Farmers’ Market Customers Jessica Evans, Andrea Mertins, Mia … · 2019-04-21 · Secondary...

FARMERS’ MARKET CUSTOMERS 1

Farmers’ Market Customers

Jessica Evans, Andrea Mertins, Mia Koern, Kelsey McCravy

The University of Texas at Austin

Table of Contents


Table of Contents Executive Summary 3 Project Description 3 Secondary Research 4 Primary Research 6 Attitude/Behavioral Change Strategy 7 Advertising and Marketing Insights 8 Conclusion 11 References 13 Appendix 14


Executive Summary We first start off this paper with a summary of what farmers’ markets are, why we choose the sustainable practices of going to the market for this project, and our main objective for this project. We then discuss primary and secondary research. The main takeaways from this research are that there is a gap of knowledge as well as a convenience issue. Many people do not go to farmers’ markets because it is more convenient to go to the store. This statement is true for all income brackets. When then discuss the attitude/behavioral change strategies that we have to make. We decided to focus on the framing theory to inform our strategies. With our change strategies figured out, our main advertising strategy is to create an app to connect people to the farming community. In addition, it will have many different usages like finding the nearest market, ordering produce boxes, and finding volunteer options. We suggest a strong focus on social media because the majority of people get their information on farmers’ markets and environmental issues from social media.

Project Description Through our primary and secondary research, we have discovered that the main

factors that people don’t go to farmer’s markets as frequently as they do other distributors, is because of their lack of knowledge. This overall lack of knowledge, has led to the misconception that farmers’ markets are always inconvenient, too expensive and that having a relationship with the farmers themselves, doesn’t matter. Based on the decision to choose the framing theory approach in order to create our advertisement, we wanted to focus our agendas and approach these misconceptions through an app that features a social media documentary campaign, deliverable produce boxes and an opportunity to earn produce through volunteering.

Also, humans are inherently selfish and mainly care about their own interests, so by explaining the environmental and ethical issues of shopping mainstream, we won’t get very far due to the consumers’ first priority being themselves and their own families. As we approach advertising strategies, the framing technique is important because we need to show that the comfortability, experience and convenience for the consumer is our main priority, even if it truly is sustainability. Saying this is how it will help YOU, will make consumers feel like 1) there is a feasible way to consume regularly from the markets and 2) they are helping themselves keep-up with healthier choices.

Additionally, we chose to focus on 18-25 year olds when examining the stats and creating our advertisement. Not only is this the age group where we received the most amount of respondents, but this range, is theoretically still figuring out what they like and what type of lifestyles they want to have. As a young adult, you are not quite stuck in your ways yet, so there is room for advertisers to make an impression to sway them. Not to mention, these people will continue to grow in their consumption, as they settle into their careers and lifestyles. We also feel that if we ask the consumers to just try to go farmer’s markets every, or every other, week, instead of making a radical change by completely taking out other avenues, it’d be an easier transition. It is harder for older groups to change the routines they have been in for so many years, so they most likely won’t be receptive of what we have to say, even if it is in their own best interest.

If our approach is successful, potential impacts would be increased business for local producers, healthier habits for the consumer and a better long-term impact on the


surrounding environment. Large grocery distributors create a lot of waste through the importation of their products from across the globe; farmers’ markets decrease communities’ carbon footprints. Also, many of the items in a grocery store are mass produced with excess chemicals, so those would also be eliminated from the environment and consumers.

Secondary Research

Research conducted from outside sources, such as scholarly articles and trusted news forums, help determine widespread behavioral phenomenons commonly seen in farmers’ market’s customers. The primary source of collected data for this project was a survey, run by members of this group, on people’s behaviors and attitudes in respect to farmers’ markets. Although this data is our subject candidate for most of our conclusions, the secondary information is necessary for overall analysis on the matter. To help further our knowledge on the motive behind why people do NOT attend farmers’ markets, we must first understand why the others do; their motivations and attitudes toward- and personal benefits taken from farmers’ markets. Firstly, an article titled “Fairness, Farmers Markets, and Local Productions” from The American Journal of Agricultural Economics, discusses how the motivation behind customer’s support of farmers’ markets is based on different equity stances. For example, Lusk and Briggeman (2009) found that “willingness-to-pay for organic food was positively correlated with the extent to which people believe ‘fairness’ (defined as the extent to which all parties involved in the production of food equally benefit) is important when purchasing food,” meaning the producer gets just as much out of the purchase as the consumer (Toler, 2009). There have also been findings in this same article that note that “supporters of farmers’ markets often also support equity-driven social movements, such as Food Justice, animal welfare, and Fair-Trade,” showing a different approach to ‘equity’ views (Toler, 2009). Customers are willing to pay more for locally grown products because they feel the local farmers deserve the special attention and the food is undoubtedly fresher.

