There’s nothing quite like the mixed blessing of a bumper crop. You’re thrilled by the abundance, until you realize you’ve got more produce than you can move through your usual channels. Whether it’s bushels of apples hanging heavy on the trees or rows of tomatoes ripening faster than you can pick them, that overwhelming harvest can quickly shift from celebration to stress.
What if that bumper crop isn’t a problem to solve, but instead, an opportunity for Canadian farm businesses to take advantage of?
Most agri-food producers facing surplus think about one thing- how to move it all quickly. Bundle deals, bulk pricing, reaching out to restaurants or distributors. These strategies absolutely work and should be part of every Canadian food producers toolkit.
But consider this: maybe that abundance is the perfect catalyst to create something with a longer shelf life, higher margins, and year-round sales potential. Too many berries? That could be your entry into the jam business. Mountains of carrots? Perhaps it’s time to perfect that pickled carrot recipe you’ve been thinking about.
The beauty of value-added food products is that they transform your seasonal challenge into a year-round opportunity that extends your earning season, builds deeper customer relationships, creates higher profit margins, and establishes a foundation for expanding into new markets.
What we’ve learned from working with Canadian food producers is this: the most resilient businesses don’t choose between immediate sales and long-term product development—they do both.
Though you might not be able to get a new value-added product market ready and launched during this bumper crop season, making an effort to see what opportunities are out there will set you up for success with future bumper crops.
The key is starting where you are, with what you have. That overwhelming harvest sitting in your barn right now? It might just be your next farm-to-market product line.
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User-generated Content (UGC) refers to photos, videos, and reviews created by real customers who are already using your product.
You’ve got the abundance, now comes the part that separates successful food producers from those with barns full of produce: marketing.
Learn how Canadian food producers can create value-added products that boost revenue, meet market demand, and grow their local food business.
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