CRESTON, B.C. – It takes money, imagination and perseverance to successfully sell locally grown and processed food.
For farmers on small operations in British Columbia, promoting local products is a necessary part of their economic survival.
To do this, they can receive help from the 115-member Small Scale Food Processors Association that was formed in British Columbia in 2002 and from those who have solved the value added puzzle.
“We want to find people in this business who care about food and care about people producing food in the province,” said association manager Candice Appleby.
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She told an agriculture meeting in Creston that members encourage value chains and value adding to help farmers earn more money and to give them enough hope to stay on the land producing food.
The provincial government has also provided encouragement by launching a healthy living initiative to encourage healthier choices among British Columbians in preparation for the 2010 winter Olympics in Vancouver.
One aspect of the program is to put locally grown food in elementary schools through a pilot project among 10 schools the may expand to all 1,600 B.C. schools.
For example, the program has started offering packaged apple slices that can be sold in school vending machines.
The processors association has also set up an on-line directory to connect B.C. chefs to local farmers and processors.
As well, producers can connect with each other through the association to share experiences.
Michael Sproule owns the Blueberry Patch at Lister, B.C., where he and his wife Bibiane regularly sell out of farm-produced fruit products.
They have a 10-acre U-pick operation and on-farm store. Recently they expanded sales through the internet.
They rely on tourists and offer a whole farm experience with entertainment and good memories of picking fruit and eating homemade treats.
“If you make the hospitality warm enough, people will keep coming back,” Sproule said.
They follow an old-fashioned theme offering pastries, jams and jellies produced in small batches in a government certified kitchen.
Packaging may be as simple as covering a jar lid with gingham.
“People like that old-fashioned experience of going back to the farm,” he said.
“Old-fashioned is a unique thing in people’s minds now-adays.”
They sell all their cherries, strawberries and blueberries direct from the farm and have found people are willing to pay more than retail prices.
He figures it costs $1.85 to produce a 250 millilitre jar of jam, which they can sell for $2.85 wholesale and $5.95 retail.
Bob Atwell of Erickson, B.C., bought an orchard with the intention of going beyond U-pick fruit.
A master candy maker from Vancouver Island, he started the Chocolate Orchard with a candy store on the farm selling fancy chocolate-coated fruit treats and other high-end goods that are produced locally.
Erickson is an avid trade show visitor, gathering new ideas to measure the latest consumer trends.
“It is important for all of us to get out of our shells and get much more involved with our consumers.”
He asks people why they come to his store and what they would like to buy. He offers lots of samples and asks customers what they liked or disliked about a product. His goal is to sell something to 80 percent of the people who visit his store.
The Chocolate Orchard has developed a strong following in a small community of 5,000 but the real customer comes from elsewhere.
“A 5,000 people market is a difficult market to make a living in,” he said.
He too has found people will pay more for quality and the farm experience.
“It’s high for Creston, but tourists will pay,” he said.
As an experiment, he placed Creston-grown cherries in a fancy container and sold them for $5 a pound with no arguments from buyers. Sales were slower when the cherries were sold for less in a plain container.
“Our money really comes from our high end packages,” he said.
A major problem is finding a processor to do the additional work he wants done to broaden his line of store goods.
Getting started in such ventures is not easy, said Don Low of the B.C. agriculture department.
Money for value-added businesses is available from traditional lenders but most people start with personal loans, a line of credit or money from family.
“You have to do the legwork yourself,” Low said.
He advises selling entertainment and stories about the farm as part of the package.
“We know people will pay more for that story.”
The Creston Valley has 12,000 residents and those in farm businesses are highly dependent on tourist traffic. The community is six hours away from large markets such as Calgary or Vancouver, forcing businesses to become creative.