From The Journal of Agricultural Environmental Ethics , an article titled “Consumer Choice and Farmers’ Markets” explains both motivations and perceptions of farmers’ markets. According to R. Dodds, the increasing popularity of local food consumption can be partially attributed to an understanding of how large corporations obtain their food supply which supports FarmAid’s stance on negative impacts of the corporate controlled food system. Dodds also explains people have a heightened awareness of food safety and carbon emissions produced by transportation of food. Additionally, the main personal purposes of farmers’ market visits is due to quality of product and supporting local community (Dodds, 2014). The explanation behind the customer’s motivations tend to be driven by sustainability purposes. Finally, this article explains that the local food movement was founded “by a need to reconnect consumers to local area food suppliers and to restore the values and relationships within the community,” by doing this, customers can develop a sense of personal feeling while attending (Dodds, 2014). With such a relationship, nutrition, labor, and health of the product can be discussed 1-on-1 with the vendor.

The graph below shows the growing trend of farmers’ market attendance from 1994 to 2014. Care2 describes typical growth trends and even mentioned that


becoming a loyal customer to a market is beneficial because, “if you become a regular at your local market, you might just find yourself enjoying a few perks only available to customers who know their growers by name” (Horton, 2015). This supports the idea that developing a relationship with local farmers is very beneficial to both parties.

Figure 1. Growth in Farmers’ Markets (Care2)

Finally, it is important to share some influencer views on farmers’ markets. USA Today did an article on what aspects of markets are the best according to significant people in the food industry. Alton Brown, a Food Network host described how he likes to take his daughter to a neighborhood farmers’ market in Georgia so that “she can learn what seasonality looks like” and that he enjoys that “the produce is grown from within 50 miles.” On the topic of seasonal produce, Alexandra Guarnaschelli, chef and Cooking Loft host admits she likes “to watch all the little shifts of the seasons. Things appear then disappear.” These comments are simple and do not focus on income and convenience because hosts and chefs do not tend to struggle with those types of things. On the other hand, Michael Symon, an Iron Chef, believes there should be a strong consumer/producer relationship because “restaurant compost things to go back to farms, so there is a lot of sustainability” he mentions that “we help them and they help us” (Shriver, 2008). Social influencers, especially in the professional food industry, are extremely motivational to people who watch their shows or follow them on social platforms. If these influencers were to promote their interest toward farmers’ market, their followers may consider the benefits from attending as well.


Primary Research Like all the other groups, we conducted our qualitative data through

observations, interviews, and collages. We mainly observed farmers’ markets in Austin, but one of use did visit one in Houston when they visited home one weekend. Observing a farmers’ market outside of Austin gave us very interesting information on how FMs differ between cities. Each city has a different type of culture, therefore, the FMs should reflect that. Some things that were found in all the markets that we observed that a big area was needed to conduct them (this includes in a park, a green space, a pavilion or a parking lot), there are many varieties of vendors but the main ones focus on produce, and there are two different types of farmers’ markets—the one regular market goer and the one for the trendier market goers. This difference can be seen when comparing the Texas Farmers’ Market at Mueller with the market one of us visited in Houston. Both cities have different cultures which can be reflected in their farmer’s market. While Austin has a more hippie vibe that creates a trend out of being sustainable, Houston is surrounded by big carbon producing industries (oil and gas production and refineries, boating and shipping). When Houstonians go the farmers’ markets, they go for the products, not the atmosphere. The market in Houston was in a large, cemented pavilion and had many different produce stalls where people were efficient in their shopping, never taking longer than they need. There is no culture of sustainability so there is no pressure to fit in. When you see someone at the Houston market, you know that they are there for the products and not for the trend. On the other hand, Austinites might go to the farmers’ market because it is trendy. Mueller was trendier. It was located right next to a lake next to the Mueller shopping center near a nicer neighborhood. There were many unique products that would not have found in the Houston market including organic, raw dog food, jackfruit jerky, and knife sharpening. There was also live music and a petting zoo. All of these things are what make it the most popular farmers’ market in Austin. It embodies many different aspects of Austin culture and feels like it is satisfying a trend.

