Marketing Native, New, and Unfamiliar Culinary Plants: Sample Marketing Plan and Tools for Pineberries, Groundnuts, and Other New and Unique Crops

This project got off to a very rough start in its first year but with project plan modifications, rebudgeting and help from our Grant Advisor we were able to get this project back on track and complete it on time.

In early March 2024, the CaDF Board asked that the Green Garden Foraging plants be moved to a different location on the property with full knowledge that the move would take a considerable amount of time and effort as the grower had one arm in a cast, a storage hoop house had to be cleaned out , vacant land had to be prepared, and most of the plants were perennials that had been put into the ground in Fall 2023. Overall, the move was a great idea as it would consolidate the plants into one space but the timing of the move prohibited the necessary plant propagation, growth time and space that was needed in order to start grant work and be prepared Spring 2024. It also led to diminished yields as root crops such as yacon and groundnuts were growing in buckets until the middle and late June 2024. The CaDF Board did offer a little help with moving large items and tilling the new designated space. The arm cast came off at the end of May 2024 and by early summer, the storage hoophouse had been cleared and set up for use and by mid-summer the newly assigned unused farm space had been re-opened and ready for planting. However, more groundnuts had to be purchased in the Spring 2024 to ensure enough tubers were ready to be sold in Fall 2024. More yacon rhizomes also had to be purchased in the Fall 2024 to ensure enough plants for Spring 2025 would be available for sale. Propagation of pineberries and chocolate mint plants had also been delayed. However, by October 2024, enough pineberry and chocolate mint plants were available for sale along with groundnut tubers. Sunchokes were added to the mix for something to sell in place of the unavailable yacon tubers. The sunchokes serendipitously exposed the problem of the unwelcomed assertive growing nature of native culinary plants. Yacons tubers were not available until late October 2024 and we were able to offer a few at the last 2024 market. Due to the forementioned delays, stock plants that needed to be put into the ground for next year's harvest were being sold in the fall when people were looking for produce they could eat. These delays significantly reduced data collection and sales.

By modifying our overall project plan, we used Fall 2024 activities as a modified proof-of-concept. So instead of concentrating on data collection, we used the Fall farmers markets we attended as learning experiences to assess what we needed to do for the following year. Winter 2024 was spent using the experiences of the Fall to re-assess booth needs, lack of data, plant offerings, marketing aids, and to address rebudgeting needs. By Spring 2025, we were back on track and ready for the spring sales.

Overall, collecting data for this project proved challenging for three main reasons: 1) valuable research time was spent in moving plants and supplies to a new onsite growing location; 2) survey response rates were very low; and 3) although we emphasized data collection at each farmers market, the volume of customer questions made it difficult to record data. At one event, we were so overwhelmed by a continuous line of people wanting to learn about uncommon culinary plants that data collection had to stop entirely. At the native plant event, even with two people attempting to collect data, the level of interest and constant flow of questions made recording responses nearly impossible. Despite these challenges, we gathered the best data we could at each event. In light of these data collection limitations, we used focus groups and in‑depth conversations with customers to build a fuller, more nuanced understanding of how to market uncommon culinary plants. At the end of the project, there was a great marketing story to tell with the data that we had collected and solid customer feedback from all the conversations that we had.

Surveys

The number of survey respondents was low across the three customer segments (Gardeners, Home Cooks, and General Customers) surveyed but we are confident in these findings because the same themes surfaced repeatedly in our focus groups, one‑on‑one conversations, and real‑time interactions at the farmers market. The surveys moved from a primary source of data to a supporting methodology that reinforced insights gathered through other means. Taken together, this combination of data sources gives us confidence that the results accurately reflect the behaviors, motivations, and needs of these customer groups queried.

Gardeners

This customer segment could offer farmers opportunities to sell both plants and produce. We asked this segment about their willingness to try new plants/produce and what information was needed to make buying uncommon culinary plant decisions. Below are the noteworthy takeaways from our surveys.  

