You can produce record crops of high quality fruit and vegetables and leave them unharvested because the market falls in a heap. You need to become a price maker rather than a price taker. Marketing your produce is as important as growing it, but it is often the neglected skill in the armada of talents involved in modern food production.

Sending your hard won produce to distant markets to be sold by strangers is a risky practice rarely mirrored in other industries. A writer, for example, does not market his work as an anonymous wordsmith at the mercy of all comers and the winemaker is similarly discerning regarding the outcome of his labours.

There are some simple tricks that can increase the odds of success if you are sending food to the large markets. It’s not just enough to develop a reputation for quality, although it definitely helps. Branding is important. Create your own catchy colours, logo and product name on your box and make sure that labelling reflects your key selling points. If you are growing biologically, then include a reference to “biologically grown with forgotten flavours and extended shelf life” on your box, or you have sold yourself seriously short!