5 Must Haves for Your First Farmers Market Set-up
Yay! You’re ready to sell your baked goods at your first farmers market! 👏🏽
Lucky for you, you’ve come to the right place because I’m going to walk you through the 5 essential tools needed for a farmers market setup for beginners (and any baker really!).
I know first hand it can be daunting trying out a new venture. I was so nervous going to my first farmers market and wasn’t sure what all was needed for my bakery setup.
Every market will be different, so a little research into what will be available to you and what is required for your market set up is important. Some markets may provide a stand for you, some may include covering and some may give you a table, so it’s important to reach out to the market coordinator to see.
Aside from these possibilities, here are the 5 must haves for a farmers market set up for beginners.
Tent
Most markets will give you a 10x10 booth space to set up in. For this space you will need a 10x10 tent.
Most farmers markets require the tent to be WHITE and you will also need 4 tent weights to hold your tent down so it won’t fly away (major liability!).
You will need to contact your market coordinator to see if you can have branding or logos on your tent.
Tables
For your farmers market display, you’ll also need some form of a table or maybe two to display your baked goods.
You want to make sure your table is sturdy, but light weight and easy to set up and break down. This is to make it easy to transport especially if you are attending your market alone.
One table is sufficient, but you can upgrade to two for a more advanced display, especially if you have a lot of product.
You may also want to consider having a table cover.
Table covers add a professional look to your market setup, but also serves as a great place to hide your supplies or extra product to keep your space clear and organized.
Visible Signage + Menu
It’s important to have signs that clearly display your prices, product names, and any special dietary information that would important to your customers.
I use these signs to display my prices so customers can easily see what the options are.
After attending my first market I realized a hack that I believe can be the secret sauce to making more sales.
Having large visible images of your products with a description hanging on your tent legs can make it easier for people to see and understand what your have to offer. This is a tactic I will be using at my next market for sure and will update how it goes!!
If you sell special dietary baked goods, you want to display this for all to see so have an extra sign that lets customers know.
High-quality Packaging
We all know we eat with our eyes, and the first thing customers are going to see is the way you package your baked goods for the farmers market.
It is so important you package your products in a way that is clean, professional and matches your businesses brand.
You want your products to appeal to your customers, but that doesn’t mean you need super expensive packaging. Here are a few low cost packaging ideas I used for my first market.
You also want to make sure you are complying with your local cottage food laws and have your products labeled. I used my custom label templates to add even more professionalism to my baked goods packaging.
I received so many compliments on it from everyone who came to my booth. It really does make a difference!
Payment Solutions
This is probably the most important must have for your farmers market setup. If you don’t have a way to take payments, you can’t make any money.
Have options to take cash and card payments.
For cash, bring money to use as change. I believe I brought $50 worth of change to my first farmers market. Bring a mix of $1, $5, and $10.
For card payments I recommend Square. It is easy and free to use. If you use Square, you can purchase the card reader, but it’s not necessary.
You can download the app and take so many other forms of payments like tap, sending a link, manually entering card info, Apple Pay and more.
While Square is free to use, there is a fee per transaction so be sure to factor that into your pricing.
As you process these essentials of a farmers market setup, remember the key to success is preparation, presentation, and having the right tools.
Having these 5 must haves will make your first farmers market experience run much smoother and take a lot of stress off your plate of trying to figure it out on your own.
Once you have these items then you can start using these upgrades to make your set up even better!
Take the leap, invest in these recommendations, and watch your business grow!
