Market Research for Market Readiness: upcycling pork organ meat into pet treats and pork fat into salve

Project Overview

FW24-017
Project Type: Farmer/Rancher
Funds awarded in 2024: $25,000.00
Projected End Date: 04/15/2026
Host Institution Award ID: G240-24-WA507
Grant Recipient: Alluvial Farms
Region: Western
State: Washington
Principal Investigator:
Katie Pencke
Alluvial Farms

Commodities

  • Animals: swine

Practices

  • Farm Business Management: market study, new enterprise development, value added

    Proposal summary:

    Value-added farmers need to evaluate the products they are
    developing for market. Professional testing can be cost
    prohibitive for first generation family farm businesses.

    The Market Research for Market Readiness Protocol is designed to
    help entrepreneurial food makers and value-added farmers evaluate
    the products they are developing for market.  Self-executed
    consumer testing will cost substantially less than contracting
    professional testing.  

    Alluvial Farms wants to evaluate our current and target market
    customer’s acceptance of the formulation, concept, packaging,
    pricing, and market channel strategy for our existing Oinkment
    and Pet Treat products. We will then evaluate and utilize the
    results in product formulation, labeling, or market channel
    positioning in order to realize a 685% increase in total gross
    value-added revenue from 2023 to 2025.

    Market Research for Market Readiness materials are created and
    distributed by Catherine Durham at the Oregon State University
    Food Innovation Center. The manual describes a set of procedures
    to conduct and report on a consumer test. The workbook produces
    all of the figures and tables that can be incorporated in a sales
    pitch, business plan, or feasibility study.

    The self-executed consumer testing protocol will enable Alluvial
    Farms and other farmers to:

    • evaluate the sensory qualities for our products;
    • investigate how much consumers will pay;
    • get new marketing ideas;
    • demonstrate market readiness to retailers and investors.

    We will document our use of these tools as a case study and hope
    to increase interest amongst family scale farms of these free
    tools by illustrating how market testing can increase revenue.

    In year two of our project we will create a webinar featuring our
    case study and the Market Research for Market Readiness Manual
    tools. We will present the webinar to farmers in at least three
    online channels, reaching a total of at least 200 small family
    farms. 

     

    Project objectives from proposal:

    Research Objectives - year one

    Alluvial Farms will use the Market Research for
    Market Readiness
    set of tools created by Catherine
    Durham, professor of Applied Agricultural Economics at Oregon
    State University, in order
    to:                    

    1. Conduct consumer testing to determine the acceptance and
      potential of two products made from upcycled by-products of our
      farrow to finish pork enterprise: pet treats made from pork organ
      meat and skin care made with lard.
    2. Better understand consumer acceptance of:
    • our two product lines overall,
    • attributes within our product concepts,
    • attributes of our packaging and product labels.
    1. Examine the market potential for our two product lines by
      studying consumer purchase intent and price acceptance.
    2. Evaluate and utilize our testing results in our product
      formulation, labeling, and market channel positioning in order to
      realize a 685% increase in total gross value-added revenue from
      2023 to 2025.

    Annual gross revenue projections by enterprise:

     

    Oinkment

    Pet Treats

    2023

    $10K

    $4K

    2024

    $30K

    $50K

    2025

    $35K

    $75K

     

    Educational Objectives - year two (April 2025-April
    2026)

    1. Co-create a webinar featuring our case study and the Market
      Research for Market Readiness Manual, in partnership with the
      tool’s creator Catherine "Cathy" Durham, professor of Applied
      Economics at the Food Innovation Center at Oregon State
      University.
    2. Present the webinar to farmers through at least three host
      agencies online channels, reaching a total of at least 200 small
      family farms.
    Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the view of the U.S. Department of Agriculture or SARE.