A goal that we have always had is to share our wonderful, tasty and nutritious produce with others…it would not only be gluttony on our behalf to keep it all for ourselves, it would also be unfair not to give other people the opportunity to enjoy the tasty morsels that we lovingly grow on our patch of land.

A juicy peach – from tree to dried in 14 hours

The thinking phase for us has been prolonged – partially due to not having enough produce to sell but primarily due to starting from scratch and having to learn everything along the way…Google has definitely been a trusty companion!!! But deciding we needed to bite the bullet and just do it, we announced (to eachother) the Barmera Twilight Market 2024 would be our first hurrah!! – and then it was on…

Redsands Honey … as natural as honey could ever be

Picking and processing products, packaging, packaging design, product sizes and diversity, a mode of receiving payment, physical site design, website design so that

customers could purchase from us post-markets – the list went on…there was a LOT to do.

The lead up to the market was busy yet exciting. Whilst difficult to visualise what would actually happen on the day, we had dreams and hopes of what we would achieve. It was not about making money, it was

·        having the ability to interact with customers,

·        being able to tell our story to whoever would listen,  and

·        get feedback on the products that we were able to offer.

Packaged salted pistachios – we have chosen environmentally friendly, resealable packaging
Packaged peaches…diversity in sizes important to us to offer customers choice

People local to the Riverland and beyond sampled our products and proudly we watched as the expression on their faces changed to delight as they experienced the crunch of a pistachio or the zing of a dried peach that had retained its flavour to provide a peachy punch in their mouths.

These were likely sold at the markets…such a vibrant looking fruit

It is amazing that we were selling products that, less than 4 weeks previously, were hanging on the trees waiting to be harvested. Our processing is that minimalist and simplistic, we could have had products from tree to packaged in less than 48 hours. But even more amazing is that the longevity of these products will allow us to sell them at the next Barmera Twilight Markets if we wanted to but, of course, we will be sold out by then ready for 2025 batches!

Half of our market set up … Pistachios and Honey with some fresh pistachios thrown on the table for interest

From little things, big things grow…

·        our little trees have grown into a fruit and nut bearing orchard, and

·        our little ideas have grown into an enterprising business venture that we know people will support into the future.

Set up, waiting for market to start…stock on the table was soon depleted!

Whilst never having the intent of being a household name as such, we have come away from the markets with the knowledge that our story has begun to spread and that people want dried fruit without the preservatives traditionally associated with this type of food.

One of the many chats we were able to have with interested customers…level of interest was high

The markets were a success and we are now excited to see where the next bit of our journey takes us…

Thanks for reading and we hope that your enjoyment of Redsands Produce whether it is through our blogs or through our produce continues to grow with us.

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