How to participate in local grower programs

As harvest season peaks across Canada, most retailers are eager to profile their partnerships with local growers by profiling them in point of sale (POS) material. During the growing season, flyers also include photos and thumbprint information about the growers.

Retailers create these local grower programs to assure consumers how their food is produced and to get credit for their farmer relationships. 

If your business is a supplier to any retailer with a local grower program, you need to be prepared to participate. Your customer is depending on you to be a part of their consumer marketing.

We also have to be honest: some retailers try to generate money with these programs too. They charge fees to participate. Usually, these fees are proportionate to the size of the supplier. In other words, the large national suppliers pay more than regional suppliers. It can be frustrating to ‘pay to play’, but there is a cost to the POS and advertising space they devote to local grower programs. The fees paid in produce are a fraction of the fees paid by the consumer-packaged goods companies for the same exposure in the flyer.

Your customers, the retailers, expect you to participate in these programs and reinforce their support of local growers. You should expect them to ask and be ready with an answer. You can always negotiate if you believe there is an opportunity.