Starting a roadside farm stand can be a fun and profitable way for farmers to sell fresh produce directly to customers. But to attract attention and boost sales, your farm stand needs eye-catching and creative display ideas.
This article shares 100 tips for designing an engaging farm stand that highlights your fresh, local offerings. Follow these roadside farm stand display ideas to create curb appeal, merchandise effectively, and watch your seasonal sales grow.
Table of Contents
Use Curb Appeal and Inviting Displays to Draw In Customers
Your farm stand display will be the first thing potential customers see as they drive by. So make it as visible and enticing as possible!
Here are 10 ways to use curb appeal and inviting displays:
- Paint your farm stand a bright, cheery color to stand out from the road. Yellows, reds, and greens look fresh.
- Place colorful buckets of seasonal flowers or potted plants near the entrance to add color.
- Hang a large, rustic farm stand sign with your name on the roof or side of the stand.
- Make sure the area around your stand is clean and free of debris.
- Add benches, rocking chairs, or picnic tables to create an inviting atmosphere.
- Set up decorative displays of farm decor like wagons, wheelbarrows, or hay bales.
- Install raised planting beds showcasing veggies and fruits you sell.
- Use colorful chalkboard signs or vintage crates to display daily offerings and prices.
- Add string lights or lanterns for charm.
- Paint inspirational farm sayings or murals on the exterior.
By sprucing up the exterior and entrance, you’ll draw more customers who are driving by into your farm stand.
Merchandise Produce for Maximum Sales
How you merchandise and display your fruits, vegetables, and other items will determine how much you sell. Follow these farm stand display ideas:
Highlight Your Best Products First
Place your best sellers, ripest, and most appealing produce in the most visible spots up front. For most farm stands, this means showcasing tomatoes, sweet corn, peaches, and other juicy, in-season offerings.
Use Visual Cues
Use baskets, crates, ladder displays, and tiered shelving to show off produce. Stack tomatoes or apples in pyramids. Create cornucopia displays overflowing with squash, eggplants, peppers, or onions.
Go Vertical
Maximize space by building vertically. Hang onions and garlic braids from the ceiling. Set up ladder shelves to create height. Stack baskets or crates on top of tables. Go vertical so you can display more goods in the same footprint.
Section by Product
Group vegetables together and fruits together. You can go a step further and group tomatoes with tomatoes, peppers with peppers, greens with greens. This helps customers easily find what they need.
Use Signage
Label produce, share names of crop varieties, post prices, or print tips for choosing, cooking, and storing different fruits and veggies. Helpful signage educates and encourages sales.
Add Some Whimsy
Inject fun into your merchandise displays. Add flower headbands to baskets of berries. Tie large bows around stacked produce. Customers will be drawn to the personality you add through creative presentation.
More Farm Stand Display Tips to Increase Sales
Beyond fresh produce, you can boost sales by offering prepared foods, non-food items, and other products at your stand. Here are more ways to creatively showcase your offerings.
- Provide a self-serve drinks station with an iced tea dispenser, lemonade, coffee and cold drinks. This encourages customers to take a break.
- If you offer dairy products like milk, yogurt, eggs, and cheese, display them in vintage farm crates lined with straw.
- Create bundled farm themed gift baskets with jams, baked goods, and local honey. These make great gifts.
- Fill bushel baskets or buckets with seasonal flowers and plants. Hanging baskets also sell well.
- Make a handmade crafts section with pottery, garden art, wreaths, jewellery, candles and soaps from local artisans.
- Offer pet treats like homemade dog biscuits or locally sourced stock tank pools for horses.
- Add festive touches based on the season such as blooming spring flowers or fall gourds and pumpkins.
Getting creative with how you display and merchandise will pay off in increased sales and repeat business. Use these tips to make your farm stand inviting and highlight your products.
Use Signage and Labels to Educate Customers
Well-designed signs can both educate and persuade customers to purchase more. Here are signage ideas to try:
- Label produce with their variety names – customers love learning more about uncommon fruits and veggies
- Create nutritional signs highlighting the health benefits of produce
- Post recipes and serving suggestions for more unusual offerings
- Print instructions on how to pick, store, and cook different items
- Add gluten-free, organic, or non-GMO signage for specialty produce
- Share your farming practices like IPM, drip irrigation, or use of high tunnels
- Hand write daily specials or sales on a colorful chalkboard
- Use directional signs to point customers to specific sections
- Add humorous farm sayings or vintage style signs for charm
Informing your customers will earn their trust and loyalty. It also promotes sales by getting shoppers excited to buy and try different seasonal offerings.