• Slightly more than half of the respondents are already growing an uncommon culinary plant.
• If they aren’t already growing them, all of them wanted to grow some in the future.
• The following is a list of reasons why they are not already growing them.
  • Allergies
  • Access to plant stock
  • Lack of overall growing knowledge, especially soil safety
  • New to gardening
  • Lack of knowledge about these plants
• Their biggest concerns with growing these uncommon culinary plants are:
  • Space
  • Pests
  • Uses and recognizing potential problems with disease
  • Making a large investment in these plants and killing them
  • Lack of information
  • Killing them
  • “I’ll poison myself”
• They listed the following items as being helpful to encourage them to start growing uncommon culinary plants.
  • Better ease of access to plants
  • More space
  • Recipes
  • Taste the produce first
  • A community of growers to share with
  • More information on their existence, sustainability, climate change resilience, nutritional value, and difficulty of growing
  • Nutritional content. Availability. Ease of care.
  • Less deer or more deer resistant plants
• They acquired their starter plants at the following locations. The answers (below) are listed with the top answer listed first.
  • Farmers Markets
  • Farm Stores
  • Nurseries
  • Trading with other growers
  • Online stores
• We separated the question about where they found plants (above) and where they found out about new plants (below). Their answers are listed below with the top answer listed first.
  • Farmers Markets
  • Farm stores
  • Nursery
  • Online stores
  • Mailed catalogs and Non-farm retail stores tied for this fifth space
  • Seed Savers/libraries was entered by one person as a write-in answer. This wasn’t high on the list of responses but it was an interesting and noteworthy response.
• This group was asked about what information they needed to be made available to entice them to buy an uncommon culinary plant. Options were the same for both common and uncommon culinary plants. There is no particular priority order to the list below.
  • Variety name
  • Mature plant picture
  • Plant or produce use
  • Pests
  • How and when to harvest
  • Growing/care instructions
  • Costs

From the survey results, we found that gardeners are highly motivated to buy and try uncommon culinary plants and many are already growing them. Their barriers are practical: difficulty finding plant stock, limited growing knowledge, and varying levels of gardening experience. For this group, building confidence, whether they are seasoned gardeners or complete novices, is essential.

Connecting the grower with the plant plays a major role in strengthening that confidence. We saw this repeatedly at farmers markets. An interaction with the grower matters for all customer segments but it appears especially important for the Gardener segment. Many times, staff found themselves acting as a coach offering reassurance, answering detailed questions, and helping them believe they could succeed. This same dynamic was not felt as strongly as the other segments. This connection may also be about confirming that their trust in the grower is well placed. It also maybe that swapping gardening stories is a part of building that trust. It is important to talk with this customer segment and listen closely, while also being mindful of balancing the time spent with them and the needs of other customers seeking the same attention.

Home Cooks

Initially, Home Cooks were a separate segment but then we noticed that Gardeners and Home Cooks were basically the same person. Based upon that observation, we combined the two groups into one focus group. Though, we obtained separate information on this group before the two groups were combined. Below are some important takeaways from that survey.

• Most of this customer segment was either very willing or always looking to find something new to try.
• Many of this group had already tried an uncommon culinary plant such as cactus, wild rice, dandelion, nasturtium, and garlic scapes.
• Below are the reasons they tried something different.
  • “I like the idea of using plants around us.”
  • “I was living in Minneapolis at the time! And there was a restaurant in my apartment building that served wild rice "oatmeal" and it was very good”
  • “I had seen it on menus before and wanted to try it”
  • “I saw it at a farm stand that I frequent, and I trust what they sell. They also gave recipes for that.”
  • “They were available at the restaurant I worked at”
• Most of them found new ingredients through social media or a grocery or food store. Though Farmers Market and Friends tied as the second most popular answer.
• The respondents listed some items they would like to try such as five flavor fruit, more berries, and groundnuts. They were also asked in an opened ended-question about why they hadn’t tried them yet. Their answers are below.
  • Cost of initial planting
  • “I'm not sure where to go about finding good sources, it how to identify the plants safely in the wild.”
  • “I haven't done my research into IDing which plants are poisonous or not :(“
  • “I don't know what I don't know”
  • “Don't know about them, not accessible, not in recipes that are in my culture”
• They noted they would like to see more berries and native plants offered at Farmers Markets.
• A write-in formatted question of what they ask themselves prior to making a purchasing decision of an uncommon culinary plant was asked. Their answers are below.
  • “How would this be prepared by it's originating culture?”
  • “Is it safe to eat? Where can I find it? How can I grow it? How can it be used?”
  • “I'm usually introduced to a culinary plant in the context of it being used for recipes, so I usually wonder about the steps leading up to using it -- where to find it, how to identify it, what tools I would need to harvest it, etc.”
  • “Can I consistently find it (depending on season)?”
  • “What does it taste like, texture, recipes, pairings”
  • “Will it taste good? Was it grown sustainably? “
• Available information was cited as the most important factor when trying to make a decision about trying an uncommon culinary plant. This was closely followed by: safety and source. Texture was added in as a write-in answer.
• We asked this group what questions do they want to ask the grower before making a purchase.
  • "Who grew this?"
  • “How was this grown? Do you like to eat it? How would you use it?”
  • “I would want to know whether or not it was sourced sustainably what the grower has done to maintain the biodiversity in the land.”
  • “Is it native? Could it be invasive? Is it ethically sourced? What's the nutritional value? Is there any special preparation I have to do (e.g. boiling, cutting or peeling and discarding one part of the plant, letting it ripen, etc.)”
• We ask another question about their purchasing decision by asking them what the grower could offer to entice them to buy.
  • “Recommended recipes. Culinary/cultural history. Cultivation advice.”
  • “Honestly I'm an easy sell. If it's edible and safe I'm likely to try it.”
  • “Recipes -- both how to use the plant for an immediate dish and also how to preserve the plant for the future (i.e. pickling, jamming, etc.)”
  • “Sustainability, resistance to climate change, nutritional value, ideas for dishes in which to incorporate it.”
• The responders wanted a sensory connection such as taste or smell experience to help with enticing them to try an uncommon culinary plant.
• This group still gets most of their produce from a grocery store.
• Fresh and abundant produce were the top two answers followed closely by booth layout, free samples and free giveaways when asked what made them stop walking and enter a farmers market booth.
• The answers to being asked about what made them pause before approaching a booth are listed below.
  • “Is this being advertised for capitalist reasons (have to much of it, poor seller usually, etc.) or is it something cool?”
  • “What do they have that could be incorporated into next week's meals?”
  • “Do I want to talk to people and feel pressured.”
• In a quick “Inside/Outside” choice answer, we asked if they would prefer to step into a booth or look at items on the outside of the booth. The majority preferred to stay on the outside of the booth.

