How To Write a Product Description for Your Farm Website

Building trust with customers is the cornerstone to achieving long-term success in direct-to-consumer (DTC) sales. Many farm websites struggle not because of the quality of their products, but because their website doesn’t do enough to convince shoppers to take a chance on their business.

You’ve got the high-quality goods people want — so back them up with product descriptions to match. Effective product descriptions help farm stores show off what makes them special while providing an added level of information that big corporate chains can’t provide.

Not sure how to write a product description, or where to start? We’re here to help. After working with hundreds of fresh food businesses across the country, we’ve got a solid idea of what goes into a mouth-watering product description.

Let’s dive in.

Why Pictures Alone Aren’t Enough for Your Farm Store Product Pages

Don’t get us wrong: Visuals and photographs are an incredibly important part of your farm store website. They help break up chunks of text, show off your products, and make your site easier to browse.

However, while a large, corporate brand can get away with minimal descriptions, a small, independent farm store needs to do a little extra work to build trust with customers.

The descriptions on your farm store product pages will do just that. A great farm store product page gives you a chance to:

Inject some personality into your store.
Build trust and showcase quality.
Provide helpful cooking and preparation tips.
Upsell shoppers with deals and suggested products.

Think of it this way: What would you tell someone about your products if they came into your store in person? What feeling would you want them to leave with?

Whatever the answer is, that’s what you want customers to take from the product pages on your website.

4 Essential Components of a Great Farm Store Product Description

How do you write a great product description? There’s no perfect answer because every farm (and the personalities on them) are different. You’ll probably need to experiment a bit to see what works and what doesn’t to dial in the perfect product page.

However, here are a few tried-and-true tips to get you started.

1. What It Is

As someone who works with fresh meat and produce all day, you know the different cuts of an animal or types of plants like the back of your hand. However, someone coming to your farm website from a traditional grocery store may be intimidated.

So, start your product description with the basics. For all products, include:

The product name
Certifications and qualifications (e.g. USDA organic)
How it’s typically used (e.g. used for roasts, eaten straight, good in stir fries)
Unique factors (e.g. limited or seasonal availability, rare cuts)

If it’s a bundle or subscription box, make sure to explain what’s typically included and how you decide on what to pack. For meat products, you may want to include additional details such as:

Light or dark meat (poultry)
Location of the cut, marbling, and fat content
Health and farming details (e.g. grass-fed, ethically raised, hormone-free, wild caught)
Ease of preparation (i.e. is it perfect for beginners or ideal for a confident cook?)

You probably have a lot to say about your products, but try to include the most important information in the first one or two sentences. You can also lead with a few bullet points if you feel there are key points you can’t fit naturally into your description.

Here’s an example for a boneless ribeye:

100% Grass fed
Hormone, steroid, and antibiotic-free

Our boneless ribeye is known for its rich marbling, soft texture, and deep flavor, making it perfect for pan frying or grilling. As the name suggests, the ribeye comes from the rib section of the cow, making it particularly tender with higher fat content than other cuts — and because it’s boneless, it’s an easy steak for novice chefs to cook with great results.

From there, you can go into more detail about cooking methods and recipes (see below) or additional information about the cut itself.

2. Average Weight and Pricing

While some items like ground beef can be weighed and priced out consistently, farm stores tend to lose money if they sell steaks, fresh produce, or other catch-weight items at a fixed price.

Selling variable-weight products is common at farm stores, but requires clear communication so customers know exactly what to expect.

For catch-weight products, clearly list the price per pound and the average weight right next to their names. If your e-commerce platform supports weight-based sales, this information populates automatically just by entering the relevant information into your inventory list.

This way, you don’t need to go in and update individual product pages when you adjust the price per pound in your inventory management system.

3. Suggestions and Recipes

We may sound like a broken record, but it’s worth repeating: The more confidence you instill in your shoppers, the more likely they are to shop with you (and turn into repeat customers).

A description of a particular cut may not move someone to purchase if they aren’t sure what it can be specifically used for. Once you’ve captured their attention with the basics, give them examples to seal the deal.

In other words, don’t just say you’re selling a stock-making kit — show them how easy it is to make stock. Don’t show someone a rolled roast and call it a day — give them a delicious recipe for wine-braised pot roast.

Create a special section on each product page to inspire customers with ideas. Include recipes (with links to your blog), preparation tips, and serving recommendations.

Adding tips and helpful advice to your product pages transforms them from simple descriptions of ingredients to mouth-watering meal ideas.

4. Subscriptions, Similar Products, and Other Deals

While getting a customer to hit “add to cart” is a great start, it doesn’t have to end there. Don’t miss your chance to upsell them with great deals, recurring purchases, or complementary products.

If you offer subscriptions for certain items, give customers the option to subscribe-and-save next to the single unit price. When a customer adds something to their cart, include a pop-up that shows their currently selected items in addition to suggestions for similar products or deals.

Also include suggestions for deals and similar products at the bottom of the page. Even if a customer doesn’t convert on one item, that will encourage them to keep browsing. You can also include internal links to other products as part of your recipe suggestion (e.g. linking your chicken stock-making kit when mentioning a recipe on your page for bone-in chicken thighs).

Finally, curated boxes are a great way to capture a first-time or indecisive shopper. Link to “starter packs” or “sampler boxes” for each category you sell (e.g. beef, poultry, etc.) to upsell customers with a selection of popular items.

Build a Mouth-Watering Farm Store Website With GrazeCart

Writing a perfect product description won’t get you far if your website is hard to use or doesn’t support fresh food e-commerce. That’s why finding the right platform for your business is essential.

GrazeCart was built by farmers to simplify farm-to-fork sales for butchers, farm stores, and independent grocers. With an easy-to-use no-code website builder, native support for sell-by-weight and subscriptions, and powerful inventory management tools, GrazeCart gives you everything you need to make your direct-to-consumer sales a breeze.

Try your free, 14-day trial of GrazeCart today to see if we’re a good fit for your business.