| Gardeners, small farmers and boutique backyard | | | | their online catalogue and farmers' market. |
| nurseries can attract customers with unusual tree, | | | | Other rare or unusually-produced fruit farmers allow |
| vine and bush fruit crops that offer customers a | | | | u-picks or farm tours to allow potential customers to |
| taste of the exotic, of history, or of their native | | | | see the unusual fruits and experience them on a |
| bioregion that they can find nowhere else. The rare | | | | deeper level. And while "Mayhaws," "Paw-paws," and |
| product can be their main crop, or a sideline. | | | | "Sea Buckthorn" are unusual fruits that are attracting |
| A secret to attracting customers with unfamiliar | | | | customers, once again, so are the more ordinary |
| crops (or with familiar exotics, such as olives, grown | | | | fruits when processed in new ways. On my own |
| and processed in unfamiliar ways) seems to be letting | | | | Pacific Northwest island where apricots are not |
| the taste do the selling, and then generating repeat | | | | grown often, a family has developed a home |
| customers from that foundation. Letting customers in | | | | business of making and selling regionally grown apricot |
| on the farm's high quality growing and processing | | | | syrup. They sell from their home, and to several local |
| techniques is also a selling tool. | | | | gift shops. |
| For example, a small organic olive farmer in California | | | | When selling unusual fruits at roadside stands or |
| said he got his best results by getting the potential | | | | farmers' markets, a description of its history and land |
| customer to taste the product. He explained that the | | | | of origin can draw much attention and interest. |
| quality is then so apparent that the higher price is | | | | Community supported agriculture (CSA) farms offer |
| usually a non-issue. This farmer also explained that | | | | surprise samples in their regular shares, describing the |
| they teach clients about how much differently they | | | | fruit in their newsletter. This serves as a novelty and |
| operate than mass produced growers creating cheap | | | | makes the CSA farm feel special to the customers. |
| food. They explain their organic farming, rare heritage | | | | If the fruit becomes very popular, it may eventually |
| varieties, dry farming, hand picking, and manufacturing | | | | become a staple for which the CSA is known. |
| in small batches. This farmer and his family organically | | | | Nurseries offer the fruit trees or shrubs as is, or will |
| grow unusual olives such as Ascolano, Nicoise, Mission, | | | | create grafted 'fruit cocktail trees' with several |
| Cornezuelo, Manzanillo, Sevillano, Barouni, Columella, | | | | varieties of fruit on one tree. They also offer dwarf |
| Frantoio, Cornicabra, Rubra, French Picholine, and | | | | tropical or subtropical patio and indoor fruit trees. |
| Saracena, and sell them as value-added products, | | | | Farms that create value-added products from their |
| including organic olive oil soap, and flavored organic | | | | crops create jams, jellies, syrups, fruit flavored baked |
| extra virgin olive oils with names like Magical Mandarin, | | | | and dairy goods, wines, and gift samplers with their |
| Rosemary Garlic, Meyer Lemon and Italian Stallion. | | | | exotic and unusual fruits. Growing an exotic fruit |
| Olives are cold pressed within hours of hand picking | | | | exclusively for a local independent restaurant or juice |
| with a granite stone press. Very unusual. Plus, | | | | bar can establish an ongoing, guaranteed cash-paying |
| organically grown herbs, fruits and seasonings are | | | | customer, giving the food establishment a locally |
| added to produce the flavors. They sell mainly via | | | | grown specialty. |