The primary market customer will be one who has
attended markets in the past, or is currently attending farmers’ markets. This
individual is likely to be a woman between the age of 35 – 49 with a college
degree, representing a household income of $40,000 or more. For these customers, the primary drivers for
purchasing at the farmers’ market include access to quality, locally grown
food, and ability to meet the grower. Most customers plan to buy vegetables and
fruits, but also look forward to value-added products (breads, jams, cheese,
etc.). A majority of current customers
estimate they spend between
$21 - $50. For most, the food
purchased at the farmers’ market represents a fraction of their total food
purchases. For these market goers adequate parking will be essential as a
majority will be arriving by car. Most
would like to spend 15 minutes or less getting there, but many were
willing to spend up to 30 minutes.
There was a 17% response rate
from the
SFC contracted with Montgomery
& Associates to assess attitudes and opinions of Austinites
about a city-centered farmers’ market. The survey was conducted by
phone, and represented a random sampling of 628 residents of
Demand for a Market |
67.2% of Austinites
said they would be interested in attending a new, city-centered farmers’
market. |
Primary Demographic |
25.6% of those with an interest in the new market currently shop at a farmers’ market, local
roadside or pocket farm stand. About one in four of these people are over 55.
39.6% live in a two-person household. |
Frequency |
43.2% of those with an interest in the new market thought
they would shop there at least once a week. |
Estimated Spend |
44.4% of current farmers’ market customers say they now spend up to $21-$50 a visit whenever they go to a farmers’
market. People estimate their future spending more generously. Among those
interested in a new market, 28.2% estimate spending up to $20 a visit; 44.6%
estimate spending $21-$50, and 19% estimate spending more than $50. This
represents a range of 10 – 50% of the total food budget of nearly 75% of all
respondents. |
Individual Motivation for
Attending Farmers’ Markets |
44% of those who currently shop
at farmers’ markets do so mainly for the high quality produce and unusual
choices. |
Preferred Days and Times |
24.6% of respondents said Saturday mornings and 18% said Saturday afternoons were most preferred. 16% indicated that weekday evenings were the next most convenient time. |
Key Success Factors to Attract
Customers |
Quality of produce and
availability of parking will be key factors in determining whether people
visit the new market. |
Transportation and Distance |
92.8% said they would probably use a personal vehicle to get to the
market, and 54% would prefer to spend 15 minutes or
less getting there. |
Betsy Levy, a long-time SFC volunteer and Texas A&M doctorate candidate, volunteered to survey existing farmers’ market consumers to identify their demographic profile, preferences, and attitudes towards a new central market. As part of her doctorate research, Betsy Levy had conducted a similar survey of Boggy Creek farmers’ market consumers. Leveraging this expertise, Levy worked with staff and volunteers to develop a survey instrument. With the help of SFC staff and volunteers, Levy conducted in-person interviews with 96 consumers who were willing to be surveyed. The surveys were conducted October – December 2001 at four area markets. Highlights of the survey are as follows:
Farmers’ Markets Surveyed |
38.5% Westlake, 28.1%
Georgetown, 18.8% San Marcos, and 14.6% New Braunfels. |
Demographic Profile of Customer |
Of those individuals that
agreed to complete the survey, 69.8% of consumers were female; 34.4 % were
between 35 – 49, 33.3% were between age 50 – 64.
When asked about ethnicity, 91% identified themselves as Anglo. 35.3% have
household incomes above $60,000, 28.2% between $40 – 60,0000.