Drive Sales with Value-Added Products
In addition to in-season fruits, vegetables, and plants, consider offering value-added products. These ready-to-eat items can boost your revenue.
Some popular options are:
- Prepared food like fresh salsa, dips, salad dressings, pesto, pickled veggies, honey butter, and marinades
- Baked goods like fruit and nut breads, muffins, cookies, pies, and jams
- Farm-made ice cream, milkshakes, or slushies
- Flower arrangements and mixed bouquets
- Gift baskets or gift boxes with assorted farm goods
- Shelled beans, roasted nuts, dried fruits, jams, jellies, milled grains
- Juices, ciders, and other farm-made beverages
- Cheese, butter, yogurt, and other dairy products
Value-added products can utilize crops that aren’t picture perfect. Offer samples to get customers hooked! Pretty packaging and displays will boost impulse buys.
Use Social Media & Email Marketing to Promote Your Farm Stand
Don’t rely only on roadside visibility to draw in shoppers. Promote your farm stand online to attract customers:
- Share photos of your stand, farm, and photogenic produce on social media.
- Post harvest updates, availability of specific crops, recipes, and other farm info on Facebook and Instagram.
- Use relevant hashtags like #farmfresh, #pickyourown, #farmtotable, etc.
- Send a weekly email newsletter with what’s ripe, upcoming events, and insider info.
- Offer online ordering for easy pre-orders and scheduled pickups.
- Run contests and giveaways. Free flower bouquet for the 100th Facebook follower!
- List your stand on farm tourism sites to reach travellers.
- Collaborate with other farms, CSAs, markets, and stores to cross-promote.
An active online presence will help you connect with customers and spread the word about your farm’s offerings.
Hold Fun Events to Draw Crowds
Hosting lively events at your stand during the harvest season gives families more reason to visit. Some fun options:
- Corn mazes or hayrides in the fall
- U-pick berry picking or fruit harvesting
- Cooking demos using seasonal produce
- Farm dinners with fresh food, music, and activities
- Yoga in the field or on the farm tours
- Petting zoos and pony rides for kids
- Music performances or movie nights
- Food trucks or pop-up restaurants
- Birthday parties and field trips – great for families
- Holiday events like pumpkin carving, wreath making, or tree lighting
Events drive traffic so promote them across your website, email list, and social channels. Offer fun activities, prizes, samples, and holiday cheer!
Design an Easy-to-Navigate Layout
Your farm stand should make it easy for customers to browse and buy. Follow these tips:
- Group similar products together in sections – tomatoes with tomatoes, baked goods together, etc.
- Use clear signs to label sections, products, and prices.
- Leave wide enough aisles for strollers and wheelchairs to pass through.
- Place high-demand items like corn and berries up front for easy access.
- Have a clear traffic flow with a logical entrance and exit.
- Add a price lookup sheet if not everything is individually priced.
- Make sure checkout space is clearly visible and lines won’t impede shoppers.
- Have a space for customers to park strollers or carts while shopping.
- Use floor markers or chalkboard signs to direct traffic and prevent bottlenecks.
With an intuitive layout, shoppers will be able to find, evaluate, and purchase your farm fresh offerings with minimal hassle.
Staff Your Farm Stand to Provide Great Service
Having friendly faces at your stand makes the shopping experience more enjoyable. Follow these tips for success:
- Have staff ready to answer questions and make recommendations.
- Additional staffing on weekends and peak days reduces wait times.
- Hire upbeat workers who love interacting with customers.
- Train workers on your farm’s growing practices for informed answers.
- Dress staff in branded shirts or aprons to look professional.
- Teach workers how to handle, weigh, and bag produce properly.
- Have staff keep the stand tidy and stocked throughout the day.
- Share fun facts, recipes, and farm history to create connections.
Knowledgeable, personable service makes an impression and turns casual visitors into loyal fans of your stand!
Offer Convenience with Contactless Payments
In addition to cash, give customers easy payment options:
- Accept credit cards and mobile payments with a wireless chip reader. Square and PayPal offer affordable options.
- Use a touchless payment system like Apple Pay or Google Pay.
- Install an ATM machine so customers can get cash if needed.
- Provide an e-commerce website for online orders and prepayment.
- Allow people to pre-order boxes or buy gift certificates online for easy pickup.
- Offer subscriptions for regular delivery of produce boxes.
