Selling beef at farmer's markets

[Bootneck]

Anyone got any experience of selling beef or other meat at farmer's markets? Any advice? Fresh or frozen, what cuts sell best, marketing etc.
Im thinking of trying it out, but I know it will not be easy!

 

[Tim G]

It's a ball ache and very satisfying at the same time. We (I really mean Mrs g) have done a bit of this. Fresh sells best, I think people buy on impulse because they want something for supper, and apparently no one has a freezer anymore. However once people get a taste for it they will buy frozen. Match cuts to the season, steaks and burgers for summer, stewing beef and joints for the winter. We found smaller joints better (cheaper) but sell big joints for an occasion (we had someone order and buy an rolled rib at 85 quid for Xmas, I winced but he didn't bat an eyelid). People love an offer, a mixed bag say mince, stewing plus a couple of steaks for £20 sell well but we found if you add a bit more and charge £30 whilst it maybe better deal less want to spend that.
Be prepared for plenty left over, there's a lot of meat on one animal, and have something to do with it.
I say it's satisfying because on the odd occasion I've been dragged along it's great to hear feedback from customers and goes someway to making it feel worthwhile.

 

[Chasingmytail]

people don't spend enough at farmers markets that's why direct sell is better delivered to the door. You can sell #120 worth of beef whereas markets people only buy 1 joint and mostly want the prime cuts.

Farmers market days have peaked. They are more craft markets now. Its not worth the hassle - sell direct fresh (frozen looks sh"t) look at the hours you would need to put in standing around and packing up.

Its not a unique market either so many people are doing it. Takes a lot of time and investment only way it works if you can do it on a roll. Then you have to find an exception butcher. Walk in fridge, fridge delivery van etc. Done it for a long time we ended up in too much debt.

 

[Greenbeast]

We do it but have recently cut back because some are good and some are rubbish. I like dealing with customers and enthusing about what we do but if it's quiet i'm left thinking i could be getting work done at the farm.
Because we supply shops with fresh pork twice a week i can often take fresh pork to markets but i rarely have fresh lamb and veal because i cannot justify buying lambs all the time (was doing about 1/month until recently) and cannot keep/kill enough veal calves for that either. People do buy frozen but no doubt more would buy fresh

 

[Tim G]

Also get a card reader, people seemed inclined to spend more on card than cash.

 

[Greenbeast]

Also get a card reader, people seemed inclined to spend more on card than cash.

Definitely, i have one customer i call the card lady, she buys literally everything on card, even a pack of sausages. She must never carry cash. However she does usually buy a joint or two.

 

[delilah]

Not selling meat at farmers markets as such, but we do have a stall selling other products (woollen, logs) and we give out leaflets for our beef/lamb boxes. As has been said it can be a lot of work - and I really wouldn't want to be doing it in this weather - but the thing with farmers markets is they have the right sort of customer for ordering a meat box for the freezer. Would suggest looking into local pubs, if you can find one with a chef who is into local food then they can be a far easier outlet, you do need to give them a discount on retail but it's a damn site easier delivering a whole lamb to a pub than it is shifting it retail.

 

[Pieces_of_Eight]

I used to run a market stall doing three markets a week in two local towns, selling rare breed beef, pork and lamb. Did some home deliveries of boxed stuff too.

Ribeye always sold out first, but tailor your stock to the weather. Joints in Winter, BBQ stuff in Summer.

Any meat unsold was either frozen and sold at a discount, or sent back to the butcher and made into steak/pork pies.

Sales were good, but COP was too high, the crash of 2010 happened and a Supermarket put on a free bus midweek from the town out to their shop.

 

[Chasingmytail]

Price in van with fridge
Price in walk in fridge
Price in quick freezer (how are you going to keep the temp on site)
Price in display fridge unit
Time in keeping records, all legal stuff to comply with legislation. additional insurance cover.
Price in labelling machine? labels, boxes.
Marketing info, website, time updating FB page, order page, telephone.
Card machine
Time spent driving to site, standing around and packing up
Weather cancellations.

People want a one stop shop ie - lamb, pork, chicken, beef.
Unless you are shifting a lot of meat it doesn't pay. Also when we were direct selling you wouldn't sell the whole beast, the following week you had another one arriving. So freezing the bit you didn't sell (not supposed to do that) so I had my walk in fridge converted to walk in freezer so I had no fridge. It all became a mess. You cant afford to discount.

We did it a few times on land he had and made a poster on the road. We shifted 600 pound. Min take to cover costs and make profit we need to aim around 1k. I laugh when some say I made #200 what? labour, transport, time, messing has to make a good profit. You don't clock off until everything is back home, washed and put back (add another 1.5hr) then go out on farm.

