Selling at a small market

[pastrygirl]

2 hours ago, blue_dolphin said:

Oh, and @FrogPrincesse, I thought of you as I was wandering through my local farmers market this afternoon. We're having high winds here today and I was impressed at the variety of items vendors were using to stabilize their canopies - everything from sand bags, cement blocks, big water or cooking oil jugs, dumb bells,  weight lifting plate weights - you name it!

 

Tent weights are very important!  Hopefully whomever you're borrowing the tent from will already have something, you want a good 20+# on each leg.  I use concrete blocks and bungee cords.

[FrogPrincesse]

1 hour ago, pastrygirl said:

 

Tent weights are very important!  Hopefully whomever you're borrowing the tent from will already have something, you want a good 20+# on each leg.  I use concrete blocks and bungee cords.

I will have kids helping me with the booth, so that should do the trick! (Or I can always use my purse, I am sure it's at least 20 pounds).

 

Seriously, the area where they hold the market is very protected and wind isn't a big concern. I will think of a plan in case it is that day; better safe than sorry! 

Edited November 18, 2016 by FrogPrincesse
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[chromedome]

12 hours ago, blue_dolphin said:

Oh, and @FrogPrincesse, I thought of you as I was wandering through my local farmers market this afternoon. We're having high winds here today and I was impressed at the variety of items vendors were using to stabilize their canopies - everything from sand bags, cement blocks, big water or cooking oil jugs, dumb bells,  weight lifting plate weights - you name it!

 

I had a pretty good "wind anchor"...I secured the back corner of my canopy to the cannon you see at the left. These date from the War of 1812, which our neighbours across the bay in Maine referred to disparagingly as "Mr. Madison's War." They were reluctant participants in the war, and more or less continued trading with the enemy (us) for the duration.

 

Local lore tells of neighbouring St. Stephen (NB) sending a barrel of gunpowder across the river to Calais during the war for the latter town's July 4th celebration; while Calais in turn allegedly loaned a cannon to St. Stephen on an emergency basis (a gun had been misappropriated, and an unexpected inspection threatened to get someone into deep trouble...).  

 

[FrogPrincesse]

I've been in full production mode here, and am officially done with the preserves (cookies are next...). After the quince marmalade, I made...

 

Passion fruit and Valencia orange jam (recipe from Christine Ferber, more details here)

 

 

 

Calamondin & Buddha's Hand marmalade (my own recipe, more details here)

 

 

Green apple, Julian apple cider and vanilla jelly (recipe from Christine Ferber)

 

 

 

Christmas jelly with quince, lemon & orange peel, and cardamom (recipe from Christine Ferber)

 

 

(to be continued - I need to upload the remainder of the jam pictures)

 

I got pre-orders! I already sold 9 out of the approximately 50 jars of jam that I've made. I've calculated that I needed to sell about 20 to recover my expenses (good fruit is expensive!)

 

The market is on Friday.

Edited December 14, 2016 by FrogPrincesse
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[FrogPrincesse]

Here are the other jams.

 

Pear and vanilla jam (left); Green apple and Earl Grey tea jelly (both recipes from Christine Ferber)

 

 

Yuzu lime, Meyer lemon and Valencia orange marmalade (my creation)

 

 

There is also a red onion, balsamic and sherry wine marmalade that I forgot to take a picture of.

 

Edited December 14, 2016 by FrogPrincesse
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[FrogPrincesse]

I went to the fabric store yesterday and bought a couple of yards of fabric and some elastic band to do little fabric covers for the jam pots. I ended up spending close to $30 for the supplies (not counting a pair of pinking shears bought for $13 on amazon), so that's about 50 cents per jar. But I think it's worth it; the end product looks nicer and this is important because a lot of people are going to buy these jams as presents since it's holiday season.

 

 

[pastrygirl]

Such fancy flavors!  Did you get fresh yuzu?  Good luck selling and have fun!

[FrogPrincesse]

Just now, pastrygirl said:

Such fancy flavors!  Did you get fresh yuzu?  Good luck selling and have fun!

Thank you!

 

It is fresh yuzu, grown in Jamul, 30 min East of San Diego. It's not super easy to find but I had identified a source last year so it was much easier this year! The season is short, only a few weeks, so you have to buy them as soon as you see them.

The flavors seem fancy but it's all local fruit grown in the San Diego area, except for the pears.

 

[Toliver]

13 hours ago, FrogPrincesse said:

I got pre-orders! I already sold 9 out of the approximately 50 jars of jam that I've made. I've calculated that I needed to sell about 20 to recover my expenses (good fruit is expensive!)

Pre-orders, eh?  Do you have a website where other...uhm...folk can order some jam? I'm just sayin'...

 

How did the yuzu citrus mix turn out? Is the flavor what you expected?

[FrogPrincesse]

Just now, Toliver said:

Pre-orders, eh?  Do you have a website where other...uhm...folk can order some jam? I'm just sayin'...

