Every fall, the same thing happens. You spend weeks perfecting your pumpkin butter recipe, make a huge batch, bring it to the farmers market, and hope people buy it. Some weekends you sell out. Other weekends you take half of it home.

Meanwhile, the vendor two booths down had her pumpkin butter sold out before she even made it. She took pre-orders three weeks ago, posted about it on social media, and emailed her customer list. By the time the first jar was filled, every single one had a name on it.

The difference is not the product. It is the timing of the marketing.

The short version: The best time to market seasonal products is four to eight weeks before they are available. Start by teasing the product on social media and email, build a waitlist or open pre-orders through your Homegrown storefront, and use honest scarcity messaging to create urgency. Vendors who market seasonal products before the season starts consistently sell more, waste less, and take the guesswork out of how much to produce. You do not need a big following or a fancy marketing plan. You need a timeline, a customer list, and the discipline to start talking about your products before they are ready.

Why Should You Start Marketing Seasonal Products Early?

Pre-season marketing gives you a massive advantage over vendors who wait until their products are ready to start selling. Most small food vendors treat marketing like an afterthought — they make the product first, then figure out how to sell it. Flipping that order changes everything.

Here is what early marketing does for your business:

• Reduces waste and overproduction — When you take pre-orders before you produce, you know exactly how much to make. A vendor who pre-sells 40 jars of apple butter makes 40 jars. A vendor who guesses makes 60 and hopes for the best. Pre-season marketing turns guessing into planning.
• Improves cash flow — Collecting deposits or full payments before you buy ingredients means you are not funding production out of pocket. This matters when seasonal ingredients are expensive or when you are scaling up for a holiday rush.
• Builds anticipation and urgency — When customers know your peach preserves are only available for three weeks in July, and you remind them of that in June, they act fast. Scarcity is your greatest marketing tool as a seasonal vendor, and pre-season promotion is how you activate it.
• Keeps you top of mind between seasons — If you only talk to customers during the weeks you are selling a product, they forget about you the rest of the year. Pre-season content keeps your name in front of them during the gap.
• Gives you a head start on competitors — Most vendors at the farmers market do zero pre-season marketing. The vendor who starts talking about Thanksgiving pie pre-orders in early October captures demand before anyone else even mentions pies.

"Vendors who pre-sell seasonal products report 30 to 50 percent less waste compared to vendors who produce first and sell second."

How Far in Advance Should You Start Promoting Seasonal Products?

Six to eight weeks before the product is available is the sweet spot for most food vendors. That gives you enough time to build awareness, collect interest, and open pre-orders without starting so early that people lose interest.

Here is a general timeline that works for most seasonal products:

1. Six to eight weeks out — Start teasing. Post behind-the-scenes content about recipe testing, ingredient sourcing, or last year's product. Mention that the product is coming back soon. Add a signup form to your Homegrown storefront so people can get notified.
2. Four to five weeks out — Open pre-orders. Send an email to your customer list announcing availability. Post the pre-order link on social media. If you sell at the farmers market, bring a signup sheet to your booth.
3. Two to three weeks out — Urgency phase. Share how many pre-orders you have left. Mention that you are almost at capacity. Repost customer testimonials from last season.
4. One week out — Final push. Last chance messaging. Remind people of the pickup date and cutoff for ordering.
5. Launch week — Deliver pre-orders and sell any remaining inventory. Collect photos and testimonials for next year.

The exact timeline depends on your product and how much lead time you need. Here is a breakdown by product type:

Product Type	Start Teasing	Open Pre-Orders	Cutoff
Thanksgiving pies and sides	Early October	Mid-October	1 week before Thanksgiving
Holiday cookie boxes and gift sets	Late October	Early November	2 weeks before Christmas
Spring preserves (strawberry, rhubarb)	Late March	Mid-April	1 week before first batch
Summer products (peach, berry)	Late May	Mid-June	1 week before harvest
Fall products (apple butter, pumpkin)	Late August	Mid-September	1 week before production

"Starting your seasonal marketing six weeks before the product is available gives customers enough time to plan and commit without losing interest."

How Do You Build a Pre-Season Waitlist?

A waitlist is the simplest form of pre-season marketing. You are not asking anyone to pay yet. You are just collecting the names of people who want to know when your product is available. That list becomes your first audience when pre-orders open.

How to Use Email for Early Access Signups

Email is the most reliable channel for pre-season waitlists because you own the list and control when messages go out. Building an email list as a food vendor takes time, but even a small list of 50 to 100 people can drive significant pre-order volume.

Here is how to build your seasonal waitlist through email:

• Add a "seasonal products" signup form to your Homegrown storefront
• Send a short email to your existing list: "Our pumpkin butter is coming back this fall. Want first access? Reply YES and we will add you to the early list."
• Include a waitlist link in your email signature during the weeks before launch

For a full guide on building your email list from scratch, see our article on how to build a customer email list as a food vendor.

How to Capture Interest on Social Media

Social media waitlists are less reliable than email because algorithms control who sees your posts. But they are still effective, especially for reaching new customers.

