Thank you to everyone who came out to the Waitsfield Farmers Market on Saturday May 16.
It was always going to be a interesting event and thats exactly what it was thanks to this stupid virus we now have to deal with. The weather was not great with it being fully overcast and kind of cool, but no rain so we can handle the cool, on top of this, being the very first market of the season I did not have huge expectations in terms of sales but it turned out ok anyway, and most other vendors seemed happy as well, so all in all a success given the situation and conditions. Thank you to Lotty our manager and all the others involved who went to so much effort to modify and make the market as safe and germ free for vendors and customers alike.
It did feel somewhat strange wearing a mask, and trying to talk to customers wearing one as well, now we know what it's like to work in retail. There were many other changes to suit the predicament, one way walking, no meandering around the market with your friends as you please, and no dogs. The market most normal Saturdays used to be as much a dog show as a farmers market, not so any more, and also only one family member in the market at a time, no music, and no onsite food consumption. So the market is not the social outing that we are used to, very far from it, it's now a serious market, business only, but you can still buy tons of awesome food there, and thats what a market is for anyway so it's not the end of the world. Just don't get caught with your mask down or walking in the wrong direction. I'm not sure what the penalties are but you don't want to get a season ban from the farmers market, how would you then get your goodMix form the source? Don't worry, we would figure something out.
Another big difference is that there are no more free samples, I'm not sure what the net outcome of this will be, apart from less germs being spread. In one way it is great, I don't have to go out and buy paper sample cups with spoons and prep all the sample product to bring along in a cooler with yogurt, this is less work and less expense so that's great. The downside is that customers can't taste the product, which may make them less inclined to purchase in ordinary circumstances, BUT, nobody else has samples either so at least it is a even playing field for all, it just comes down to how attractive your display is and how convincing the sales pitch is, so that's not entirely a bad thing if it hones the sales skills and means less work, we'll see over time.
The biggest news is the release of 2 new goodMix products, 2 types of trail mix, less tiny seeds and no soaking needed. I know the soaking puts a lot of people off, they just want to scoff it down and soaking adds too much planning and complexity to the humble breakfast, well look no further, your prayers are answered. I'm not sure why it took me 4 years to figure out these new options, the response was great, even though the bags were bare with no labels on them yet. This was just a test run of the prototype batch, there are a few minor tweaks but that was pretty much it, so if you like healthy organic trail mixes with no sweeteners then stay tuned, try to get to the market because they won't be available in stores or online until I get the labels done, hopefully in the the next month or 2.
The first one, proposed name, "super trail" contains - SULTANAS, DRIED APRICOTS, BRAZIL NUTS, ALMONDS, MACADAMIA NUTS, PEPITAS, CINNAMON, CARDAMOM and CAYENNE PEPPER, so a touch of spice but not hot.
The second, proposed name, "super trail RAW"contains the following - PEPITAS, BRAZIL NUTS, SULTANAS, DRIED APRICOTS, SUNFLOWER SEEDS, ALMONDS, GOJI BERRIES, DRIED APPLE, RAW CACAO NIBS, COCONUT CHIPS.
These will provide you with tons of energy and organic sustenance for whatever you happen to be doing for the day, and they provide me with something else to sell in order to stay afloat during the economic disaster unfolding in front of us, so it really is a win win, if they fly off the shelf since they don't have to be soaked then even better. The price will be the same as the current Paleo mixes, $12 for the small 8.5oz and $30 for the big 25oz which is 3 times bigger. I know it seems steep but thats what it is, and as with our other products, if you sit down and work out the cost per bag and what it would cost you to make them yourself (as many would be customers profess they do to save money) then you will certainly find that you are actually getting a good deal buying our mixes, despite what you may initially think about the price. The key factor is the organic ingredients and that there are no cheap fillers, you will get similar products that are non organic, but you will see very few if any direct competitors that are USDA certified. Now I know we can argue back and forward on the merits of organic vs conventional but thats another discussion altogether.
Hope to see you at the Waitsfield Market, if not don't forget to keep your eye out online for the trail mixes coming soon. Stay well and don't catch the virus!
Andrew