Like I said the days of farmers markets are limited. 10 years ago yes but now they are craft and producer market - lots of jams, homemade chocolates, cards, breads, wood crafts. Most people I know don't bother anymore as you do have a fee for the plot and the takings too small. Success people are boxing it and posting.

 

[Still Farming]

They always want best bits cheap and your left with the rest .
Too many selling same stuff in Farmers markets these days.

 

[Bootneck]

Great comments, thanks. Lots to think about.

 

[Netherfield]

You need to have something that no-one else has got.

Pubs are OK as long as they pay quickly, should not need to give credit,they get paid before the food goes on the table in lot of cases, we had one buying £3000 a month, always came in on the saturday after the end of the month and paid in notes, then one time didn't,made an excuse about somebody being ill or the like, before you know it they're owing £6000 and gone bankrupt.

 

[Whitewalker]

Great comments, thanks. Lots to think about.

How about like us we chopped a 2 for ourselves and sold the excess . Froze it all, like all said won’t be a millionaire but very satisfying. Go through all your contacts and explain what you done . See what orders you have. If you do well chop another . We will always have meat in freezer now but more like a bit more pocket money and enjoyment

 

[BobTheSmallholder]

Online could be a better option, there are lots of cost effective and eco-friendly packaging solutions along with 24hr couriers. Use social media to full effect and invest in some nice branding and a good website. Do the odd big food festival/market to drum up business. You really need to be free range/organic/re-generative to make people see the value in what you are offering. As was said above a range really helps so look at something like the Ridgedale Permaculture videos on YouTube where they offer their customers organic veg, free range organic eggs & meat chickens etc so they buy more in a single transaction.

Small farmers markets with low pitch fees can be good to spread the word when you start but a bigger county/regional event could bring in several dozen regular customers if done right.

Don't skimp on branding! We all know dozens of companies that command a price premium beyond the actual value of the product because of how they market their product. Google free range/organic meat and you will find companies selling hundreds of chickens at £15+ every month and beef for £20-30/kg because they make their customers believe it is high welfare, delicious product that is worth every penny. Doing it all online means minimal customer face-to-face too which is always a bonus!

 

[Pieces_of_Eight]

They always want best bits cheap and your left with the rest .

Burgers & sausages in Summer and pies in Winter

Marketing and branding is the key, yours needs to look better than anyone else's on the market.

 

[Still Farming]

Burgers & sausages in Summer and pies in Winter

Marketing and branding is the key, yours needs to look better than anyone else's on the market.

Yes but too many doing it now !

 

[Pieces_of_Eight]

See what the rest are doing and do it different, or do it better.

Don't assume you know how to do it, get a book and study the principles of marketing. It's amazing how many people just create a product and expect people to buy it.

Sell off the farm if possible, do local deliveries too. Both will give a better margin than attending markets.

 

[Chasingmytail]

the biggest problem we had - even though the product was good and hung 21 days the butchering was poor. Finding an old fashioned top notch butcher who has the time and the passion is another thing. It would be delivered in in boxes sometime with no labels. then youd have to drive it all back to get someone to tell you what is was. Then drive back and label it all with the fancy labels. You may be lucky to find someone but not all deliver and that's another ball ache in time is driving somewhere chatting, loading, drive back unload. Taking into account you must have it temp controlled. The days of chucking it in the back of the estate car are gone. To be honest around here I really struggled to sell vast amounts as only the older folk have chest freezers the rest buy as they go along. If you can box a beef animal into 10 boxes, get it gone in 1 day and next the next lot lined up you are on a winner. You could be looking £2k per beast.

The only people wining at thins game are those who are running a farm meat business 5 days a week. They have the stock, and buy some in, have an abattoir not too far away, have a specific moisture controlled hanging fridge, cutting room and expert staff. In my eyes its not a business you can be half hearted about because the smallest investment is going to take a chunk out of the profits. To do this you need numbers and good people.

 

[Pieces_of_Eight]

Having enough work to justify paying a full time qualified butcher would take some doing.

We were lucky and had a decent butcher who would collect our sides/wholes from the abattoir then butcher, vacpack and label it all. When we collected it from him (in a fridge van) we would drop off any unsold stock for him to make into pies.

He was 20 miles away and charged a fair whack but gave an excellent service.

 

[JCMaloney]

You will need the facilities & technical knowledge (HACCP & papertrails).
That will either scupper the idea or cost ££££`s.
Aside from that..............
Butchery skills can be learnt & taught.
This day & age there are instructional videos, although you can`t beat experience & "craft" (says I after 30+ years in the game!).
Basically remember all four legged animals have the same structure its just scale.
Abattoir will take care of the big stuff.
Vacpac machine & labelling isn`t rocket science.
Have a go yourself and deliver in chilled box`s via a decent courier.