Overall, the survey shows that home cooks are eager and motivated to try new uncommon culinary plants. Their hesitation is not due to lack of interest; it comes from a desire to avoid making a mistake purchase. They need clear information about safety, flavor, preparation, and sourcing, along with a sense of trust in the grower before they commit to buy. Sensory experiences, especially taste and smell, help reduce uncertainty and increase buying and their decision-making confidence.

This group wants enough information to make their own decisions without feeling pressured into a sale. That pattern was strongly reflected in our own market interactions. Home cooks and gardeners often arrived prepared with specific questions. They knew what they wanted to ask, and they guided the conversation to get those answers. They responded well to growers who provided information but disliked any interaction that felt like they were being pressured toward buying.

There is a fine line between enticing and pressuring this segment. Once a sales pitch crosses into pressure, the customer disengages. These buyers want to lead the conversation, ensure their questions are fully answered, and feel confident that they are making the right purchasing decision.

General Customers

The general customers who responded to our surveys indicated they were either willing or always looking for something new to try. Below are some important takeaways from the survey.

• Many of them had already tried an uncommon culinary plant such as pawpaw, purslane, and fiddleheads.
• Curiosity was the reason most of them tried an uncommon culinary plant.
• Conversation with the grower, information sheet about growing the plant, information sheet about how to use the plant and informative plant labels were all indicated as extremely important pieces of information that would help them make a purchasing decision.
• How to use the plant was the top answer that this customer segment wanted to see on a plant label. The plant’s impact on the environment and growing/care instructions tied for second as the pieces of information located on a plant’s label.
• Botanical name, certifications such as organic or non-GMO and impact on the environment were pieces of information these customers wanted to see accompany the plants in some way.
• As for environmental impacts, this segment wanted to know about the plant’s ability to host pollinators, special conditions needed to grow this plant, the need for above average amount of fertilizers, whether it is invasive or not, and if the plant is native to North America were all rated as providing a positive impact on influencing a purchasing decision.
• The type of packaging really wasn’t important but there was a small preference for non-plastic. However, when specifically asked what packaging attribute was the most important, biodegradable packaging was a clear front runner.
• Free samples and fresh looking produce were the top two answers when it came to answering the question of what makes you stop walking and approach a farmers market booth.
• We tried to uncover a little more about their purchasing decision by asking them about the questions they were asking themselves as they paused and decided about approaching the booth. Below are the write-in answers they provided.
  • “Do I need that? Do I want to learn more about that?”
  • “Do I have time or shall I come back next week, perhaps?”
  • “Can this be incorporated into next week's meals?”
  • “Will I like anything enough to buy it?”
  • “How can I eat it?”
• Most people responding to this survey indicated that they walk the market first then go back to the places where they want to make purchases. The follow-up question was asked about what would stop them and make them purchase during their browsing walk around the market. Their write-in answers are below.
  • “Overly crowded market and I want to get in and out quickly.”
  • “Only something I'm very sure I know it's a great value or something extraordinary.”
  • “Looks fresh.”
• The direct question of what advice they would give to growers to entice them into buying an unknown culinary plant was asked directly through a write-in question.
  • “Is it sustainable? Is it perennial? Is it native? Is it tasty? What other benefits does it have?” Is it low maintenance? Is it inexpensive?”
  • “Share their farming stories.”
  • “Maybe partner with local restaurants and bakeries so customers and can taste how it's prepared properly before trying to use it themselves.”
  • “Test sample”
  • “Offer basic info (bullet points)”

In summary, the general customers who responded to the survey were curious and willing enough to try something new but only if the grower made it feel easy, trustworthy, and meaningful. Curiosity sparks the initial interest and engagement but they have to feel confident they can prepare the plant and that their time is well spent that drives the purchase. Environmental benefit adds value but it is the taste and image of fresh looking produce being part of a meal that makes the sale. These customers shop slowly but will return to booths that stand out.