Most of our interviews were conducted on people we knew that frequented at farmers’ markets. The main take away from our interviews is that not many people know the sustainable aspects of farmers’ markets. Additionally, there is limited knowledge about all of the issues that farmers, that sell their products at the market, face. The information gap is also prevalent in the collages. Most of the collages showed the usual image that everyone has of farmers’ markets. They are beautiful markets that sell beautiful and healthy food. Some collages showed the more sustainable idea through suggestions of a responsibility of sustainability that us humans have. This gap of knowledge was one of the this that we wanted to address in our attitude/behavioral change strategy.

Our quantitative data was conducted through a 28-question survey with questions about farmers’ markets all the way to sustainability opinions. We got 232 responses with most of the responders being female (80.3%) and were 18-28 years old (53.9%). Out of the 232, 209 (90.1%) have been to a farmers’ market, though the majority only have been once or twice (27.5%) or a few time a year (26.2%). Very few people go biweekly (4.3%) or weekly (4.3%). People mainly go to the market to support local farmers (17.2%), for the sense of community (12.8%), and for the unique or handmade products (12.7%). We thought that this was interesting compared to how


many people formed a relationship with the vendors at the market. While 148 people said that they go to markets to support their local farmers (choose all that apply question), only 39 said that they have formed relationships with the vendors. Now you think that more people would have formed relationships with vendors when they go to support them. This behavior helps us form an idea for the behavioral strategy. We wanted to find different ways for people to support their local farmers while also forming relationships with them. The first step in this was getting more people to go more often because the majority of people who took our survey that goes to the farmers’ market bi-weekly or every week formed relationships with vendors. But how can we get more people to go to the farmers’ market?

The first step is overcoming the barriers that stop people from going to farmers’ markets. The main three reason that people do no go is that it is more convenient to go to the store (30%), people don’t know where they are located, and markets are too expensive (14.7%). Convenience was still the number one reason people did not go to markets when looking at all age ranges and all income brackets. This was surprising to us because we thought that farmers’ markets being too expensive would be the major reason for younger people and people with lower income. However, this was not true. This gave us hope because if farmers’ markets were thought to be too expensive, it would be harder to change people’s behavior. Since people do not go because of convenience, then they would be willing to go if we could somehow make markets more convenient. This was our focus for our attitude/behavioral strategy. We tried to find a way for markets would be more convenient so more people would come to them.

Through our research, we learned that most people get their information of both farmers’ markets and environmental issues from the internet/social media (24% for farmers’ market and 33.6% for environmental issues). This is true for all ages except 55+ years of old who get their information on farmers’ markets from their friends. We used this information to inform us of the best way to connect with our audience—through social media.

Attitude/Behavioral Change Strategy

Framing theory is used as a central organizing idea for news content that supplies a context and suggests what the issue is through the use of selection, emphasis or exclusion. Framing theory is related to agenda setting, but the theory expands more on the research by focusing on the essence of the issues at hand (pricing, convenience, relationships) rather than a particular topic (going to farmers’ markets). With framing theory, media provides a focus and environment for reporting a story by influencing how audiences will understand or evaluate it. The basis of framing theory is focusing media attention on certain events and placing them within a field of meaning through the power of language that shapes thought. Framing theory plays a big influence in changing habits within a population, especially when expanded on an organization or business level.

Three major insights that we found in our data indicate correlation with motives for attending farmers’ markets:

● 1. People say the main reason they go to Farmers’ Markets is to support local farms, but only 16% of our survey participants who go to farmers’ markets have an established relationship with farmers/vendors at local farmers’ markets.


○ Framing Problem: Based on our in-depth interviews, even people who shop at local farmers’ markets are not aware of corrupt farm policy in America. People frame that they care but they have no relationship with local farmers, so why are people supporting something when they have no idea what they are advocating for?

○ Solution: Create a social media platform that promotes local farmers’ markets. We want to create a mini-documentary on social media that elaborates the farm policy issues local farmers are facing. Since all age groups get most of their information on environmental issues through the internet/social media, we want to create a platform.

● 2. Across all income brackets, the main reason why people do not go to farmers’ markets is that of convenience, not expensive products.

○ Framing Problem: Media agenda currently suggests that supermarkets, grocery stores, and wholesalers are easier to access based on corporate brand’s marketing strategies.

○ Solution: Create boxes of produce that meets our target where they are. This advertising approach addresses the public opinion issue of farmers’ markets not being convenient and provides a solution by opting into to a local food share.

