Farmers Markets: Are They a Sustainable Path for Business Growth?

Farmers Markets: Are They a Sustainable Path for Business Growth?

Every summer, I feel the familiar pull of the farmers market season. The early mornings sunrise and 5am alarm, the promise of fresh bakery and an assortment of grocery goodies to carry me through the week. Farmers markets can be charming, lively, and full of good intentions. They’re a wonderful way for local farmers to sell fresh produce and for shoppers to meet the people behind their food, with an experiential grocery trip. But when it comes to building a sustainable small business, especially in specialty foods like chocolate or coffee, I’ve learned that farmers markets can be a double-edged sword.

Where We Started

When Wildflower Chocolate began, I sold at our small community market. It felt personal, alive with connection to folks who knew our family and encouragement to pursue a new business in the town. Customers loved discovering handcrafted chocolate bars next to tomatoes, honeycomb, and handmade soaps. Is there anything more charming than a market basket full of fresh-cut flowers and a little collection of chocolates for an evening with friends? In those early days, markets gave me feedback and enough cash flow to keep growing.

But as the business grew, so did the workload. Each market day meant hours of production, packing, loading, and setup, often in the heat (melting chocolate!) or wind, followed by breaking down the booth and heading back to the kitchen to start regroup and do it all again. Not to mention, with demand and growth in a handcrafted business, came more hands helping to make it all happen (payroll). I began to notice that my energy was going entirely toward maintaining and managing instead of building and marketing.

Knowing When It’s Time to Step Away

There comes a point when the very thing that once grew your business starts to hold it back. For me, that realization came when I hit the glass ceiling. When it became clear that no matter how much effort I put in, the return would stay the same. The emotional load would become unmanageable as I was now restless with a stagnant status quo. I found myself outgrowing the format and thinking about wholesale systems, brand consistency, packaging, and scalable production while others vendors focused on social time or building a "vendor family" (and maybe skipping out all together in favor of a boat ride). My goals became clear and my identity began to shift, I also started to notice the brands and founders I never saw spending their time or scaling at farmers markets.

That’s when I understood: growth sometimes means stepping away from what’s familiar, even if it once worked. 

The Pros: Connection and Community

There’s no denying that markets offer visibility and authentic connection. You meet your customers face-to-face and gain insight into what resonates, which food trends customers are looking for. They’re an incredible entry point for new makers and a place to test your product in real time and to become part of your local community in a familiar setting.

The Cons: Burnout and Limited Growth

Markets also require physical presence. Once you calculate the cost of your time, energy, and travel, the profit margin often looks very different, especially if you consider paying a staff member to manage market day. Many small food producers get stuck in that loop and dependent on showing up every week to make sales, with little bandwidth left to create systems that grow beyond them.

Eventually, for me, it lead to burnout and kind of frustration when I realized my vision no longer fit the local market model. Bursting with excitement for potential and opportunity beyond the current market routine, I became "too ambitious" (and deeply annoying) for the people I had surrounded myself with.

A Different Kind of Growth

Stepping away from farmers markets for a breather in different seasons allowed Wildflower Chocolate to grow into something more sustainable: embracing the potential at our production kitchen, an online retail shop, wholesale partnerships, and a subscription model through our Chocolate Tasting Club. Maybe we will revisit some of the bigger weekend markets in our area, definitely as a sourdough enthusiast.

The Bottom Line

Farmers markets add charm to communities and they’re vital for growers. But they’re not always the right long-term path for every business. If you find yourself hitting the ceiling, resented for growing, or simply drained from constant hustle, it might be time to take a step back and ask: Is this still serving the vision I have for my life and my work?

For us, that answer came clearly. Growth meant reflecting on where we started, a parking lot in Nisswa, and the courage to move on.

-Kate