With Halloween in our rearview mirror, retailers have slammed their feet down hard on the holiday shopping pedal. More and more we are seeing specials spread out for weeks before the holidays, hoping their customers will spend more if it’s spread out. Also, to get customers in their stores more often.
While big-screen TVs, video games, or the latest fashion trends may be exciting; there is another market out there. A market in which people are looking for experience rather than just gadgets. That philosophy has grown a lot since the pandemic. Consumers have been willing to spend their money if there is a memory to be made that they can enjoy for the rest of their lives.
Food is one of those experiences that people are paying more for. With the price of eating out ever climbing, and the fact that many of us rediscovered our abilities in the kitchen during the lockdown; we are seeing people willing to spend top dollar for quality food products. In another twist, consumers are willing to purchase items that they can find a story that they can connect to. They want to know about the family farm or the small-town store providing these items.
That is where the Choose Iowa project comes in. The Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship started the program to help connect small and local producers and stores with a larger audience that may not always be aware of the quality goods that are available in our state. That message correlates well with this time of year. As people are looking for gifts that can help usher in that new wave of giving for experience seekers, they can find the products they are looking for right here in Iowa. There is also grant money available for businesses to get started with the Choose Iowa program.
Iowa Ag Secretary Mike Naig talks about the grant program and the deadline for applications for the grant dollars.
Secretary Naig says that the response to grant requests has been phenomenal. The creativity has been nothing short of amazing.
Naig says that the trend of consumers wanting to know where their food comes from is not going away. So, the Choose Iowa program allows producers and small retailers to tell that story, no matter where they are located in the state.
You can learn more about the Choose Iowa program and the businesses involved by going to ChooseIowa.org.
