Selling and marketing
How to Sell Sourdough at a Farmers Market
You will know what to check before you apply, how to price a loaf, and how to turn one market day into orders that come back.
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Most home bakers do this backwards. They bake forty loaves first, then find out the market has a waiting list, or that their state wants a label with certain words on it, or that their price barely covered the flour. Flip the order. Market first, rules second, price third, baking last.
What to remember
- Ask the market manager what they require before you bake for sale. - Check your state and county rules for food made at home. - Price each loaf from your own costs, not from the table next to you. - Take cards and cash at the table so nobody walks away. - Collect names and take preorders. Repeat buyers are the whole business.
Ask the market manager first
Every market runs its own way, and the person who runs it can answer almost everything in one email. Ask about:
- Whether they have room for another bread vendor, and whether there is a waiting list.
- What the application asks for, and when it is due.
- The booth fee, and whether it is per day or for the season.
- Whether you need proof of insurance.
- Setup and pack down times, and where you can park.
- Whether there is power at the spot, or if you bring your own.
- Whether samples are allowed, and how they have to be served.
- Whether preorders can be picked up at your table.
Write the answers down somewhere you will find them again. If the market is full, ask to be put on the list for a cancelation, and ask which nearby markets have room.
Check the rules where you live
This is the part that surprises people. Rules for selling food made at home vary by state and county, so the only answer that counts is the one from your state agriculture department or your local health department. Call or email them and ask whether bread is allowed, how much you can sell in a year, where you are allowed to sell it, and what a label needs to say. Our guide to the cottage food approved list shows how to check what is allowed where you live.
Do that before you print labels or buy packaging. It is much cheaper to change a plan than a stack of printed stickers.
Price a loaf before you bake a batch
New sellers often price by looking at the table next to them. That tells you what someone else charges. It does not tell you what your loaf costs you. Add up flour, starter upkeep, salt, packaging, labels, the booth fee, gas, and your own time, then work out what one loaf has to sell for. The math is in how to price baked goods at a farmers market and in how to price your bakes.
What to bring, and how to set it up
Keep the table simple. A sign with your bakery name and your prices, bread in baskets or crates, bags ready to go, a cash box with change, and a way to take cards. Clear price signs save you from saying the same number two hundred times.
Bring less than you think you need for the first market. Ten loaves that sell out feel better than forty that come home, and a sold out table tells you what to bake more of next time. If you already sell bread in other places, how to sell bread at a farmers market covers more of the table side.
Turn one market day into repeat orders
The sale at the table is only half of it. The other half is the person who wants a loaf next Saturday but cannot carry it today. Keep a notebook or a note on your phone and ask every buyer if they want to hear when you are back. Point people to a place where they can order from you between markets, so a market customer does not have to wait a week.
The whole process, start to finish
Ask the market manager
Find out whether there is room, what the application needs, what the booth fee is, and what the setup rules are. Get it in writing if you can.
Check your local rules
Contact your state agriculture department or local health department. Ask what you may sell, where, how much, and what the label has to say.
Price from your own costs
Work out the cost of one loaf, packaging included, then set a price that covers it and pays you for the work.
Bake a small first batch
Bring fewer loaves than you think you need, plus one flavored loaf and one small size to test.
Take orders and payment at the table
Take cards, cash, and the payment methods your customers already use. Write down names for next week.
Count and adjust
Add up what sold, what came home, and what you spent. Change the lineup and the price for the next market.
One last thing. Give yourself two or three markets before you decide whether it works. The first one is mostly nerves and logistics. The second is better. By the third you will know your regulars by name, and that is when the table starts paying.
Rules for selling food made at home vary by state and county. This is general information, not legal advice. Check with your state or local food authority before you sell.