 

How did the yuzu citrus mix turn out? Is the flavor what you expected?

Haha. My "business" isn't that elaborate... yet!  These were friends, some of whom have sampled my creations in the past.

 

I haven't tried the yuzu yet, other than warm (my standard practice is to lick all utensils once done, and mop up all remaining juices in the pot with a thick slice of brioche - I hate waste!) and it was pretty great; I like it better than the 100% yuzu I did last year.

 

I had the Buddha's hand & calamondin for breakfast this morning. I was a bit surprised at how lemony and vibrant it was, but past that initial surprise I found it tasty and very successful in waking up my taste buds!

 

I am just so relieved the marmalades set properly. I've had lots of issues in the past, and practice certainly helps. Now I have a much better feel for how the marmalade behaves when it's ready to set.

 

[quiet1]

Possibly not allowed, but if it can be managed with temperatures, selling cookie dough to bake at home might be popular. I've done it as gifts a few times and it's always been very well received. People like being able to just pop something in the oven when they need a treat, but with varieties you can't normally find in commercially available dough. Probably not something you want to work out for this time, but in case anyone reads this thread later and is looking for ideas.

 

As a presentation thing, especially as you have some unique flavors, what about making up little cards or pieces of paper that you can package with the jars with recipe suggestions for using the jams and marmalades? Maybe a simple bread recipe that makes good toast, and then other suggestions that would work well, like baked Brie or easy appetizers or sandwiches - just help people think outside the box for using your product. The kids can probably help with that and it will help them think of the marketing aspect of selling.

 

(I mean, you can double your sale if someone comes for a jar as a gift and you convince them to get a second jar for themselves to have on hand for a quick fancy snack for guests like small toasts plus soft cheese plus a dollop of quince or similar. I think people are more likely to buy fancy stuff for guests than for themselves a lot of the time. Oh, or maybe something would work well in a cookie, like thumbprints? I made a lovely chocolate cookie once that used a basic chocolate thumbprint dough, topped with some fancy cherry preserves from a farmer's market, and then a dab of ganache on top. Easy to make but not at all the 'normal' thing because of the preserves.)

Edited December 8, 2016 by quiet1 (log)

[FrogPrincesse]

I love the ideas, please keep them coming. I am taking notes for next year!   

 

Raw cookie dough is a fabulous idea. One "fancy" dessert place in town sells that for a very exorbitant price. People are willing to spend more to have something more interesting than toll house cookies I suppose!

 

I was thinking of printing little cards or leaflets about the fruits used in the jam. Good idea about suggested uses and recipes. We will see what time permits. I am only 24 hours away from the market now! 

[quiet1]

If time is short maybe just make up a few to use as signs on the table? No recipes, just a few ideas that are easy to read. People often will pause to read a little sign like that if it isn't too visually cluttered, and that gives the sales people a chance to offer a sample, see if they have any questions, etc.

[FrogPrincesse]

On ‎12‎/‎8‎/‎2016 at 10:08 AM, Toliver said:

How did the yuzu citrus mix turn out? Is the flavor what you expected?

 

That one is the one I am the proudest of. I winged the recipe based on an idea I had in my head, and it's wonderful. Vibrant and complex flavors, perfect set (not too loose and not too firm), and a great yield too (9 jars + 1 sample jar).

Here it is on toast.

 

 

[FrogPrincesse]

On ‎12‎/‎8‎/‎2016 at 2:07 PM, quiet1 said:

If time is short maybe just make up a few to use as signs on the table? No recipes, just a few ideas that are easy to read. People often will pause to read a little sign like that if it isn't too visually cluttered, and that gives the sales people a chance to offer a sample, see if they have any questions, etc.

I really loved your idea but ran out of time. I ever have an opportunity to do this again, what I would do is print and laminate little cards for each jam, and include information about the fruit used, pictures (especially for the most "exotic" ones such as Buddha's hand or calamondin), and suggestions for use. Anything that gets people to stop for a little longer at the booth so they have a chance to look at the products and be tempted.

 

So the market went extremely well. The biggest challenge was transporting canopy, table and products to the location; only a minute walk but these things are heavy. Second biggest challenge was mounting the canopy which apparently requires two people (so they can pull the structure in opposite directions simultaneously). Thankfully someone helped me and the canopy got installed on time.

 

What I wish I had done - information cards (see above), and also offering samples more freely! (I had almost all my jams to try as sample, but most people were too polite to ask!). I sold about 20 jars of jam, mostly to friends/family and friends of friends. I had 10 varieties and a lot of stock (more than 50 jars total).

I ended up only making three types of cookies because a lot of other stands were going to sell cookies and I figure there was little point in making more. I pre-packaged them in little bags that were all priced at $2 to keep things simple. The gluten-free brownies were the most popular. I had more than 50 bags of cookies and sold about a dozen, but the rest I brought to holiday parties or ate with coffee.  

