When the sun’s out, you’ll easily find health-conscious consumers swarming farmers’ markets for the freshest produce and tastiest goods. They search for the best products to stock pantries, and many look for fun foods to try.
CPG brands would be keen to make farmers’ markets part of their strategy as prime sampling venues - the numbers back it up:
- In 2020, on-farm stores and farmers’ markets made up 59% of direct-to-consumer (D2C) sales, according to the USDA National Agricultural Statistic Service’s “Local Food Marketing Practices Survey” report.
- Farmers’ markets have grown in revenue at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.5% from 2019-2024, with health-conscious consumers of greater disposable income accounting for the majority of demand (“Farmers Markets in the US - Market Research Report (2014-2029),” IBISWorld).
We’ve been stoked to deploy outstanding brand activation experiences by partnering with farmers’ markets on showcasing CPG brands through omnichannel product sampling. Check out five of the freshest ways brands have wowed consumers.
Goodles wins over farmers’ market goers with tasty mac-and-cheese samples
It’s one thing to grab a sample for later, and it’s another to eat freshly-prepared bites for on-the-spot goodness. Goodles brought their A-game to farmers’ markets with on-site cooking and engaging branding.
Their goals were to increase product awareness and drive sales to key retailers; after distributing over 5,200 samples, 200 coupons, and 275 swag items at California farmers’ markets, they nailed it.
The feedback was over-the-top positive for their protein-packed noodles. Here’s a taste of what we heard:
- “I want to buy this. You just gained a customer.”
- “I love this so much. Would be the perfect protein swap for my kid!”
- “I can’t wait to buy these in the store”
Their generous samples really highlighted how they do product sampling and noodles, gooder.
Popcornopolis sampling gives farmers’ markets an extra pop of flavor
If you visit California farmers’ markets, you might have been one of the lucky 21,500+ people who got a Popcornopolis sample this summer. We partnered with the well-known popcorn brand to increase product awareness of Zebra, Caramel, and Kettle Corn flavors and gather consumer feedback.
Throughout 8 different farmers’ markets, we reached 35,700 attendees who loved the gluten-free samples and raved about how they were well-coated and fully popped. The tasty cones were great mid-afternoon snacks that added to the market experience and left positive impressions about the brand.
Just Spices samples delightfully top off the farmers’ market experience
To increase brand awareness and drive retail sales for their spice mix toppers, Just Spices partnered Recess to distribute 10,000 samples at farmers’ markets in California and Texas.
Samples had QR-coded cards attached that directed to a landing page full of recipes. Having these worked out very well to give additional information to farmers’ market goers who were excited to find out the mixes didn’t require additional preparation.
Participants shared wanting to try the samples on toast and eggs from the market. Knowing they had easy-to-use spice mixes on hand helped them make decisions on what to shop for that day and which brand to choose in the future.
Bush’s Beans turn health-conscious heads with farmers’ market sampling
Bush’s Beans partnered with us on targeting a newer demographic and managing short-coded products and found success at farmers’ markets. By distributing full-sized cans and directing to information via QR codes on pull-up banners, they reached nearly a quarter million people.
We were excited to see over 111,000 cans distributed through multiple activations and particularly interested in how farmers’ market attendees had positive feedback. They were eager to learn that baked beans could be healthy and a convenient part of meal planning. Dig deeper into their campaign here.
Catalina Crunch farmers’ market samples prove to be the perfect snacks to pack
Who doesn’t love a good snack? To increase brand awareness and drive in-store purchases, Catalina Crunch worked with us on an omnichannel product sampling approach. By creating brand activation events at multiple venues, including farmers’ markets, they reached nearly 50,000 people with samples. Consumers were re-targeted on social media for even greater impact.
We were thrilled to hear from farmers’ market organizers that praise was strong, with multiple families with small children sharing that they’d look for Catalina Crunch as school snacks due to their healthiness and tastiness. Sounds to us like farmers’ markets were the right places for the right household decision-makers!
Want to establish farmers’ market sampling as fertile ground for marketing success?
Recess cultivates winning sampling campaigns. With more than 15,000 opportunities for sampling which you can filter by consumer demographic, customer behavior, location, proximity to retailer, Recess can support unique brand activation and sampling event execution in turnkey, measurable, and scalable ways. Talk to a Recess expert to learn more.