- Use an iPad or tablet for line-busting mobile checkout.
Convenient payment systems make checkout faster. This improves customer satisfaction and enables larger purchases.
Create a Fun Kids Area
Having activities for kids makes it more enjoyable for parents to shop. Try these ideas:
- Set up a play area with toys, games, and books.
- Offer scavenger hunts with farm-themed activities.
- Have coloring sheets and crayons for kids.
- Set out little shovels and buckets for digging in dirt piles.
- Provide sticker books with farm-themed stickers as rewards.
- Have a puppet show or story time area.
- Allow feeding of yard animals like chickens or goats.
- Spray water on produce to create a “mister” kids can run through.
Keeping kids engaged allows parents to browse, which means more sales all around. It also creates special memories families will cherish.
Differentiate with Add-Ons Like Café Seating
Going beyond the basics can set your stand apart. Unique offerings create a one-of-a-kind experience.
Some possibilities include:
- Serving coffee drinks, smoothies, or slushies.
- Having an ice cream counter with farm-made flavors.
- Adding picnic tables or café seating.
- Hosting food pop-ups with guest chefs.
- Offering farm-to-table dinners or cooking classes.
- Providing wifi access or device charging stations.
- Setting up yard games like cornhole toss.
- Having live music performances.
- Creating fun photo opps like flower walls or tractor pics.
- Adding electric car charging stations.
- Serving wine, beer, or cocktails with farm-sourced ingredients.
By offering experiential add-ons, your farm stand becomes a destination. Customers stay longer and spend more.
Maximize Sales With Seasonal Themes
Tap into holidays and changing seasons with festive décor and themed activities:
Spring
- Showcase blossoming flowers and plants.
- Offer spring bulb and seed packets for planting.
- Create Easter egg hunts, cute photo stations.
Summer
- Highlight berries, stone fruit, tomatoes, and sweet corn.
- Add sunflower photo walls and lawn games.
- Offer free watermelon slices, popsicles, and water mister areas.
Fall
- Display pumpkins, gourds, apples, and seasonal produce.
- Have hayrides, corn mazes, and photo opps.
- Decorate with scarecrows, straw bales, corn stalks.
Winter
- Sell wreaths, garlands, trees, gifts.
- Offer hot chocolate, cider donuts, kettle corn.
- Set up holiday lights and photo stations.
- Host ornament making, cookie decorating.
Celebrating the seasons with festive decor and activities appeals to customers’ emotions and nostalgia. This sparks sales for seasonal items.
Themed promotions also provide great social media and marketing content to promote your stand throughout the year.
Step Up Safety for Food and Play Areas
When serving prepared foods or offering play areas, go the extra mile on safety:
- Follow strict rules forsampling, food storage, prep, and handling.
- Clean facilities and food contact surfaces frequently.
- Store non-produce items like jams and baked goods separately from produce.
- Refrigerate perishable prepared foods at correct temperatures with temperature logs.
- Require staff handling food to wear gloves and wash hands frequently.
- Monitor play areas for sharp objects, splinters, choking hazards.
- Place non-toxic plants around play areas and petting zoos.
- Check play surfaces for bee hives, snakes, poisonous plants, holes, etc.
- Post rules for safe play and supervise children.
- Place hand washing stations near food service and animals.
Though extra work, safety precautions prevent incidents that could damage your reputation or lead to liability issues.
Evaluate and Improve Displays to Increase Sales
Track what’s working and switch things up to boost sales:
- Try small experiments like new signage or pricing and see if it impacts purchases.
- Ask customers for feedback on the layout, offerings, and convenience.
- Watch customer behavior to see which displays attract interest.
- Track sales by item to identify your top products.
- Change low-selling items to something new.
- Keep popular offerings stocked and replenish as needed.
- Remove bruises produce and restock displays to look bountiful.
- Move slower selling items to more visible spots.
- Stay on top of trends and add trendy items like new tomato varieties.
Continuously improving your merchandising, promotions, and refresh will keep customers coming back for more all season long.
Wrapping up 100 Creative Display Ideas for a Roadside Farm Stand
A creatively designed and stocked farm stand draws in customers and encourages sales. Use this list of 100 farm stand display ideas to make your stand engaging, convenient, and fun.
The more inviting and enjoyable the shopping experience, the more regular customers you’ll gain. By highlight your farm fresh produce through creative presentation and customer service, your roadside stand can be a profitable channel for selling directly to local families and fans of farm-fresh fare.