Thinking of a Farmers Market vend...

[CUTigerQ]

Im extremely new to SELLING any food that I make...in fact Im SO new, this is my first time thinking about it. I could buy a slot at a local farmers market and would like to sell my pulled pork in plates as well as sandwiches. The sandwiches, I think I have figured out t 5.00 each with Bun, 3 oz of meat and a choice of sauce provided. I could make around 3.50 per sandwich which is OK with me. My question is more about plates. Im figuring 4 oz of meat with sides of baked beans and homemade cole slaw. I don't have a price set for that yet because Im not real sure how many oz of sides to give. How many oz would you do? I will have the plates with the three divided places to ut on the food...one large one with two smaller ones. Any thoughts on that?

What would you charge per plate or per sandwich? Anything I need to know before I try this whole thing? I will have my smoker on site and pull the meat on site.

Any thoughts?

 

[BigBellyBBQ]

are you legal with the health dept, liability insurance, workers comp, local permits etc? If so I wonder about the 5.00 a sandwich..just my opinion..
Around here farmers markets are covered under dept of agriculture and the health dept has zero say..but thats just my state and county BS...

 

[CUTigerQ]

I'm not legal with any of that but I'm sure it's the same way here. Especially since I will have the cooker onsite. If 5.00 sounds too cheap to you, what is the norm?

 

[Doog]

My local farmers market you have to buy the meat you are going to sell from the local farmers. You can't buy from Sams or other stores like that.
So I don't know how that would affect your prices.

 

[CUTigerQ]

Maybe I'll contact them to find out the rules

 

[landarc]

Out here, plates go for $10 to $12, sandwiches for $7 to $10 each, depending on size. Yes, it is stupid expensive.

Always figure your costs and add in overhead and profit. That is the only way to really know what to charge. That includes farmer's market fees and stupid restrictions such as having to buy from other vendors.

In terms of portions, one easy way to portion, especially for slaw and beans, is to use portioner scoops (think ice cream scoops) that give you are set amount of product. I would think 3 to 4 ounces is more than enough

 

[Doog]

Follow Dadeo719 journey he does the farmers market. A lot of good tips.

http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=207651

 

[poorolddan]

I think a 3 ounce sand is a slider portion. Minimum 4.5 to 5 ounces on a proportion bun or on a plate. Bigger portion higher acceptable price. 4 ounce each side. Total cost times 3 won't work. Need to charge all the market can stand. People expect to pay for quality and quantity especially at a FM setting.