Another thing would be to dress a bit more warmly, because it got really cold once the sun was out!

 

The market lasted for 4 hours and was a ton of fun, so time went really fast. And my daughter was delighted to sell almost all of her little friendship bracelets. Overall a great experience! I will post a few pictures once I've organized them.

 

 

Edited December 14, 2016 by FrogPrincesse (log)

[FrogPrincesse]

Here is the Buddha's hand marmalade. Next time I will try a different citrus mix (the Buddha is quite mild compared to the very acidic calamondin), and I will cut the Buddha's hand a bit more finely.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited December 14, 2016 by FrogPrincesse (log)

[FrogPrincesse]

The cookies...

 

First I made the two-bite one-chip cookies (this was the day before the market). I doubled the recipes in Dorie's Cookies and the yield was 137 cookies. I had bought fancy OXO cookie scoops but even the small size was a bit too large, so I ended up scooping them with my OXO teaspoon. These I packaged in little bags of 6. They are good cookies but visually not super interesting, plus you have to explain that they contain a chocolate chip. So maybe not the easiest sell for a market.

 

 

 

 

Edited December 14, 2016 by FrogPrincesse
clarity (log)

[FrogPrincesse]

Next I made the Snowy-topped brownie drops from Dorie's cookies. I also doubled the recipe. For the chocolate, I realized I had forgotten to buy any but I always have some on hand... I used a mix of Trader Joe's "one pound plus" dark chocolate, and 99% chocolate from Switzerland. I started measuring regular flour and then remembered I wanted to make them gluten-free, so I ended up using Bob's Red Mill all purpose mix. I used the OXO cookie scoop for these and it helped speed up the process. I packaged them in bags of three (one friend complained to me that the problem with odd numbers is that she had to fight with her husband over the last one!).

 

The yield was 48 cookies.

 

 

Edited December 14, 2016 by FrogPrincesse (log)

[FrogPrincesse]

Since I had more or less forgotten to buy special ingredients for my cookies, I decided to make my favorite cookie recipe that can be made from practically nothing, the almond croquants from David Lebovitz's Ready for Dessert. I fortunately had some sliced & toasted almonds on hand (that I keep for making orgeat).

I also doubled the recipe and the yield was 63 cookies.

 

Here there are before going into the oven.

 

 

Edited December 14, 2016 by FrogPrincesse (log)

[Smokeydoke]

I'd love to purchase some jams if you have any leftover!

[FrogPrincesse]

42 minutes ago, Smokeydoke said:

I'd love to purchase some jams if you have any leftover!

 

I have some left and would love to sell them to you, but the difficulty is going to figure out how to ship them! I've never done this...

As long as you are not trying to get them before Christmas, I might be able to arrange this. Private message me, and we can talk more.

 

Edited December 15, 2016 by FrogPrincesse
typo (log)

[quiet1]

Oh, another baking thing that might do well at a fancy-pants market would be dog-friendly cookies. I've made carob-chip cookies as gifts for friends with dogs with significant success, although there are also healthier recipes. I just try to make them fairly small so one cookie is a treat even for a smaller dog - larger dogs can just have an extra cookie. (This works better than having to break larger cookies for smaller dogs, since then the broken cookie pieces make a mess in the bag or tin.)

[FrogPrincesse]

It looks like I forgot to take a picture when they got out of the oven, but here are the croquant cookies all packaged, 4 per bag. These are great with tea; they are crunchy with a nice toasted almond flavor, very light.

 

 

 

[FrogPrincesse]

I am not a very crafty person, but I decided to make a banner to personalize our stand a little bit. You can order printed banners for rather cheap, about $20 from what I can tell. But I thought something homemade would convey better that we were selling artisanal products. So I looked around the house for little scraps of fabric. We went to the fabric store and bought really cheap fabric paint and foam brushes (I think we spent less than $5), and we made our own stencils with paper. My daughter sewed the banner on her sewing machine. Then, as the banner was drying on the counter with the paint still fresh, the kitten decided to grab one end of the string and run to the other side of the house...

 

Fortunately, nothing bad happened. A few drops of paint on the floor that were easy to clean, and a very scared kitten once she heard our screams.

 

 

[chromedome]

7 hours ago, quiet1 said:

Oh, another baking thing that might do well at a fancy-pants market would be dog-friendly cookies. I've made carob-chip cookies as gifts for friends with dogs with significant success, although there are also healthier recipes. I just try to make them fairly small so one cookie is a treat even for a smaller dog - larger dogs can just have an extra cookie. (This works better than having to break larger cookies for smaller dogs, since then the broken cookie pieces make a mess in the bag or tin.)

I'll second that, if no-one else stakes out the territory. 

 

When I was doing farmers markets, there were two pet-food vendors and one bakery all doing a booming business at the same market with their fresh-baked pet treats.