I’ve been making treats for years, and I’ve even sold them casually through retail, but this is the first time I’ve sold them at a booth at a food market. Here are some of the things I learned from being a vendor at the Greenpoint Food Market.
Before the fair……………………………..
Plan Plan Planity Plan
I was making baked goodies for the fair, and I had to make it the night before so it was fresh, so I really couldn’t do that in advance. But you CAN do things in advance like:
- buying ingredients
- buying supplies (plates, utensils, napkins, bags, tablecloth)
- getting change
But in terms of doing the cooking/baking, plan for errors. Test any new equipment ahead of time. I did NOT do this with a new pan I got, and it turns out I need a lower oven temperature for it because it burned the bottom of my bars. I had to spend extra time salvaging the ones that were still edible AND making other items to make up for the bars that were ruined. FAIL that could have been avoided.
Make sure everything is priced
Some vendors didn’t have prices on their wares. When you put the prices out, you make it easier for the visitor to decide whether they might buy. If you don’t have a price, there’s another hurdle they have to get over. However, I found that if the sample is KICK ASS this is less of a problem.
Bring a friend
I was planning on manning the booth all by myself, but my friend Laurel showed up (I thought just for support) but she stayed with me the whole afternoon, and i was GLAD SHE DID! I didn’t realize that things like manning the sample flow and just chatting and bagging is better with two people. Plus, if things get slow, there is someone to talk to!
Don’t forget the extras
You need to bring more than just your food. Don’t forget:
- a tablecloth
- a dish to put the samples on
- bags to put product in to take away
- napkins (both for cleanliness and for food consumed right away)
- utensils if needed
- knife (for cutting samples if you’re doing it onsite)
- paper towels for yourself (they never have enough onsite)
- tape for hanging signs or various things
Bring enough change
I had foreseen this issue, so I brought with me $100 in change (I did however, bring too many quarters – $30 in quarters was entirely too much!) Bring many ones, and a bunch of fives. Better to have too much than too little, and you don’t want to lose sales if you have to tell someone, “Sorry I don’t have change for a twenty!” (because EVERYONE wants to pay with a $20!) But keep your money bucket out of range of people as they pass by! I was nervous someone would swipe it!
If you are a legitimate business, have a business card with your website on it
Especially when it comes to food, people like to gab about some new food they found. If that new food is you, make it easy for them to do that! Have a business card with your contact/website info on it, people can a) tell their friends about you and b)tweet/blog/Facebook about you when they get home! Make it easy for them to do that!
At the fair………………………………………………………
Have a gimmick to get people to come over
My gimmick at the booth was frosting shots. I had big pastry bags of frosting, and then we had doled out some pretty little sample cups of frosting for 50 cents! (a bargain!)
Stand – don’t sit at the booth if at all possible
Laurel and I stood almost for the entire time of the fair, because we didn’t HAVE chairs. Towards the end, we noticed some free ones, but I soon realized I didn’t like the position it put me in, lower than the buyer’s eye level. It’s easier to engage someone if you are at the same level.
On that note, price realistically, but not foolishly
If possible, visit that particular fair in advance to find out what the other vendors are charging for similar items. You don’t want to be charging $3 for cookies when others are only charging $2. However, if you are using more premium ingredients, your prices shold reflect that (also so you can make a profit). There’s nothing worse than taking money for an item, and kicking yourself when you know you should have charged more.
Greet the booth visitors!
I’ll admit, as a booth visitor I even get nervous roaming over the tables, sometimes hoping the booth babe won’t make eye contact with me JUST YET. But if you say something funny, it breaks the ice. I have food at my booth, so I like to say, (in a slight whisper), “You know, samples don’t have any calories!” It’s a new joke to every visitor but I’m sure Laurel got sick of it after the 100th time! No matter, I shut her up with some cookies!
Also, don’t be afraid to flirt with your visitors. Play a game with them. For a while when guys would come over and view the frosting, I’d say, “are you MAN ENOUGH to try a frosting shot?” Interestingly, more women were man enough than men.
Accept that you might not know what the heck will sell
Maybe you thought for SURE an item would be a hit, and no one is buying it. What went wrong? It might be the flavor of the market. It might be a season thing (my friend gave me some homemade coconut macaroons to sell, and we only sold a few.) I thought they were delicious, but they didn’t sell well. Laurel told me “not many people like coconut.” All my other items were chocolate-based, and chocolate is an easier sell. That’s not to say niche items wouldn’t sell. But it’s all a crapshoot.
About the frosting shots. I was SURE I had a hit on my hands. And in a way, I did. I had tons of people taking PICTURES of the “frosting shot” setup. But few bought frosting. The ones that did were PSYCHED that frosting shots existed, however. More men bought frosting than I would have expected.
Things ARE going to go wrong. Go with it.
Accidents happen. My biggest chocolate frosting bag exploded when I tried to dole out samples. I forgot to get napkins so I gave away more bags than I needed to. When the frosting exploded it ruined one of my signs. All i could say was OH WELL and just have fun with it!
Towards close of the fair, slash your prices!
No one wants to drag the unbought goodies home, and a little money is better than none. For the last half hour of the show, offer half price, or just “massive discounts” to your prices. Do a two for one!
Also at the end of the day, see if you can do a trade with other vendors!
This is a benefit I didn’t plan on! One of the other vendors came over and wondered if they could trade with ME. WHAT AN IDEA! By the end of the day I had gotten some homemade soda, wasabe pate from Cobra pate, and Bacon Marmalade.
