Tips and best practices to running a successful online store for your farm or farmers' market
Learn how to succeed as a local food supplier with success stories, marketing tips and more.
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How Shared Legacy Farms Sold Out Their 400 Member CSA
February 15, 2021
Kurt and Corinna Bench run Shared Legacy Farms, a 400 member CSA in Elmore, Ohio. With over 12 years of farming experience, their veggie box..
Upselling and Cross-Selling: How to Increase Your Order Size
February 8, 2021
The most frequent question we get from users is how can I increase my order size to meet my minimum order requirement?
How to Quickly Set Up Curbside Pickup for Farms, Farmers Markets, and Food Hubs
February 1, 2021
Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the way we shop has changed dramatically. Even as restrictions start to lift, online ordering and..
Local Line Releases New POS Feature in Partnership with Square
January 14, 2021
Local Line is excited to announce its integration with the Square Terminal. This integration allows you to accept in-person payments for Local..
10 Local Line Best Practices To Increase Your Online Sales
January 3, 2021
Get the most out of your Local Line account! Using all the features from catalog schedules to pick lists and pack lists will allow you to maximize..
How Leslieville Farmers’ Market Uses Local Line to Strengthen Customer Relationships
December 17, 2020
Similar to many farmers’ markets across North America, market manager Alexa and her team at The Leslieville Farmers’ Market in Toronto knew they..
How This Farm-Run Online Marketplace Increased Sales with Local Line
December 8, 2020
Merry Meeting Kitchen, based in Brunswick, Maine, has developed a new multi-vendor, collaborative marketing model that acts as an online-only..
How This 1-Acre Canadian Micro-Farm Grew Sales by 20% During COVID-19
October 30, 2020
Good Clean Farm, a 1.2-acre vegetable farm located in Salmon River, Nova Scotia, found a new sales channel during the pandemic. When their local..
How This CSA Increased Their Average Sales After Transitioning to Local Line
October 23, 2020
Since moving their CSA online, Milky Way Farm’s sales have seen a noteworthy increase in their average sales; before using Local Line, this Farm..
New Feature: Store Credit
October 9, 2020
Local Line is excited to launch our new store credit feature! This feature allows customers to pay for their order using store credit.
How to Use Automated Catalog Schedules to Drive Sales
September 30, 2020
The Local Line catalog feature was created to organize products and priced throughout the platform and maintain streamlined inventory. You are..
How To Set Up Your Local Line Store: A Step-By-Step Guide
September 17, 2020
Setting up your online store is the first step to selling online and organizing your business all in one place.
6 Local Line Resources That Will Help You Run Your Business
September 15, 2020
At Local Line, we want to help you run your most successful business possible. We love sharing helpful and useful content about sales, marketing,..
How this Biodynamic Farm is Meeting Demand Online
August 27, 2020
Based in Mulmur, Ontario, Fiddle Foot Farm saw record sales in May during their annual seedling sale. They sold almost three times as many..
How to Use Online Ordering to Pre-Sell for Market
August 21, 2020
COVID-19 has changed the way we do markets. As markets now continue to open, some customers may not be ready to shop freely. Instead, use online..
New Feature: Payment Options
August 3, 2020
We're excited to announce a long requested feature in Local Line: payment options. Payment options allow you to customize the payment methods you..
How Owen Sound Farmers’ Market Increased Sales with Local Line
July 7, 2020
Co-market managers Richard and Morag have been running the Owen Sound Farmers’ Market together since August 2019. They love bringing their..
Finding Success with Your Online Farmers’ Market Store with Darren Stott
July 3, 2020
Times have changed. Getting markets connected and online is new for a lot of market managers and vendors. At Local Line, we want to help! We were..
How This Ontario Farmers’ Market Found Success Selling Online Using Local Line
June 10, 2020
The Bradford Farmers’ Market has been serving their community for over 13 years. Throughout those years their twenty vendors have become very..
How Wild Flight Farm Manages Multiple Sales Channels Using Local Line
May 20, 2020
Hermann and Louise Bruns, founders and owners at Wild Flight Farm in Mara, British Columbia, have been farming together for 27 years. They produce..
How to Launch and Promote Your Farm's Online Store in Under 3 Days
April 5, 2020
Offering your products to customers online is a convenient—and crucial—way to get fresh, local food into the hands of your community during these..
6 Tips to Get Your Online Storefront Ready for Orders
March 25, 2020
Your business is a fundamental part of our food system, and the changes to standard business during the COVID-19 pandemic affect the way people in..
How to Launch and Promote Your Market's Online Store in Under 3 Days
March 20, 2020
Offering your market's local food to customers online is a convenient—and crucial—way to get local food into the hands of your community during..
5 Ways to Get New Customers from Instagram
March 4, 2020
The goal for your Instagram business account should be to connect and engage with people who want to buy your products. With 1 billion active..
