By Cole Cottin

More and more people are interested in acquiring locally raised farm products, but still the majority of consumers feel retail outlets are the most convenient place to purchase the bulk of their groceries. Stocking retail outlets with local foods is a great solution to getting more local food in front of a larger number of customers. Retail outlet food buyers who respond to the rising demand for locally produced goods have much to gain. Local producers have a competitive edge over distant wholesalers for providing fresher, higher quality products, because they are able to get their goods to market faster than wholesalers shipping long distances. Buyers often find they can access those local, in season products for a comparable price to non-local products shipped greater distances. Plus, many buyers appreciate the quality of service they receive from a local producer versus a distributor or wholesale company. After all, who is more knowledgeable about a product than the person who produces it?

To learn more about the benefits and challenges of selling wholesale to retail outlets, such as grocery stores, and a list of strategies and resources for success, CLICK HERE to print or download the Kansas Rural Center’s resource document: Selling Wholesale to Retail Outlets.

This resource document  is an excerpt from Finding Your Niche, A Marketing Guide for Kansas Farms, published in January 2013 by the Kansas Rural Center. You may CLICK HERE to view the guide’s full Table of Contents and print or download other resource documents. Finding Your Niche: A Marketing Guide for Kansas Farms offers a great starting point for envisioning the potential your farm has to increase and respond to local demand.

To receive a printed and bound copy of the 200+ page guide, please order here or contact the Kansas Rural Center at 785-873-3431. A limited number of copies are available for a suggested fee of $25 to help cover printing, shipping and handling costs.