• Post a photo of last year's product with the caption: "Coming back soon. Drop a comment if you want first dibs."
• Use Instagram Stories polls: "Should we bring back our holiday cookie boxes this year? Yes / Obviously yes"
• Pin a post about the upcoming seasonal product to the top of your profile
• Save every comment and DM expressing interest — that is your informal waitlist

How to Collect Signups at the Farmers Market

Your farmers market booth is the highest-converting signup channel you have. People are already standing in front of you, tasting your products, and asking questions. Capturing their information takes ten seconds.

• Put a clipboard on your table: "Sign up to be first in line for our fall apple butter"
• Mention the waitlist during every transaction: "We are taking names for our Thanksgiving pie pre-orders. Want me to add you?"
• Offer a small incentive: first access, a small discount, or guaranteed availability

"A waitlist of just 30 people can generate enough pre-orders to cover your ingredient costs before you start production."

What Pre-Season Content Should You Post?

Pre-season content has one job: keep your seasonal product in people's minds so they are ready to buy when pre-orders open. You do not need to post every day. Two to three posts per week for the four to six weeks before launch is plenty.

Behind-the-Scenes Recipe Development

Customers love seeing the process behind the product. This is content that large brands cannot replicate, but small vendors create naturally.

• Photos of you testing new flavors or tweaking a recipe
• A short video of you sourcing ingredients at a local farm
• Posts about what makes this year's batch different: "We found a new honey supplier and the flavor is incredible"
• Ingredient closeups with a caption about quality and sourcing

Throwback Photos From Last Season

If you sold the product last year, you already have marketing material. Use it.

• Photos of your booth display with the seasonal product front and center
• Pictures of customers holding or enjoying the product
• A repost of your sellout announcement from last year: "This sold out in two days last October. This year we are taking pre-orders so you do not miss it."

Countdown Posts and Sneak Peeks

Countdown content builds urgency and gives people a reason to keep checking back.

• "Four weeks until our strawberry jam is back. Pre-orders open next Friday."
• A photo of empty jars waiting to be filled
• Packaging reveals: "Here is the new label for this year's holiday gift box"

Customer Testimonials From Previous Seasons

Social proof is the most persuasive marketing content you can post, according to research from Nielsen's Trust in Advertising study — 88 percent of consumers trust recommendations from people they know over any other form of advertising. For a food vendor, that means letting your past customers do the selling for you.

• Screenshot a text or DM from a customer raving about last year's product
• Ask a repeat customer if you can share their review
• Post a quote: "Every Thanksgiving my family fights over the last slice of your pie. Please tell me you are making them again this year."

How Do You Set Up Pre-Orders for Seasonal Products?

Pre-orders turn interest into committed sales. The easiest way to manage pre-orders as a small food vendor is through your Homegrown storefront pre-order page, where customers can place and pay for orders ahead of time.

Here is how to structure your seasonal pre-orders:

1. Create the product listing early — Add the product to your Homegrown storefront with a clear description, photos from last season, price, and available quantities. Mark it as a pre-order item with the expected availability date.
2. Set a limited quantity — If you can make 50 jars of apple butter, list 50. When they sell out, they sell out. This creates real urgency and prevents you from overcommitting.
3. Choose your payment structure — You have two options:
• Full payment upfront — Simplest approach. Customer pays the full price when they pre-order. You have cash in hand before you start production. Best for products under $30.
• Deposit with balance due at pickup — Customer pays a deposit (usually 25 to 50 percent) to hold their order, then pays the rest when they pick up. Better for higher-priced products like Thanksgiving meal packages or large gift boxes.
4. Set a clear cutoff date — Give yourself enough time between the pre-order cutoff and the delivery date to produce everything. Most vendors need at least five to seven days.
5. Confirm every order — Send a confirmation email with the order details, pickup date, and pickup location. A week before delivery, send a reminder.

"Pre-orders through a Homegrown storefront let you collect payment, manage quantities, and communicate with customers in one place — no spreadsheets, no chasing people for payment at the market."

If you sell Thanksgiving or holiday products, pre-orders are not optional. They are the only way to manage the volume without losing your mind.

How Do You Create Urgency Without Being Pushy?

Urgency messaging works because seasonal products are genuinely scarce. You are not manufacturing fake deadlines. You really do have a limited number of jars, a short production window, and a cutoff date. Lean into that honesty.

Here are urgency tactics that work for food vendors:

• Share real numbers — "We have 15 jars of peach preserves left out of 50. Once they are gone, they are gone until next summer." Specific numbers are more believable than vague scarcity claims.
• Update inventory publicly — Post when you hit milestones: "Half sold already" or "Down to our last 10." This is not pressure — it is information.
• Use deadlines tied to production — "Pre-orders close Friday because we need the weekend to bake." This is a real constraint, not a marketing trick.
• Offer early bird pricing — Give a small discount (10 to 15 percent) to customers who order in the first week. This rewards early action without devaluing your product.
• Reference last year's sellout — "Our holiday cookie boxes sold out in four days last year. This year we made more, but the early orders are already coming in." Past performance is the most credible urgency signal you have.