This is a little different than what was being heard from conversations from retail farm market shops. In those situations, the managers were saying they don’t normally add uncommon culinary plants as the shoppers come in with a list of items they want and go right to them. Our findings don’t contradict this difference, it may be that customers may have a different mindset when they visit local retail farm market stores than when they visit farmers market booths. In the former, the shopper may want to go in and quickly get something; while at the farmers market they tend to browse and take more time. Also, a grower’s presence changes everything. This was an important point in talking with a CSA manager who offered sunchokes and yacons for sale. Growers selling at a farmers market can offer higher prices because of their presence and willingness to answer questions. While as a CSA seller, he had to offer at a lower price because there wasn’t that grower interaction supporting the sale. There are some other reasons for this but a grower’s presence helps with converting a browser to a buyer.

Conversations

While the conversations were anecdotal, they provided valuable and insightful information. Overall, people were quite receptive to these plants being offered. Many people thanked us for moving into this space. One customer actually shook our hands for offering these plants and having a mission of bringing more diversity into our diets and gardens. So the interest is certainly there. People had so many questions about these plants and were really interested in how to grow and use them.

Customer Conversations

Closer to the end of attending the farmers markets, we started asking customers why they stopped by our booth, regardless if they purchased or not. Below is a categorized list of their answers in order of frequency (high to low).

• Booth design (top answer)
• Curiosity
• Looking for plants to put into available space
• Edible plants
• Foraging interests
• Native plants
• Plants for sale
• Repeat customer
• Engaging staff
• Creating a Food Forest (bottom answer)

There were two takeaways from the above list. Booth design makes a huge difference. There was one sign that was created just before the Native Plant Sale that nudged booth design over curiosity. It was an interactive sign entitled: “Nature’s Pantry, Your Daily Table” that customers cited as making them stop. It was a simple sign that displayed various unlabeled native edible plants. People stopped to see if they could name the plants on the sign. Just that one interactive sign created an interactive experience that paid for itself in sales.

The other takeaway is how fast we started to build a following. In just a few farmers markets and a native plant sale, we had repeat customers that started a following. Going forward we have to have a plan in place to give our small group of followers something to follow, which we are working on now. 

Another collection of conversations that happened at various markets involved the assertive and sometimes aggressive growing nature of natives. These were interesting conversations because on one hand consumers want plants that require less care, good for the pollinators and are native to the Midwest landscape. However, on the other hand they don’t want a singular plant to take over the entire garden. The initial conversation happened in Fall 2024, when we were visiting a rural market and a farmer was surprised to see sunchokes being offered as they were just aggressive weeds he was trying to irradicate. Of course, you have the extremes of people who can’t believe that sunchokes are being offered due to their perceived invasive nature and then you have people who were trying to buy multiples of them to fill in an area. So, we directed our attention to the people in the middle who wanted a native culinary plant but wanted to know how to manage it. In various markets, we did talk about how to manage sunchokes in a garden. However, this would be a great topic for another grant because people really want to add these plants to their garden but are fearful of them taking over.

Farm Market Store Manager Conversation

A local Farm Market Store manager was interviewed and he provided some very insightful takeaways. He was very slow to add uncommon culinary plants to his inventory. He has a local farmer that he works with consistently and that farmer also tries to entice this manager to try new things but uncommon culinary produce or plants are rarely added. The manager felt it took about three years for people to start routinely buying uncommon culinary plants. People are curious when items first come out but won’t really buy. The second year, they have seen the item enough time to talk themselves into trying it and then start buying it the third year.

Asked about whether more information would help, he added that his customers really don’t read the information presented to them. They come into the market, go right to the items they want to buy and walk out.

Local Co-op Produce Manager Conversation

This was another interesting conversation. This was a cold call to a local Food Co-Op that offered local produce. Yacons were offered to the Manager and, at first, he was somewhat interested and asked for a callback later. He wanted to do some research into the vegetable. Upon the callback, the Manager felt that the amount of paperwork needed to get the product on the shelf was too great of an administrative burden to offer it to his customers. The second conversation was a little more challenging than the first so no further outreach to this venue was taken.

Local Franchise of a National Retailer

This was a very encouraging conversation. They already offer sunchokes to their customers and they are known in the area for offering fresh and sometimes hard-to-find produce. Their customers do go to this store to find unique items. He encouraged me to reach out to the national procurer for consideration. His advice was to be passionate about the product and make sure this was conveyed through the vetting process. There are plans to submit this application.