● 3. Based on age range, 18-25-year-olds say going to Farmers’ Markets is too expensive, but there are other options available

○ Framing Problem: We have a framing issue because of the single idea (Farmers’ Markets are too expensive) can conjure up emotional, beliefs and attitudes about going to Farmers’ Markets.

○ Solution: Get people to volunteer at local farmers so participants can attain free produce through helping local farms. To push this message, we will promote our app through social media

Based on our three major insights, framing suggests how something is presented to the audience influences the choice of people to make about how to process that information. Frames provide board organizing principles which are why we created an application called My Local Farmer. This application consolidates all information about local farmers’ markets to provide organization when seeking information. Since farming provides common points of meaning between different audiences, we created a box share so all income brackets could have access to the same product, regardless of income status. Taking income into consideration, framing helps simplify complex issues which is why we decided to promote volunteering throughout the application and social media account. When participants volunteer, they receive free produce which eliminates the issue of farmers’ markets being too expensive with our younger target.

Advertising and Marketing Strategy

Advertising Strategy #1: My Local Farmer App and Social Media Platforms We decided this campaign needs a social media element since people get the

majority of their information about environmental issues on the internet/social media. Since there is an overall lack of knowledge surrounds farm policy, we decided to develop an application called “My Local Farmer” that delivers multiple sources of information to our target. My Local Farmer includes information on when and where


farmers’ markets are located, access to subscriptions to local food shares, direct links to My Local Farmer social media platforms, networking with local farmers, recipes, order tracking, and a mini-documentary series of testimonials from local farmers.

Aside from the application, My Local Farmer will create weekly documentary videos about the ongoing farming issues that Farmers face in the United States. These issues of revolved around environmental degradation, rising production costs, ongoing public health crises and the lack of knowledge of the Good Food Movement. Since political influence dictates the rules that govern our food system, corporate companies are manipulating the marketplace. This results in pushing down the prices paid to family farmers, causing economics to drive them out of business. These controlled food systems damage communities, local economies, public health and the soil/water needed to sustain food production. Extreme consolidation leaves fewer choices in the grocery aisle and higher prices, while corporate-written policies are sparking growing food safety concerns and less transparency in the marketplace. We want our target market to understand that America’s damaged local farm economy is no accident; it’s the result of policies designed to enrich corporations at the expense of farmers and ranchers. Framing helps create a broad framework through our social media channel so our target can understand the effects of industrial agriculture siphoning money away from family farmers and the communities that depend on them. People supporting corporate food monopolies result in the government supporting industrial farm systems that harm our soil, water, communities, economies, and health.

Framing from our social media platform helps interpret storylines that communicate what is at stake in a sociological debate and why the issue matters. Our social media platforms will educate our target about the benefits of eating family farm food. Our message in promoting going to farmers’ markets is: you eat good food and you know what you’re getting. Honesty is local farmers’ biggest asset, meaning the produce our target will attain is real food that is grown by people who care about their land, community, and our target’s future. Without scaring our target, we want to establish a general awareness of American farm policy and encourage a massive shift in direction away from industrial agriculture. Unfortunately, America’s damaged local farm economy is no accident; it’s the result of policies designed to enrich corporations at the expense of farmers and ranchers. With the use of framing theory, the My Local Farmer brand can help make the switch to shopping local. The goal of My Local Farmer is to promote the Good Food Movement so family farm food will be more affordable and available to all future generations!


Advertising Strategy #2- My Local Farmer Box Share

Based on our survey, one of the top choices for what prevents consumers from going to farmers’ markets, is the perception that it is inconvenient. There is nothing we can really say that will convince someone that they are just too lazy to find a way to make the circumstance work or to shift other things around, so we thought of a ‘My Local Farmer’ box share. It is similar to systems that they already have in the makeup industry, or in mainstream grocery stores, so we feel it would be successful. The shopper would go to our app, choose what produce they want and then agree to a delivery location; whether that be their front door or another spot. This eliminates the hassle of having to carve out a specific time to shop, or traveling a greater distance.

Additionally, in the box, there would be a personalized recipe pamphlet included based on what the customer chooses to buy. The brochure would also give ideas for future purchases and recipes. Once again, this is an aspect that decreases the amount of work and thinking the consumer has to do in order to enjoy the farmers’ products.