How to Take Product Photos for Your Online Store That Sell
February 19, 2020
Photos sell! Your online store needs to be a showcase of your brand, quality, and story. Often businesses don’t spend the time needed on their..
How to Sell Food Subscriptions
January 28, 2020
Subscription boxes have become a massive trend among consumers. Today we can get about anything in a subscription box, from makeup to books to..
How to Market Your Seasonal Food Business During the Off-Season
December 9, 2019
Food production works in seasons. If you are a seasonal business, you don’t want to lose customers over the off-seasons. Here are our five best..
How The Chef’s Farmer is Saving Time with Local Line
December 5, 2019
The Chef’s Farmer produces and sells high quality, Calgary-grown produce to chefs and restaurants across the city. Started by Kye Kocher, the..
5 Ways to Attract New Customers
November 21, 2019
If you looking to expand your customer base, here are five tips for getting more customers:
Customer Service 101: How to Respond to an Order Complaint and Keep the Customer
October 30, 2019
Excellent customer service is the best way to maintain and retain customers. Sometimes things happen, and a customer is left unhappy with a..
How to Sell Local Food to Retailers (and Their Customers)
October 21, 2019
In order to be successful when selling to retailers, you have to consider that you are selling to two different channels: the retailer and their..
Supporting Their Community Through Local Food and an Online Store: KW Habilitation and Our Farm
October 6, 2019
KW Habilitation is a local not-for-profit organization located in Kitchener-Waterloo that provides a wide range of individualized services for..
7 Tips to Setting Up the Best Online Storefront
October 3, 2019
Congratulations on your online store! Welcome to the world of selling online. Your online store is the first thing customers now see when..
How to Write Product Descriptions That Sell
September 18, 2019
When you’re selling food online, your product descriptions and product photos are the most persuasive tools you have to get customers to buy. A..
Selling Local Food to Restaurants: Where to Start
September 9, 2019
Selling food to restaurants can be a hard market to enter. Restaurant sales in Canada have grown significantly in the last 25 years, and finally,..
How to Recruit the Best Talent For Your Farm or Farmers' Market
September 3, 2019
There usually comes a point in your business where it’s time to expand and grow your team. As a small business owner, every hand contributes..
How to Prioritize What Crops to Grow for Next Season on Your Farm
September 2, 2019
Prioritizing which crop to grow each season is a delicate task. You must take into account which products have the highest yield, have the highest..
Expert's Guide: How to Use Advanced Inventory to Save Time
July 19, 2019
To help our customers better manage their inventories, we created Advanced Inventory. This feature allows you to create multiple packages, units,..
How to Set Up a Referral Program for Your Business
July 18, 2019
Getting new customers takes a lot of time and money. Make it easy for yourself and set up a referral program! Word of mouth is one of the best..
How Increasing Your Prices 5% Will Make Your Farm 10% More Money
July 9, 2019
We all want to make a bit more money this year. What is one thing you can do next season to increase your profits? It’s simple — increase your..
How to Determine Cost of Goods Sold for Your Farm Products
June 20, 2019
Cost of Goods Sold (COGS) is the total of all the costs that go into producing a product. Calculating this value can become complicated depending..
How to Send the Perfect Email Newsletter
April 18, 2019
Newsletters are an important way to keep your customers updated on your business and your products. Lucky for you, there’s a generally accepted ..
How to Get Started with Instagram as a Farmer
April 8, 2019
Instagram is a great tool to help you market your business! It’s all about visual content and is great for showcasing your production process,..
The Advantages to Accepting Online Payments
March 11, 2019
An essential aspect of having an online store is providing online payments. Here are six reasons why accepting payments online could benefit your..
How to Get More Online Product Reviews for Your Products
March 4, 2019
Social-proof is the best way to sell a product. Consumers want to know that they are making a smart, informed decision based on what others are..
3 Ways to Use Instagram Insights to Get More Customers
March 1, 2019
Tracking your analytics may seem like a tedious and overwhelming task, but it really doesn’t have to be! It can help you better determine what to..
How to Use Instagram Stories as a Marketing Tool
February 6, 2019
Instagram has proved an extremely useful tool for marketing. Many businesses are using it to increase their customer engagement and develop their..
How Woolleys' Lamb Took Charge of Their Branding with Local Line
January 18, 2019
Starting a new business isn’t easy. One of the biggest challenges for food suppliers today is getting your product in your customer’s hands. Many..
How Thousand Hills Ranch Enhances Customer Communication with Local Line
January 17, 2019
Located in Morden, Manitoba, a two-hour drive from Winnipeg, Thousand Hills Ranch is a family farm producing grass-fed beef and lamb. Thousand..
4 Ways to Grow Your Instagram Following Today!
January 10, 2019
Instagram is an extremely powerful tool that focuses on visual content to help you showcase your business and products. Food is a very visual..