Things to avoid:

• Do not say "limited time only" if you plan to keep selling it for weeks
• Do not create fake countdown timers
• Do not claim scarcity you do not have — if you can make more, say so
• Do not pressure people with aggressive follow-up messages

"Honest scarcity messaging works better than manufactured urgency because your customers know you personally. They will remember if you cried wolf."

What Are the Best Seasonal Products to Pre-Market?

Not every seasonal product benefits equally from pre-season marketing. The best candidates are products with a short availability window, high demand, and a history of selling out. According to the USDA's seasonal produce availability guide, most fruits and vegetables have peak windows of just four to eight weeks, which creates a natural scarcity that drives pre-order demand.

Here are the seasonal products that respond best to pre-season marketing:

Product	Peak Season	Pre-Order Window	Why It Works
Thanksgiving pies and sides	November	October	High demand, fixed deadline, easy to plan production
Holiday cookie boxes	December	November	Gift-giving creates urgency, customers buy multiples
Valentine's treats	February	Late January	Short window, impulse-driven, easy to bundle
Strawberry preserves	May-June	April	First fruit of the season, nostalgic, high demand
Peach products	July-August	June	Peak flavor window is short, customers stock up
Apple butter and fall preserves	September-October	August	Fall nostalgia, pairs with holiday prep
Hot sauce and fermented products	Year-round batches	4-6 weeks before batch	Limited batch sizes create natural scarcity

For a deeper look at what sells best in the fall, check out our guide to best-selling fall farmers market products.

Products that are less suited to pre-orders include products with very long shelf life (no urgency), products you make in unlimited quantities (no scarcity), and products customers want to taste before buying (hard to pre-sell).

How Do You Keep the Momentum Going After the Season?

The end of one season is the beginning of your marketing for the next one. What you do after delivering your seasonal products sets up your success for next year.

• Collect testimonials immediately — Ask customers for a quick review or photo right when they pick up or receive their order. This is when excitement is highest.
• Save all content — Every photo, video, customer message, and sales number from this season becomes marketing material for next year.
• Send a thank-you email — A short note thanking customers for their pre-orders builds loyalty. Include a line like: "Want to be first to know when we bring this back next year? You are already on the list."
• Start a "next season" interest list — Add a form to your Homegrown storefront where people can sign up for next year's seasonal products. You will have a ready-made audience before you do any marketing.
• Review your numbers — How many pre-orders did you get? How quickly did you sell out? What was your most popular product? Use this data to plan next year's quantities and timeline.

"The best seasonal marketing is a twelve-month cycle: sell the product, collect feedback, save content, build next year's list, and start teasing again when the time is right."

Ready to set up your seasonal pre-order page? Create your free Homegrown storefront and start taking orders before your next season arrives.

Frequently Asked Questions

How early is too early to start marketing seasonal products?

More than eight weeks before the product is available is usually too early for pre-orders, but not too early for awareness. You can mention an upcoming seasonal product casually three months out, then ramp up the formal marketing six to eight weeks before launch. The key is matching your intensity to the timeline — light mentions early, heavy promotion closer to launch.

What if I am not sure how much seasonal product I can make?

Start with a conservative number for pre-orders and add more availability if demand is high. It is always better to sell out and have a waitlist for next year than to overcommit and scramble to fill orders. You can set a cap on your Homegrown storefront and increase it later if you have capacity.

Should I offer discounts for pre-orders?

A small early bird discount of 10 to 15 percent can motivate customers to commit early, but it is not required. Many vendors charge full price for pre-orders because the value to the customer is guaranteed availability, not a lower price. If your product regularly sells out, the guarantee alone is enough incentive.

How do I handle pre-orders if I sell at a farmers market?

Use your Homegrown storefront to manage online pre-orders and offer market pickup as the delivery method. Bring a signup sheet to your booth for customers who prefer to order in person. The key is having one system that tracks all orders, whether they come from online or from the market.

What if nobody pre-orders my seasonal products?

Low pre-order volume is a signal, not a failure. It usually means one of three things: your audience is too small (focus on building your email list first), your marketing started too late (try starting earlier next season), or the product does not have enough perceived scarcity (consider limiting quantities or shortening the availability window).

Can I market seasonal products if I only sell at the farmers market?

Yes. Your farmers market booth is one of the best places to market seasonal products because you have face-to-face contact with your customers. Use a signup sheet, mention upcoming products during every transaction, and post about them on social media. An online Homegrown storefront makes it even easier by giving customers a place to pre-order between market days.

How do I keep customers interested between seasons?

Stay active on email and social media with non-seasonal content: behind-the-scenes posts, recipe ideas using your products, farmer and ingredient spotlights, and market day recaps. Then, when your seasonal marketing starts, your audience is already engaged and paying attention. The worst thing you can do is go silent for months and then suddenly ask people to buy something.

Your seasonal products deserve better than a last-minute marketing scramble. Set up your Homegrown storefront and start building your pre-order system today so your next seasonal launch is your best one yet.