A lot of homesteaders rely on the farmer’s market to make a profit, and most of them manage to make a nice amount of profit. Although you will probably not get rich by selling your products at the local farmer’s market but you can still make a very comfortable living by selling at the farmers market. You can sell almost anything you grow at the farmers market although for some things you will need to have a permit.
Farmers’ markets have started to be extremely popular, mostly because the products people find in supermarkets tend to taste the same, no matter if you are eating a tomato or cucumber, they simply taste bland. If you have ever eaten a real tomato you know that it has a certain sweetness to it, and even the shape of it is a lot different than the perfectly shaped yet tasteless tomatoes which you find in supermarkets.
Baked goods are extremely popular at the farmer’s market, especially bread. Real bread tends to taste salty, not sweet like you would find in a supermarket. Most homesteaders sell their excess crops at the local farmers’ market and some take the extra time to make baked goods with what they have grown, this way with some extra work they make a lot higher profit. Bread can be made with several things in combination, from potato bread to even cabbage bread, you just have to use some imagination.
If you want to sell baked goods at the farmer’s market then you will have to keep it simple, there is no point complicating things. Remember you have a limited time to sell before they go bad, so make something that is cheap to buy for the client and easy to make. The first telltale sign that you can start focusing more on baked goods is when you got at least a couple of custom orders, and from then on the sky is the limit. If you are wondering what kind of livestock you should keep then check out my recent article Best livestock for small homestead ( Top 11 ).
Best Baked Goods To Sell At Farmers Market
At farmers markets, the aroma of freshly baked goods wafting through the air is often irresistible to visitors seeking delectable treats. If you’re considering selling baked goods at a farmers market, it’s essential to offer products that not only taste fantastic but also stand out among the competition. Certain baked goods tend to be crowd favorites and can attract eager customers. Classic options like artisanal bread, rustic pastries, and flaky croissants are popular choices, as they showcase quality ingredients and artisanal craftsmanship.
Sweet delights such as homemade cookies, indulgent brownies, mouthwatering pies, and fragrant cinnamon rolls are also beloved treats that can entice market-goers with their irresistible appeal. Additionally, catering to dietary preferences and offering gluten-free, vegan, or allergen-friendly options can broaden your customer base.
Bread
There is a big demand for homemade bread, usually, the people who sell bread at the local farmers market tend to sell out in a matter of minutes. The most popular vendors have most of their bread ordered beforehand and some even deliver to their clients. You can get extremely creative with bread and the process of making bread is fairly simple. Although if you make several batches of bread then you will be limited by how much your oven can handle.
Dinner Rolls
My personal recommendation is to start out small and make some dinner rolls. This way you can make more of them in your oven and they are a lot easier to sell. If there is a demand for bigger loaves then you can start making family-sized loaves. In addition to this, you can also make hamburger buns and hot dog buns as well, and if you can also sell the meat which goes with them then you have a winning product. If you want to maximize your profits with livestock then check out my recent article Goats vs Cows Profit ( Top 13 Things to Consider ).
Cookies
There are literally thousands of different cookie recipes, you can use the fruits you grow on your own land and add some extra flavoring if you want. Dry cookies are probably your best option as these do not need a dish and a spoon to be consumed, this is fairly important as a lot of people impulse buy and if they have one of their hands full with groceries they will find it difficult to use both of their hands to eat a cookie.
In my experience chocolate chip cookies are the best, everybody loves them, and they tend to have a fairly long shelf life. You should also think of how easy the cookies are to transport, for example, chocolate chip cookies need to crumble in the mouth, but if you make them extra crumbly then they might deteriorate while you are transporting them to the farmers market. If you know how to make Oreo cookies then you will be extremely popular at the farmers market. If you are wondering how is Missouri for off grid living then check out my recent article Off grid living in Missouri ( The Show-Me State ).
Sandwiches
By far the easiest baked good you could sell on a farmers market are sandwiches. I do not mean the plain old sandwiches, but the ones which you put in the oven to make them brown and to let the cheese melt. If you can make the bread and you can also use your own vegetables then you will definitely make a nice profit. Making a sandwich is not rocket science, although you should know a couple of things.
If you let the sandwiches sit in the oven for too long they will be extremely dry and they will also harden which isn’t the best. In addition to this, you will have to refrigerate the sandwiches if you are selling them the next day, this way they do not dry out. You should also store and sell them in individual packages, to avoid drying them out.