Local Chef/Restaurant Manager Conversations

There were a couple of quick conversations with a local chef of a small restaurant and a manager of a very busy restaurant. They were both handed a basic flyer about yacons that contained uses with pictures and information on its flavor profile along with a couple of yacons for sampling. Both were very interested in offering new items but the time it takes to develop a menu item was an issue for uncommon culinary produce. Going forward, a marketing brochure for the next culinary plant offering will be created and more thought will be given into creating a marketing kit for the uncommon culinary plant offerings.

CSA (Community Support Agriculture) Manager and Grower

This was a longer conversation and provided some really great insights into offering uncommon culinary plants through a CSA. This manager was very willing to sell yacons, sunchokes and ground cherries through his CSA. All sold out but there were some takeaways that he mentioned in our conversation. The first takeaways seems obvious but should be stated. Pricing for selling through a CSA is different than selling at a farmers market. CSAs need a wholesale pricing strategy so the prices for uncommon culinary plants fall to almost the same level as common culinary plants. With this CSA offering, produce above a certain price point does not work well for his customers or for his business. The prices that were stated at the farmers market were at least 33% higher than the CSA pricing.

Recipes are helpful in selling uncommon culinary plants. However, the quantity called for in a recipe should match the quantity being sold. For example, if a recipe calls for 2 – one pound yacon tubers, there should be either a two pound tuber or 2 – one pound tubers available at an acceptable price point. Other information helps customers to make CSA purchases include: how to use, how to store, and how long they can be stored.

Offering specials on uncommon culinary plants helps draw customer attention to these items, especially when they are available for only a very limited time, one or two weeks at most. Re‑introducing them again after a couple of months increases their perceived value by making them feel special, seasonal, and intentionally limited. The break also resets curiosity and gives customers time to imagine how they might use the plant, look up recipes, and build confidence before the next offering.

Some items, such as sweet, grab‑and‑snack produce, can be offered more frequently because they require no preparation and customers naturally gravitate toward them. In contrast, items like sunchokes and yacons work better as seasonal offerings, where limited availability enhances their appeal and gives customers time to plan for how they’ll use them.

Focus Groups

Below are the takeaways from the three sets of focus groups. Each group (Farmers, Gardeners and General Customers) participated in two virtual focus groups each. The first meeting was a conversation about their willingness and past experiences with uncommon culinary plants. The second meeting was focused on buying and selling uncommon culinary plants.

Farmers Focus Group

This group agreed that uncommon culinary plants can attract customers and can entice curious passersby into a booth. This creates a great way to start talking to customers about uncommon plants but also a way to sell complimentary common plants. These uncommon culinary plants offer a great way for a farmer to talk about their sustainable growing methods and how they are committed to bringing the freshest and environmentally friendly crops to the marketplace. Importantly, these uncommon culinary plants really provide a conversation starter and allow the farmer to start a customer following. One farmer shared she had sold wonderberries almost 25 years ago and noted that selling these unique berries started a following with her customers as they wanted to see what other unique items they offered. Another farmer is looking at adding more uncommon culinary plants to their common offerings because of current market demand and overall customer interest. It makes a customer stop and look. In a crowded busy marketplace, that is just enough to stand out and an opportunity to engage.

All the farmers agreed that education is critical. A farmer must be comfortable engaging with customers and be willing to share appropriate knowledge about the plant. Be patient, friendly, knowledgeable, and greet each customer with a smile. Selling uncommon culinary plants rarely sell themselves so it is important for farmers to be willing to catch passersby’s eyes and reach out as potential customers walk by or momentarily hesitate to see curiously new culinary options they may be putting in their gardens or on their plates that evening. Be prepared to have tasting samples or way to convey the flavor profile of the uncommon culinary plant to the customer. Preparation information is another common question so it is a good idea to play around with the uncommon culinary plant a little before you offer it so you know and can convey with confidence that you know about this plant. It creates confidence in your potential buyer.

Other takeaways from this focus group included that in today’s market it is important to stand out but the farmer needs to be mindful not to overextend their resources. The design of the farmers market booth is important. The novelty of uncommon culinary plants only works if passersby know that you have them. So make sure these plants are displayed at eye catching levels with clear signage and bright colors. Uncommon culinary plants can also be placed near the cash box or any other area where customers tend to congregate. As they are waiting to pay or for their change, a curious new culinary option just might catch their eye.

