By Clint Thompson
Alabama specialty crop producers looking to capitalize at farmers markets this year need to remember that booth appearances matter when attracting consumers to buy their commodities.
Roshell Rosales Aguilar, an Alabama Cooperative Extension agent, talked about what growers need to consider before setting up shop as a vendor at a local farmers market.
“I would say consistency of the way your booth looks; making it all one theme tends to make it look very professional. I think it’s funny, when we go to the grocery store, we want to see things look very natural, very outdoorsy, but at the farmers market, you want things to look a little bit more neat, a little bit more in order,” Aguilar said.
“That’s only because it attracts the customer’s eye. If it’s very uniformed, everything’s in the same font, everything has the same color pattern, it usually gets their attention a little bit faster than if you have a couple of items on a table or if you have different kinds of colors or fonts or if they don’t make sense together.”
According to Sweet Grown Alabama, there are 31 farmers markets in North Alabama, 10 in Central Alabama and four in South Alabama.
Part of an attractive appearance is knowing what color tablecloth to use and what can capture the attention of a potential buyer.
“Using a black tablecloth can really make the colors of produce pop,” Rosales Aguilar said in a story on Alabama Extension. “I’ve seen people use fake grass rugs in their space to make it more interesting. When it comes to signs and logos, consistency and uniformity are good. Try to stick to one color scheme and use the same font on all signage.”
A traditional U-type setup for tables, as well as designs that created an aisle and checkout line for customers were studied in a Cornell University report.
“It seems like creating an aisle can be helpful, especially at high volume markets,” Rosales Aguilar said. “With the checkout line, consumers get to see everything you’re selling, and they might pick up an extra item or two. Plus, there are no questions about who got there first or where the line starts.”