Pizza Dough
In some areas of the country, pizza is extremely popular. Although I do not recommend you sell pizzas directly at the farmers market as people want to eat freshly made pizza. What you can do is sell pizza dough, most people who cant not make their own pizza is because they either do not know how or do not have time to make the pizza dough. If you have ever eaten a frozen pizza, or if you have bought pizza dough from the supermarket then you are probably familiar with how cardboard tastes.
You can sell the pizza dough fresh, or you can freeze them and sell than that way. You will have to wrap the dough in a zip lock bag preferably, and you can either stretch the dough to the size of a pizza or let the customer take care of that. In addition to this, you will also be able to sell them the vegetables and even the cheese which they need for making the pizza, and that is called upselling.
Sourdough
Sourdough bread has started to be extremely popular in the last couple of years. You can either sell the sourdough or you can make bread from it and sell it that way. If you have a limited space to bake and your oven is fairly small then you should probably stick with selling the dough itself. There is a certain process of how you can make sourdough bread, and there are plenty of online tutorials for them.
Cinnamon Raisin Bread
Cinnamon raisin bread is usually sold around the holidays, they take a fairly long time to make when you compare them to some of the other baked goods on this list but they will be one of your best selling baked goods during the holidays. You can still sell them outside the holiday season as everybody has something to celebrate once in a while and cinnamon raisin bread are great for birthdays.
Cupcakes
Cupcakes are a great way to earn some extra money at the farmer’s market. They do not need a lot of ingredients and even if your oven is fairly small you can still make a lot of them. What I love most about cupcakes is that you can add a theme to them during the holidays, and these sell out literally like hotcakes. The most important thing you should keep in mind is to always write down the recipe which you are using so this way you can offer the same cupcakes to your clients if they become popular.
Fudge
Fudge is extremely easy to make and there are only a few ingredients needed to make them. They also do not need a lot of space, although they will need refrigeration. During the summertime, you will have some difficulty selling fudge as they tend to melt fairly fast. Just make a big tray of fudge and cut them up into smaller blocks, you can sell them either by their weight or by piece, it is up to you.
Muffins
Muffins are probably one of the easiest baked goods which you can sell at the farmer’s market. Everybody knows what a muffin is, and a lot of people tend to buy it as it reminds them of their childhood. The most popular kinds of muffins that are sold at farmers’ markets are the ones with blueberry in them, these will sell out extremely fast.
Peanut Butter Cookies
Peanut butter cookies are extremely easy to make and they will probably be one of your fastest-selling baked goods. The best thing about peanut butter cookies is that they have a long shelf life and they do not need any kind of refrigeration. In addition to this, you can easily make them in a normal-sized oven without a problem. If you manage somehow to get the cookies to the market while they are hot then they will most likely be a success.
Homemade Caramel
Homemade caramel is fairly easy to make, although depending on which recipe you are using it can start melting in the heat. You can customize the caramel bars in a lot of different ways, my personal favorite are the ones that have chocolate on top and a fresh strawberry. If you make both fudge and caramel then you can combine them to make something extremely delicious, you can sell them by weight or by piece.
Cinnamon Rolls
Cinnamon rolls require a few ingredients and they are not hard to make, although it definitely takes some time to make them. If you are new to the farmers market then you should start with some popular baked goods which everybody has heard of, this way the first sales will come in a lot faster. If your customers like the cinnamon rolls tan they will definitely try out some of your unique homemade baked goods.
Bruschetta
Bruschetta is an Italian finger food, basically, it is a slice of bread that you grill, rub with garlic, and put some olive oil on it. For the topping, you can use vegetables, no meat is needed on Bruschettas, the traditional topping for this finger food are tomatoes with some basil. These taste excellent, especially if you want to grab something delicious while shopping at the farmer’s market. Just keep in mind that the slice of bread has to be fairly small, so the clients can eat it in one or two bites.
Brownies
Almost everybody loves brownies, most of them are made with chocolate although I have seen them made with other flavors like vanilla as well. Brownies are fairly easy to make, but they tend to melt in the heat so you will need to use some sort of packaging, and small cupcake-sized cardboard dishes to avoid the clients getting dirty fingers. You can customize your brownies with a lot of extra ingredients like nuts, cream cheese, and frosting.
Key Takeaways
- Classic favorites such as cookies, muffins, brownies, and bread tend to sell well due to their broad appeal.
- Specialty pastries, like unique flavors of cupcakes, scones, or pies, can attract customers looking for something different or indulgent.
- Offering a variety of gluten-free, vegan, or allergen-friendly baked goods can cater to a broader customer base and meet specific dietary needs or preferences.