The farmers in this focus group talked about the use of QR codes to link customers to more in-depth information. The use of QR codes was brought up in the other focus groups as well. There are certainly great reasons to do this. It provides a quick way for a customer to access the website. It is a great way to get in-depth information to customers without the cost of printing brochures or flyers. However, QR codes also create frustration for customers when they try to scan and cannot access the information. In the end, you are troubleshooting a customer’s phone to get them the information. Just be aware of the pros and cons of using QR codes. Flyers also have good and bad points. They are simple and if properly designed can convey lots of easy to access information. They also cost money and you may have farmers market staff picking up your flyers as customers drop them throughout the market place. Again think carefully about the pros and cons. One thing, we did at our farmers market booth was to create clear flyers so customers could take pictures. We put them in table stands so people could easily focus on them and there were no links to frustrate them. This group of farmers, all of who sell at farmers markets, all agreed simple, attention-grabbing signage is a must. Detailed information sheets that incorporated information was also important in addition to the basic information of planting, growing, harvesting, taste profile, use, and preparation hints. For our booth, we had what we called “talking sheets”. These were visual information sheets that had pictures of the plant at various stages and ideas on how to use them. These were incredibly helpful. We didn’t hand them out but allowed customers to take pictures of them.

Gardening Group

This focus group contained gardeners who were also avid home cooks. They were all willing to try new items and some had ventured into trying ground cherries, cultural culinary herbs, and foraged plants.

This is an important customer segment for farmers wanting to market uncommon culinary plants as this group buys both plants to grow and produce to eat. The important purchasing considerations for this group included: how much space the plant needed to grow, the use of the plant when grown, and shelf life of product. As many nursery farmers know, container gardeners are a growing segment of the gardening market. These participants emphasized that the amount of space is a very important factor in deciding what plants to grow. One participant astutely commented that she looked for garden crops that could grow vertically. She had some in ground space to use but it was limited so she was always looking for plants that could grow up or could be successfully trellised. They also pointed out that part of their buying decision hinged upon the plant’s usable versatility. How many ways could you use it in the kitchen? The more ways it could be used the higher the probability was that they would buy it. Shelf life was another important factor. They were more likely to buy something that could wait until they had time to cook it.

This group was asked what would make them stop and explore a farmers market stand. It appeared that a sensory component was important such as something that could be smelled or tasted. They wanted simple, quick and easy to read information signs at eye-level. Informing the public about potential allergens or any toxicities were pieces of information they wanted to read about before buying. Personally, a big takeaway from this group was the importance of making a booth a destination booth for this group. Creating an experience for them by immersing them into a world of uncommon culinary plants and unknown flavors was a great way to get them to stop and return in the future.

General Customer Group

This is the group that provides the most challenges but could provide really great opportunities. These participants were willing to try new culinary plants but just hadn’t had the opportunity to do so. So many of the plants we talked about were totally unknown to this group.

This group really emphasized the need for farmer engagement. They wanted to be greeted by friendly, smiling, helpful staff. They wanted a clean, uncluttered, informational, and inviting booth. One of them went as far to say they wanted a “boutique experience”. The other participants quickly agreed. They wanted something to catch their eye but contained other items to hold their attention so they could shop and learn about what the farmer was offering. Tasting opportunities are a must for this group. Convenience is important so make sure that everything is ready to go at the start of the farmers market by having flyers ready for hand out, information sheets ready for picture taking, and prices visible.

This group emphasized the need for storytelling about the plant to build connection with the plant. Pricing information, and other plant information such as usage and preparation were other pieces of important information this group wanted to see. How to incorporate this plant into a meal was brought up as something this group would like to see when they consider purchasing a plant. At the end of the conversation, the group made a point to say how important it was to them to have proactive, personable, and professional people working at the farmers market booth. This doesn’t mean that farmers have to come into the booth with suits and skirts. It means that they want people they are buying from to wear clean, untattered, respectful clothing. So, leave the farm duds at the farm and put on your clean jeans, farm-labeled shirt, and a great genuine smile. That is what these customers want to see. It was surprising how many people stopped at our booth just because: “I saw a smiling face”.

One unspoken takeaway I took from this group was that this group loved to talk with their friends and family about their finds. This quickly speaks to the need for storytelling and offering some tidbit this customer segment can take back and start a conversation about when their family asked them if they saw anything new or interesting. This quickly speaks to the strengths of the uncommon culinary plants that a red ripe juicy tomato can’t compete with.

• “What did you find at the farmers market today?” “I found some tomatoes.”
• “What did you find at the farmers market today?” “I found a native plant that has underground edible tubers that grow like beads on a necklace. These “beads” can be pulled up and harvested without pulling up this nitrogen fixing plant. This plant also has chocolate colored unique looking flowers”

The American groundnuts (Apios americana) story bead story beats: “I found a tomato” comment any day. Supply your customers a conversation starter to take back to their friends and families.

Across Various Focus Groups

One question that was posed to multiple focus groups was what should this category of culinary plants be called? “Uncommon” has a slight derogatory connotation. However, “rare” didn’t really fit either as these plants are not really rare but rather unknown as culinary plants. “Non-traditional” was also considered but it implied a cultural judgement. There was no consensus but whichever word a farmer chooses, use it consistently and respectfully. Upon further consideration, unfamiliar culinary plants is becoming an intriguing term as quickly describes the potential customer’s relationship with the plants instead of being presumptuous about its commonality, its place in a culture or its availability. The unfamiliar culinary plant is just that unfamiliar to the customer. We will be trying out names for this category in next season’s markets.

