Farmers with their own shop, stand or vending machine have seen their turnover in consumer sales double this year. This has emerged from a study by research firm Gfk. Consumers also spent 25 percent more per person during a visit to the farm shops in the past year.
Buying directly from the farmer has become a real trend due to Covid-19. Initiatives were launched left and right to help consumers find their way to the farmyard. Thomas Siahaya, founder of Lekkerder bij de Boer, a free online platform for local consumers and farmers, is also seeing the advance. Due to Covid-19, Siahaya decided to launch the online platform as early as April of this year. The tastyder.nl app also followed soon after in August.
Siahaya: “The number of users of the Lekkerder.nl app has increased by thousands in a few months and 10,000 visits are made to Lekkerder.nl every month. It is now winter, but we see that the use of the app continues. More and more farmers are also signing up so that they can be easily found online.
Support local entrepreneurs
An increasingly broader public is also going to the farmer to buy their products. Where previously mainly the elderly went to the farm, Gfk now also sees that young people visit the farm shops twice as often as before. From responses from app users and site visitors, Siahaya notes that both young and old now have an additional reason to buy directly from the farmer. “Previously, it was mainly about buying good, fresh products that do not have thousands of kilometers of contaminated transport attached. Since covid-19, a reason has been added. People are also thinking more about supporting the local farmer and entrepreneur. It gives people a good feeling to spend their money at the farmer around the corner instead of at a large anonymous supermarket. ”
Enduring trend
Siahaya does not expect this trend to suddenly reverse after corona. “Now that the local consumer and farmer have found each other, they will continue to visit each other more often. It is also easier for the farmer to display his beautiful products via our platform, for example. And the consumer will experience the added value of the farm products, namely the quality of the products and the pleasant contact with the farmer. I think buying from the farmer is permanent. ”
