Food Truck for Organic Marketing - Indonesia - North Sumatra
by Lidia Naibaho - 2011 Graduate
Board of Indonesia Organic Alliance 2017-2020
page developed by Emma Marks, ARI Graduate Outreach remote volunteer
submitted March 2021
A Food Truck for Organic Marketing
https://gyazo.com/902cf9d5feff085451718f0773be2ce2
Customers visiting the food truck
A creative way I have developed to support local farmers and help sell their produce by "FOOD TRUCK." I started this project with PETRASA, a non-government organization in the Dairi Regency of North Sumatra. After training farmers in organic farming methods, PETRASA helps them market their produce through weekly sales using a FOOD TRUCK. Here is a brief explanation of how we use a food truck to market organic products.
https://gyazo.com/8a2d05778e2b0409423810d61321a2bd
The food truck is beautifully designed
What is a food truck?
A food truck is a small, attractively designed vehicle that we use to sell organic products. The food truck goes around the town and stops at certain meeting points, for example government offices and other popular areas, and makes sales. We sell vegetables and other products that farmers produce. We sometimes also sell coffee beans or fresh cups of coffee. Some customers see the food truck on the street and stop to order. Customers can also order ahead on Whatsapp and go to the designated meeting place to pick up their order.
Why do we use a food truck?
Creating a market for organic
Few consumers in our city knew about organic food, so PETRASA had to find creative ways to build the organic produce market. To do this, we looked carefully at several different components of the marketing system, such as increasing farmers’ production, increasing the number of organic farmers, building regular and consistent markets, ensuring fairer prices, and increasing public education and awareness about healthy consumption patterns and local consumption. Considering all these factors, in 2016 we decided to develop an organic market and carry out regular sales by using a food truck. The campaign is not only about product sales, but also about healthy consumption patterns, long-term impact on the soil and the environment, and supporting local farmers.
Comparing a Food Store to a Food Truck
A Food Store
Pros: Because the location is fixed, consumers can come at any time to shop. The shop can hold more products than a food truck and the storage conditions are better.
Cons: A shop requires more capital, both to build or rent the shop and to pay for its maintenance. The shop requires equipment such as refrigerators and racks which are quite expensive, plus a salary for the shop keeper. An organic shop could be a great option if farmers are able to provide a consistent supply to meet demand. If not, it will not be profitable.
A Food Truck
Pros: The food truck is more attractive, and because it is mobile, it brings food directly to where the consumers are. The truck is highly visible and soon becomes a familiar sight around town. When people see it, they tell others about it. It has lower operating costs than an organic shop because the running costs are paid per working day only. A food truck can also be used as a street coffee truck.
Cons: The food truck requires capital for renting/buying a vehicle and paying for its maintenance. It stops only for a certain amount of time at one location, so if a customer misses that time, they have to move to the next stop. It also has much less storage space.
Steps for Organizing a Food Truck
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Farmers participating in an organic training session
1. Organic farming training - Before we created the food truck system, we had already established a network of organic farmers in our town through PETRASA and our credit union. We had trained farmers in organic farming and taught them about compost and bokashi making, as well as natural pesticide making. The training we provided built their awareness about the health of food, soil, the environment, and the market potential of organic products.
2. "Organic Producers" group - To create the food truck system, we recrutied farmers from among our trained farmers. They had to be willing to cultivate produce organically and sell it to the food truck regularly. We called this group our “organic producers.”
3. Harvest Calendar - Together with this organic producers group, we compiled a planting and a harvesting calendar. This was done to ensure the availability of various types of vegetables that are grown by each farmer, to know the estimated production amount, and to know the harvest schedule for each product and farmer.
4. Supplemental Farm - To supplement what our organic producers group could grow, PETRASA created a small farm for vegetable production in one village. The farm is run by one female farmer and its purpose is to make up for production shortages, increase production of some vegetables, and to be shown as a demonstration plot.
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Farmers receiving money from their product's sales
5. Pricing - An important part of running the food truck was figuring out how to price the produce. We spoke with the farmers and established the following system:
We discussed pricing including their production costs and the costs of buying and operating the food truck with the farmers.
Farmers get paid directly for each product they sell to the food truck. Payment to farmers is made directly at the time of product/item pickup every week (Tuesday).
The price has been agreed upon for a certain period between the farmer and the Food Truck (PETRASA). The price can change if there is an increase in input prices for the farmers, and these changes will be mutually agreed upon and discussed with the producer group before being applied.
