in both the craft and agricultural fairs due to its uniqueness and all natural qualities. The advantage to this approach is that there are many of these fairs are very popular and already have their own customer base. Some disadvantages are that you will be doing a lot of face to face selling and be away from your farm.

Agri-tourism - Farms are popular tour sites for school and group tours. Often they arrive in the fall to receive a tour of the farm , take a hay ride, or visit a petting zoo of farm animals. Seasonal festivals such as Sheering & Spinning Day, Spring Bloom Walks, Bird Watching Walks, Fall Foliage Festivals all fit the bill. If you love to organize events, this could be the perfect choice. Typically, no one leaves after a fantastic day at your farm without stopping at the gift shop.

Internet/Mail Order - As mail order and Internet sales continue to grow many creative farmers are jumping on board. Both channels spell convenience for busy people looking for unique products. Most alpaca farms already have an existing website so for a relatively small investment, they can begin to sell their fiber and products on the internet. If internet marketing is not your forte, services like www.fiberfinds.com and www.etsy.com will market and sell your products for you.

As you can see, there is a lot of good ideas in the Rutgers Marketing Guide and it is a lot more detailed than I've had the time to describe. The guide is also filled with checklist to help you determine if a particular strategy is a good fit for your situation. The guide is about 83 pages in total and definitely worth the read. I hope you enjoy it!

This month we would like to introduce the NEAFP Library. It is a new resource on our site that better organizes all the different Marketing Tips, How-To Guides, Product Testimonials, and other information provided to help our customers succeed. It is becoming ever more important for Alpaca Farms across the United States to embrace the fiber side of their business. NEAFP is committed to continually providing resources to help our Farm's succeed so take a moment and swing through the library and catch up on any resources you might have missed.

Click Here

 

Links of Interest

Check out this interesting Articles and Links that we have stumbled across over the last month.

9 Ways to Get More from your Farm Site

Alpaca's Discussed on The View

National Alpaca Farm Day

HerdEASE Software helps manage your HERD

A World of Reasons to Ditch Bottled Water

The 11th Hour Film

Environmentally friendly Landscaping