Your Marketing Message: Are You Authentic?

Hi All,
Authenticity in local food marketing is a topic that continues to interest me. According to the Merriam-Webster on-line dictionary, authenticity means being actually and exactly what is claimed, and being fully trustworthy. In Michigan we are well into farmers’ market season, with lots of choices being presented to shoppers. If you are a vendor at a farmers market, make sure your message is authentic. Are you a grower or a reseller? If you are a grower, are you a USDA Certified Organic Grower, a Conventional Grower or are you Certified Naturally Grown? Is your produce labelled correctly? If you are honest and authentic with your customers, they will remember it and choose you over other vendors. At Eat Local Food, we make sure our products are made in the USA, because we feel that we can’t promote eating local food and import our products from China or India. It just doesn't make sense. We make sure we are authentic in our artwork, our products and our representations to customers.

Earlier this year, I snapped this photo while shopping at a large Michigan based grocery store. It’s obviously a signage error, but doesn’t add to their authenticity one bit.

So take some time and self-assess your whole marketing message – from your labeling right down to your packaging. Making sure you are authentic takes effort and time but will pay off with loyal repeat customers.