When asked about education, 29.4% have some college, 28.7% have a Bachelor’s
degree, 27.7% hold an advanced degree. 48.6% live in
the urban environment; 36.5% live in a suburban environment. |
Shopper Habits |
60.6% of those surveyed had been
to another market in the
past six months. |
Individual Motivation for
Attending Farmers’ Markets |
When provided with options,
those surveyed identified the following as their motivation for attending
markets: 84.2% like to buy food that is grown in or near their community;
77.9% like the high quality and/or unusual choices; 50.5% believe the food is
nutritious and safe; 34.7% like meeting the producers. |
Estimated Spend |
14.8% spend $25 or more; 26.6% spend $15 - $25; 54.3% spend $5 – 15; 4.3% spend between $0 – 5 |
Portion of Food Purchased |
59.6% purchase ‘A fairly small amount – the rest I buy at grocery store’; 23.4% buy about a quarter of their food at the market; 12.8% buy most of their food at the market. |
Products Purchased at Market |
Vegetables 96.8%, Fruit 76.8%, Baked Goods 50.5%, Other Prepared Foods 47.4%. |
Needs not Fulfilled at Current
Market |
68% indicated that current markets had all they needed. Small numbers (less than 3 % in each case) felt that the markets needed bread, honey, more herbs, craft items, local beer and wine, more plants / flowers, vegan products, and more customers. |
Distance Traveled |
68.1% said the market was ‘near their home.’ When asked how far they would be willing to travel, respondents indicated they would be willing to travel a few minutes (7.4%), 10 – 15 minutes (46.3%), 30 minutes (37.9%), more than 30 minutes (8.4%). |
To conduct a survey of interest
of local growers,
SFC staff worked with volunteer Karen Enyedy, local
grower associations, and government agencies to identify a list of farmers and
farmers’ market vendors located within a 100-mile radius of
|
Profile of Survey Participants |
94.2% of those surveyed were farmers; 5.8% were not farmers, but
potential vendors. 81.1% had participated in a farmers’ market before. |
|
|
Grower/Vendor Interest |
35.9% indicated interested in participating
in a central farmers market; 36.9% maybe interested; and 27.2% are not interested. |
|
|
Average Amount of Sales ($) Expected |
The sales expectations appear to vary significantly by grower depending on their size, ranging from $50 to $2,500 per week. More than 50% of the buyers expect to make between $200 - $500. The median sales expected are $300 per week. |
|
|
Available Supply |
There is a significant
range in the acreage each grower manages. Eleven (11) farmers manage one-acre
farms, and one farmer manages |
|
|
Product Available |
There are 59 different products that farmers/vendors identified to bring to market (vegetable, fruits, flowers, cheese, etc.). The products that farmers will bring include tomatoes (47%), squash (35%), melons (28%), peaches (24%), onions (23%), peppers (23%), and eggs (20%). There are 25 ‘value-added’ products that farmers/vendors identified they would like to sell. These products include dried produce (23%), pickled produce (20%), jam (20%), preserves (16%), and salsa (13%). Others mentioned include crafts, pesto, cider, syrup, cookies, relish, mean, oils and vinegar. |
|
|
Fee Structure |
65.8% prefer a booth fee; 26% prefer a % of sales; and 4.1% prefer a membership. |
|
|
Months Farmers Prefer to Sell |
May, June and July are the months growers prefer to sell, commanding 96%, 91% and 85%
participation respectively. There is a
sharp decline in interest beginning in August (68.1%) and continuing through
November (55.6%). Based on this research, the preferred season for growers
appears to follow the |
|
Best Days / Times of Week |
The research indicated that Saturday and Wednesday appear to be preferred days of the week of the farmers interested in coming (77). Growers circled all days and times they prefer, yielding the following results: 46 for Saturday, 30 for Wednesday, 16 for Another choice (multiple choices were given—no third day yielded more than 4). The least favored day is Sunday AM (59.1%). Curiously, the second least favored day is Saturday AM (50%). The fact that 80% of those surveyed already participate in a farmers’ market may mean that their response is influenced by their participation in current Saturday morning markets. 14 of the farmers favoring Saturday already participate in a Saturday market and would have to expand yield and staff to cover two markets. |
||
Current Market Participation of Grower/Vendors |
35.6% of farmers surveyed currently sell at
the |
||
Growers-only Market Position |
89% would favor a growers-only, non-reseller market. |
||
A group of seven (7) members of
the 2002 Leadership Austin (LA) class assisted the
Profile of Survey Participants |
13 business leaders;
4 government leaders; and 6 neighborhood and non-profit leaders. |
Overall Support for Farmers’
Market |
22 out of the 23 leaders surveyed support
the idea of a city-centered farmers’ market. |
Key Success Factors Raised by
Respondents |
Location, Parking, Motive, Content |
Location |
The respondents provided the following qualitative feedback when asked
about potential locations. Plaza |
Parking |
Parking was the most cited
concern of leader respondents. Those surveyed felt a majority of market goers
would drive to the market, and ample free or inexpensive parking must be
available to ensure the market’s success. |
Motive |
Leaders felt the market must be
economically viable, so it must be able to attract those willing to spend.
Marrying economic viability with the availability of quality produce to East Austinites is the most challenging issue. |
Content |
Leaders felt fresh fruits and
vegetables were required for a successful market. Meat, cheese, plants and other content could
be added now and later (once the market was established). The market should
be a family attraction; activities for kids and local music are needed. |
Index
business, 1, 10
farmer, 2, 7
Food, 1, 6, 10
growers, 1, 2, 7, 8, 9
market, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11
surveys, 1, 5, 7, 10