While this report was being written, the term “Neglected and Underserved Culinary Plants (NUCs)” was uncovered. This is a term used in agricultural development and biodiversity groups as plants that have culinary value but receive little attention in mainstream farming. The plants serving as the subject of this project fit into this category but the term “uncommon culinary plants” was retained in this write up. “Uncommon” speaks to the more the customer-facing attributes and marketing perspective. However, after this report is submitted more research will be done in this area.

The use of “edibles” was addressed as having a connotation of being related to cannabis. The use of “culinary plants” is important as it implies the use of finer cooking and it is a great inclusive term. We had very few customers question the meaning of what a culinary plant actually is. Be mindful of what you call these plants. The name or term needs to be respectful especially if native plants are being sold. This means referring to uncommon culinary plants as weeds is discouraged. The term needs to entice the customer to think of affordable gourmet dining and engage the customer to think of them being an important part of a special event and table worthy of a special tasting occasion with friends. So be very mindful of the terms used to describe these crops.

Discussion

In our original proposal, we had a four step plan to investigate how to market uncommon culinary plants.

1. Identify unusual crop marketing challenges.
2. Investigate solutions to address the challenges identified in Step 1.
3. Create a marketing plan and supporting tools addressing the identified challenges.
4. Test, evaluate and revise the newly created marketing plan and tools.

After a rough start, not only were we able to fulfill the requirements of our proposal but we also created a marketing story for uncommon culinary plants.

Through the use of conversations with various customer types, surveys, online research, AI searches, article searches we were able to come up with a list of challenges. How these challenges impact marketing and selling these uncommon culinary plants and some solutions on how to address the various challenges can be found in the various uncommon and common culinary plant comparison charts found in the marketing plan complete Steps 1 and 2.

With the use of various marketing resources, an agribusiness marketing expert, and farmer focus groups, we were able to put together a fill-in-the blank marketing plan for uncommon culinary plants that fulfills Step 3. Upon the advice from the farmers focus group, the marketing plan moved from a text heavy document with an academic textbook feel to an interactive easy to use fill-in-the blank format. Because a marketing plan can be complex and information dense, we used a fill‑in‑the‑blank format with examples beside each prompt to help farmers understand what is being requested. The document is outlined by using questions that mimic the sections of an actual marketing plan that can easily be placed inside of a larger business plan. Farmers can also use the document to focus on a particular section for which they need help. Supporting aids were added throughout the marketing plan to reinforce the information being presented. Such aids include checklists, uncommon versus common plant comparisons, information lists such as possible products and customer segments, and other helpful details beyond the basic template. Each aid is integrated directly into the document to provide added clarity, context, and guidance. There have been two versions uploaded: one version to be printed and filled out, and a version that can be filled in electronically. The redesign of the document, which is based upon farmers feedback, completed Step 4.

The Marketing Story of Uncommon Culinary Plants

Seasonality impacts the marketing of uncommon culinary plants. Most of our pre-test market booth set ups happened during April and early May 2025. Our “Pre-Test” table was just lots of plants on a table with only plant name signs. We sold 105 plants during mid-April and May. During mid/late May into June we started our “Post-Test” table which included information signs, eye catching poster, a color scheme and other items designed to help connect the customer with the plants. We sold only 87 plants during this time. We were quite aware of the effects of seasonality while selling plants in the Fall 2024 when we conducted our preliminary proof of concept trials. However, with the booth redesign in late Spring 2025, we thought that would offset the late planting season seasonality problems. It didn’t. However, it did start the marketing story of uncommon culinary plants.

Buyers are highly motivated to buy plants in early spring. They have had a chance to plan their gardens during the cold winter months and are ready to start buying and planting in April, even though the last day of frost for Michigan is usually the end of May. There will always be the Frost Gamblers planting gardens in April. So our “Post-Test” tables were hitting the end of the spring buying season in late May and early June. The redesigned post-test tables only helped uncertain buyers when they were in the mood to buy. We were certainly educating people but the buying conversions were low. There is a distinct plant buying season behavior that educational opportunities and booth design can’t override.

In our post-test market booth table, we were very cognizant of not overwhelming potential buyers with information. Our General Customer focus group, confirmed we were right on that line and had just the right amount of information to available plants to buy ratio being presented in our booth.

Closer to the end of the selling season, late May and June, we started asking customers what made them stop at our booth. Their answers were placed in categories based on the responses. The top five reasons are as follows:

1. Booth design
2. Curiosity
3. Looking for plants to put into a specific space
4. Edible plants
5. Foraging interests

We were attracting people and bringing them into the booth but it wasn’t a good buying time for many consumers. They had their gardens plans set and had already purchased most of their plants or already had them in the ground. However, there were a few customers that were looking for plants to fill in the empty spaces they still had in their gardens. In addition, it felt people were looking for a conversation piece or a focal point in their garden and uncommon culinary plants seemed to fit this need.

