15 May 2017
 Categories: , Articles

If you are planning to sell baked goods, honey, or other processed foods at a farmers market, you need packaging. To narrow in on the right type of packaging, there are a number of factors you may want to keep in mind. Before your booth opens for business, take a look at these tips.

1. Make Sure Packaging Is Food Safe

First and foremost, the packaging you use needs to be food safe. For instance, if you decide to buy plastic bags, bottles, or containers, make sure that they are FDA-grade plastics designed for use with food. If the plastic isn't approved for use with food, it may start to break down and get into your food.

2. Think About Your Target Market

In addition to choosing packaging that keeps your items sealed and makes them easy to transport, you should also think about how your customers will react to your packaging. To appeal to the environmentally conscious farmer's market shopper, you may want to select packaging that is biodegradable.

Depending on what you are peddling, wax paper or even simple brown packaging may work, but if you prefer something closer to plastic, there's also biodegradable cellophane bags. These bags are made of plant cellulose, the same cellular material that makes up natural packaging like peanut shells. They are ideal for greasy foods or baked goods, and they break down within six months.

3. Dress It Up

With plastic or cellulose food packaging, your product is clearly visible to your customers, and that can help with sales. If you decide to go with opaque packaging, dress it up a bit with a ribbon or some printed designs. Most importantly, make sure that some of your food is displayed so that customers can see it, regardless of the packaging.

4. Remember Your Contact Details

If you decide to order custom printed packages, make sure to have your contact details printed on the packaging. This doesn't need to be your home phone number, but it should offer a relatively sound way to reach you, such as a website or email address. If you only put your website on the packaging, make sure that you have a "contact us" page on your site.

This information allows people to contact you about private sales, and if a large buyer such as a restaurant reaches out to you, that could really help to drive up your sales and make your business more profitable.

If you don't have contact details professionally printed onto the packaging, make sure to include them inside of the packaging. For instance, if you are using a simple plastic bag that's been heat sealed shut, either slip a business card inside the package, or tape it to the outside. Just make sure your tasty treats don't slip out into the world without your brand on them.

5. Consider Reusable Containers

Another way to get in line with your farmer's market client base is to offer reusable containers. For example, say you sell honey. You could bring some of the honey to the market in small bottles ready to go, but you could bring the rest of it in a large vessel and fill up customer's containers as desired.

If you decide to go with reusable containers, expect to pay a bit more upfront. Also, make sure that your customers know the containers are reusable. There are so many seemingly durable plastic food containers designed for the landfill that your customers may not realize your containers are reusable unless you say something.

If you like, you may want to package some foods in disposable containers and offer reusable containers or packaging upon request.

6. Remember Shopping Bags

Finally, remember to invest in a few big shopping bags. That's essential for customers who buy a lot and need something to carry it all home. For maximum impact, have your company and contact details printed on these bags as well.

For more options and ideas, contact a company that specializes in food packaging, such as KNF FLEXPAK Corporation.