The LSU AgCenter has launched a new, online marketing initiative called MarketMaker. It’s a free, user-friendly marketing tool for Louisiana fishermen, shrimpers, farmers, ranchers and other food enterprise entrepreneurs provided by the AgCenter and other supporting organizations. Food-related businesses can set up their own profiles at La.FoodMarketMaker.com and can modify their profiles at any time to keep consumers up to date on product availability, other information and business announcements.
For buyers, MarketMaker is a convenient Internet search tool to locate products they want, either directly from producers or through another channel. MarketMaker already is being used successfully in 17 states, including Mississippi and Arkansas.
MarketMaker enables producers to find buyers who value differentiated food products and allows producers to sell more product at higher prices. Typical sellers are direct marketers of agricultural goods, such as vegetables, fruits, grains, meats and seafood, and value-added food products. Sellers promote through written descriptions, postings and Web links, and can use a set of market information to locate potential customers.
Buyers use keywords to search for products. Typical buyers might be individuals, farmers markets, wholesalers or institutions looking for goods with special attributes such as being locally produced, heritage varieties, organic and more. MarketMaker provides basic and advanced market analysis options, including a database with demographics that can be used to discover untapped markets.
To register a business on MarketMaker requires following three easy steps. The whole process takes only a few minutes. Anyone needing assistance with getting started can contact their parish extension office. In Cameron or Calcasieu parishes, contact Kevin Savoie at (337) 905-1318 or (337) 475-8812.
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