Fruition: Local Foods Blog

June 10, 2021Lauren Olson

Farm Branding Basics: What Do I Need to Know?

How much thought have you given to your branding? It is important to think about how your products and your business may look to consumers. Often people purchase products because of the story it tells, and the feeling it gives.

As the owner and producer of a business and products, you want the ability and control of telling your story at all levels. ATTRA | Sustainable Agriculture published a recent article on “Farm Branding: Selling Your Products Through Story”. You can read the full article HERE. Below are 7 great takeaways from the article, consider digging in this season on some of these tips to connect more with your customers!

Make Meaning. What makes your product different from competitors? Share this meaning with your customers by stating these things out loud and in your marketing materials.

June 3, 2021Flip

Meet the Local Foods Team: Lauren Olson

Tell us about your role on the local foods team.

My role is working with food producers and food entrepreneurs to help with their marketing strategies. I started this position in April of 2021 and I am interested in learning what services I can offer to farmers and food producers that would be of most use to their business. Currently, I am working on educational materials that would be helpful to producers as they’re scaling up their business. In addition I promote consumer education surrounding local foods to help spread awareness of the delicious bounty we have here.

So you could meet one-on-one with a producer that’s trying to change something about their business, for example.

Yes, I help educate farmers and food entrepreneurs about marketing tools. It could be anything from discussing E-commerce options for online stores, advising on websites and social media accounts, giving input on logos or accessing new markets.

I think the reason I like marketing is because it is about supporting your local network of consumers and producers and a lot of good can happen from that. Especially when it comes to food since we all need to eat and it’s a great way to invest in your community.

May 27, 2021Flip

May Fruition Showcase

We live in a vast rural county, larger than the states of Delaware and Rhode Island. In a place this spread out, sometimes it takes a while to know who is doing what. There’s a brand new way to learn more about agriculture in our area and the stories behind our area’s food businesses.

In addition to this blog, just launched in May 2021, the Extension Local Foods team is bringing the farmers and food businesses right to your computer screen with a new livestream called the Fruition Local Food Showcase. We are passionate about connecting consumers with the people who grow or sell food items available in St. Lawrence County.

The showcase features three new people every month, who have their chance in the spotlight for a 15 minute interview. Community members tune in on YouTube or Facebook, where it’s livestreamed and also saved as a recording to view later. The program gives viewers a unique opportunity to learn directly from the people who run these businesses about what drives them, what’s new this season, and how to access and best use their products.