Another interesting finding that was rather unexpected but fits into the overall marketing story was when we look at what plants were sold, we found the most uncommon culinary plants held up against seasonality challenges better than the more common ones. You can see these trends in the accompanying chart entitled: “Uncommon Culinary Plant Spring Buying Trends”.

Uncommon Culinary Plant Spring Buying Trends

We connected customers to pineberries saying they were strawberry hybrids. Chocolate mint was another plant we connected to the common mint. This connection placed both of these plants into the common plant category and sales decreased. However, the yacon and sunchoke actually increased in sales with the groundnuts losing less sales but not gaining sales. This seems to support the idea that people were looking for those extra plants to put into their still empty garden spaces. It also fits into the three top reason people were stopping by our booth.

Another data point we looked at was how long it took customers to make a decision. We gathered data from both our pre-and post-test tables. It seems that our market booth design changes made a difference because the added décor and information kept non-purchasers there longer. We just need to use that extra minute in the future to convert them to being buyers. As for the purchasers, the average time stayed the same. It appeared that they already had defined a clear need for the plant and had a strong interest in purchasing one. We actually had one customer come up and ask to purchase a yacon. They had heard about it from another sale and came up to our booth, looked for it and made the decision to purchase it within seconds. The good news about the purchaser time is that the informational items we added didn’t distract, confuse or delay the purchasing decision.

It appears that we made good choices in re-designing our booth as we opened up an extra minute to convert a non-purchaser and didn’t deter the purchaser. We are now working on ways to use that extra minute for better conversion such as making the decision to purchase easier, create lower risk entry points such as smaller plants or starter recipes, add in a Staff Favorite to help with reducing the social proof challenge, and help shoppers identify a need such as “Got a sunny space, fill it with a sunchoke” or self quizzes such as “Which plant is right for you?” signage.  

Another data point that was uncovered is the price. In the plant selection information, we chose the yacon because of its novelty and high price point of $20 for a plant fitting in a 4 inch pot. If you revisit the chart, it was one that actually increased in sales in the post-test environment. In this case, it appears the higher price point gave the yacon enough value to fit into an empty garden space and worth trying. The higher price may have actually helped the yacon. The most familiar of the plants (pineberry and chocolate mint) were not protected by the perception of novelty or value. It is important to note that it wasn’t the low price of these plants that hurt them. It was the similarity of common plants that many shoppers already had planted that hurt their sales. The price of sunchoke and groundnuts didn’t deter customers, sunchokes are being more popular but hard to find and are perceived as very easy to grow. While groundnuts are relatively unknown and should have followed the trend of the yacon but didn’t. It might be their vining nature and need for a trellis that worked against them. The important point to take away from this is that late planting season consumers are looking for that special plant to add to their already planted garden. They want something easy to fit in and care for. Price isn’t an issue if there is context and a perceived reason for the price. With the yacon, customers did hesitate with the price but once they realized they were getting 5-10 pounds of tubers, all the rhizomes they need for the next year’s planting season from that one plant, and online stores were charging $21 plus shipping, pricing quickly became a non-issue.

To summarize the data results, uncommon culinary plants behave like luxury items as they are priced higher, considered longer, and purchased for curiosity and experience; while, common plants serve as standard garden staples are purchased bought early. Uncommon culinary plants provide the personal touches that make a garden of tomatoes, peppers, lettuce, and basil personal. Like little gems placed in the garden to start conversations and to admire.

The role of uncommon culinary plants changes when it comes to native or pollinator gardens. In these types of gardens, uncommon culinary plants have to fulfil a cultural or ecological interest in addition to being edible. The plant moves from novelty in a traditional garden to a plant that has to have a meaning or a purpose. The customer’s perception of these plants also changes to how the plant will support the ecology of the space, how will the plant help with pollinators, and what will its role be in that space? Edibility still helps sell the plant but it is not the entire reason for the purchase. This theory held true as we took the groundnuts and sunchokes to a native plant sale. The conversations were very different. Edibility certainly was top of the list but other questions were about pollinator support, preventing erosion, and finding the right plant for the right place. Native gardens are not the only place where edibility is important but not the deciding factor. Container gardening on decks or patios was a very popular question. Marketing uncommon culinary plants in specific gardens fell a little outside of the scope of this project but may be part of another upcoming project as it was identified as an important marketing component.   

Another takeaway from this project is that customers need more information on the nutritional value and risks of using these plants in their diet. We had a few customers ask about medicinal qualities of plants but we have a business model that excludes medicinal information for plants, cannabis plants and mushrooms. The addition of this information would certainly be helpful for farmers and may also be considered for another project.