This concept allows people to try a variety of local produce, eliminate the excuse about inconvenience and support local farmers. There would also be no excess waste surrounding the produce, just the recycled box. Nor would there be an excess amount of travel waste, like what would be seen in imported foods of the same product (which are sold at grocery stores). Local farmers, who deal with the farm policy issues discussed in the previous strategy, also get to increase their reach to consumers they otherwise wouldn’t have been able to have access to during their specific time slots that they set of their stand at the market. It would be a mutual beneficial program, all while the consumer not realizing the positive impact of reducing mainstream consumption.

Advertising strategy #3: Volunteering for Produce

Our final advertising strategy, would be to target the worry of expense. This is one of the top boundaries stopping people from attending markets. Our solution is for there to be opportunities for people to volunteer at the farms who produce the products. We would promote this through the app and social media that we already set up in. There would be a section in the app that is set up similarly to a newspaper. It would show opportunities and have sign-up links. Our idea is that since 18-25-year-olds are


normally more able-bodied, they could trade their labor for boxes of fresh produce. This is a practice that already exists, but most people don’t know about it, so we can not only increase awareness about everything that farmers. markets have to offer and what ‘behind the scenes’ looks like, but encourage the community to buy/trade more. After the system starts flowing, there will also be a new community for people to connect with. We would frame it to show that it is not only a smart financial solution, but another way to grow a relationship with the farmers, meet peers in the community and learn new skills. This allows people to see the range of benefits, even if it means they have to give up some time; it just depends on what is most important to the consumer. Our previous tactics target solutions for different concerns.

This solution would be an example of experiential advertising. Experiential advertising achieves different levels of awareness compared to more traditional or social media approaches. It gives the people involved tangible experiences to connect/associate emotions to. They are better off remembering the positive attributes about farmers. markets once they have memories to refer to when making decisions. They are also more likely to talk about their experiences to their peers. Word-of-mouth is a very powerful strategy, but hard to execute if the influencers are not passionate about what they are promoting. Hopefully, their experiences are strong enough to spread the word to their friends/family/acquaintances and grow the farmers market consumer bases.

Conclusion Farmers’ markets attendance has been growing for the past decades. However, there are still boundaries that limit this growth. Many people still have the schema of a farmers’ market to be a place where you can go and buy pretty fruit but they don’t know anything more than that. People don’t understand that markets can lead to a more sustainable lifestyle or the struggles that farmers are going through. Additionally, many people go to markets to support their local farmers but don’t put the effort in to form relationships with them. This lack of information and relationship with farmers is something we want to change. We decided that the best way to bridge this gap of knowledge and people is to create an app called MyLocalFarmer. This app will connect you with farmers’ markets and where they are located as well as create documentaries


to help the average person understand the struggles that some farmers are going through. It will focus mainly on the sustainability that farmers’ markets create. The lack of knowledge is not the only boundary that farmers’ markets are facing. There is also a lack of convenience. It is easy for many people to go to the grocery store that is open every day than go to a market that is only open on the weekends. We thought that one way for markets to become more convenient is with a box share. This will allow people to buy into the market and get produce and recipes on how to use that produce sent to their door. If buying a share is too much for people, they can volunteer at a farmers’ market and get to take home free produce. These box shares and volunteer opportunities will all have their own section in the app. We will promote this app as well as the documentaries through social media since that is where the majority of people get their information on farmers’ markets as well as environmental issue. This app will not only create or strengthen the relationship between consumers and the farmers, but it will also get more people to go to markets and learn about the sustainable practices that are created through going.


References Dodds, R., Holmes, M., Arunsopha, V. et al. (2014, June). Journal of Agricultural Environmental Ethics. 27: 397. Retrieved from https://doi-org.ezproxy.lib.utexas.edu/10.1007/s10806-013-9469-4 FarmAid. (2018). The Issues. Retrieved from https://www.farmaid.org/issues/ Horton, R. (2015). An All-Seasons Guide to Farmers’ Markets. Retrieved from https://www.care2.com/greenliving/an-all-seasons-guide-to-farmers-markets.html Shriver, Jerry. (2008, September). What are the best or most unusual aspects of your local farmers' market? USA Today p. 12D. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Retrieved from http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A184837772/OVIC?u=txshracd2598&sid=OVIC&xid=7c001de9.

Toler, S., Briggeman, B., Lusk, J., & Adams, D. (2009). Fairness, Farmers Markets, and Local Production. American Journal of Agricultural Economics, 91(5), 1272-1278. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/20616294


Appendix/Figures Figure 1.- Care2 Growth in Farmers Markets (Horton, 2015) All other figures were made by Jessica Evans

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