Every farmer with the same type of product will get the same price according to size (kg) and quality. This condition is known by the farmers. So, there is a standard for the product to determine the quality and price.
The truck is owned and operated by PETRASA, and a PETRASA staff member drives the truck on the sales day. Sales to consumers are the responsibility of the food truck management.
The price from food truck to farmer is of course different than the price from food truck to consumer. The price to the customer increases after calculating the costs of packaging, transportation and so on.
Sometimes, there is a challenge when farmers produce a lot of the same product (usually the plants that are easy to grow and care for). The food truck will still accept the excess product, with the consequences on the food truck management side that sales time to consumers will take longer than usual. We are trying to overcome this challenge by introducing new vegetable types to farmers. In addition, PETRASA assists with compiling a planting calendar so that there is no accumulation of harvest of the same product at the same time.
6. Regular Visits to Farmer - We visit the farmers regularly to monitor the development of their plants and together we discuss the problems and challenges they face in the process of planting.
7. Post Harvest Training - We also train the producers group in the harvest and post-harvest processes: minimizing the use of plastic as packaging, cleaning vegetables with running water, and placing vegetables and other organic products in clean and shady places.
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A farmer harvesting for the food truck
8. Harvest and Pickup - Harvest is done every Tuesday and collected at one location in the village for ease of pick-up. Every farmer receives a receipt that contains their harvest information including the produce type, the price, and the weight. The receipt is signed by the farmer and the staff of PETRASA. The farmers also receive the money from their sales to the food truck.
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farmers bringing their weekly harvest to the meeting point and waiting for pick-up
9. Packaging - All the products are brought to the PETRASA office. The packaging for certain weights and sizes are done there. As much as possible packaging is done using reusable bags, paper, or banana leaves.
10. Sales by Food Truck - Food truck sales in the city are conducted the next day, on Wednesday, usually in the morning. The food truck goes around to certain meeting points, for example government offices and other busy places, delivering to people who ordered ahead on WhatsApp, while also selling to customers on the street.
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Selling fresh and beautiful greens
Tactics for Marketing using a Food Truck
Strengthening the farmer groups must be balanced with strengthening the consumers. We need to work with both supply and demand. Approaches regarding organic agriculture, as well as environmental sustainability and local food products are important education that we emphasize in this campaign for organic products. Here are some of the tactics we use to educate consumers and inspire them to buy from our food truck.
https://gyazo.com/146ffd373084a0872efe2ef8612cca0e
The graphics on the back of the truck
PETRASA designed the food truck to be attractive and put campaign messages about health and organic agricultural products on its sides. The food truck is very attractive to consumers and can be said to be one of the pioneers of this unique selling method in our area.
In addition to selling fresh agricultural products, at certain times, this pickup car also functions as a coffee truck, selling brewed coffee that can be enjoyed on the spot. Usually, the car will stop for a few hours at various crowded points, such as in the city center. With nice chairs, tables, and music, this coffee truck attracts the attention of buyers, particularly young people. As we sell the coffee, we also have discussions with the consumers and tell the stories of farmers' efforts and struggles to produce good quality organic coffee.
When we go OUTSIDE THE CITY, we focus on non-perishalbe products, mainly roasted coffee beans and ground coffee in certain sizes of packaging, which are produced by home industry coffee farmers.
We got our first customers because staff took advantage of our own network of friends by making posts on social media.
We introduced the food truck and the producers group to potential consumers through social media, local radio, and public seminars on healthy food and organic farming. Several times we have invited doctors and government health agencies to share information related to health and food.
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a video we posted on our facebook page to inform our customers
We talk to people who are interested and want to become customers. We invite them to visit the farmers' fields so that they can meet farmers in person, see the farms, and have discussions with the farmers and even participate in harvest activities.
To facilitate communication, education and product sales, we invite and organize all consumers to join one WhatsApp group. Some consumers are connected via Facebook. Every Wednesday morning, the marketing staff from PETRASA sends information and pictures of all the organic products that are available that day. Then the consumers can order directly in the group.
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Consumers that visited our demonstration farm and participated in a harvest activity
Lessons Learned
This food truck is only the first step in organic products marketing, which aims to open doors for local farmers to get to know market conditions, learn about opportunities and demands for organic products and get to know consumers. On the consumer side, this system provides education for more and more people of all ages to know organic farming and to support local farmers. The hope is that one day the farmers themselves can sell their organic products directly to consumers and also produce and sell more value-added products to a wider market.
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