Southwestern Michigan Marketing Plan for Locally-Grown Produce

View the project final report

• 1998 annual report

Commodities

• Fruits: apples, cherries, peaches, pears, plums
• Vegetables: cucurbits, tomatoes
• Additional Plants: ornamentals

Practices

• Farm Business Management: marketing management, market study

In order for smaller producers of fruits and vegetables to capture the local supermarket business, growers must assure volume deliveries and identify products with labels.

Objectives: 1) To develop and implement a marketing plan to differentiate between local and shipped-in produce, 2) to establish a consortium of local growers to market under a common label and 3) to target Michigan consumers to support and request lcoally grown produce.

The goal was to develop a container and label for exclusive use of growers in the consortium, pack the container only with premium quality produce and provide the volume to meet chain store needs.

Results: The project was extended to allow additional time to meet the goals fo the project.