A couple months back I would never have thought Wednesday mornings would be one of my favourite times of the week. 8AM on a sunny summer morning, setting up shop at Bangor Market, before the chaos of the daily grind begins. Traditionally these hours were more for the elderly and unemployed of society but with flexible working hours, remote jobs, and just lifestyles in general, a relaxed morning is now accessible to many folk. So while we did expect to cater to mostly old folk at Bangor Market we were surprised to find a fairly wide and diverse range of customers on Wednesday mornings at the Bangor Market.
Before arriving to the market, since roughly 04:00AM, we (mostly Fanfan) had been busy cooking/cooling curries, rolling spring rolls, there’s the packaging, separating pre-orders, not to mention all the prep through the day before. There is a fair bit of behind-the-scenes graft going on before we can even set up shop at Bangor Market. The market is then the more relaxed and enjoyable part of the day, taking mere minutes to set up our trellis table, and then wait for our customers to arrive.
Can Anyone Trade at Bangor Market
“Can we sell stuff at Bangor market?” – “No idea… why?”. This is how we started trading at Bangor Market. A random thought, a couple of months back, and now we have been there at least every other week selling all sorts of tasty home cooked Thai food. Although we do take the occasional week off in between. It was an impromptu enterprise. I checked the council website, phoned the given number (02891824005), and was told me to just turn up to the market and to check-in with the on-site officer. We did, the on-site officer asked us to forward copies of our food hygiene certificate and public liability insurance (specific to food businesses), and the following week we made our debut trading at Bangor Market.
How Much Does it Cost to Trade at Bangor Market?
Around a tenner. At least we pay £11 quid for our space. Paid on the day, for a pitch roughly the size of a parking space. So the financial outlay is next to none but of course this will also depend on the type of business. For us, as a food business, there were necessary steps required from our previous, pre-order, food delivery business to trade as a (pre-packaged) food business. This therefore required a bit of investment to cover food safety regulations such as your usual HACCP requirements, Natasha’s Law etc. and l may share these down the line. Otherwise it’s just paying a tenner to set up a table to then flog your wares.
At the same time, we were always breaking even on investments and expenditures from the previous week. The first week was a trellis table, cool boxes, ice blocks, a thermal label printer, chalkboards, acrylic signs. The second week was a basic gazebo, gazebo weight plates, and some other random branding. The third week was all profit. Of course it does depend on the business and your overall commitment to it, but for many the worst case scenario is you’ve gained experience and spent a tenner.
What Products to Sell at Bangor Market?
“Okay, now, what do we sell?” “Ideally something you can’t buy next door at ASDA for half the price”. “Unique products?” So this was more of an afterthought given we were completely new to markets and things moved really quite fast. “People do enjoy my massaman curry?” “That works!” At the same time we didn’t want too much overlap with our weekend delivery menu and sales. “How about fresh summer rolls?”. Then each week we would pick and choose different products to see what sells best at Bangor market. “Should we call them artisanal?”
Our focus then turned to scalable products. Products that can be easily doubled, tripled, quadrupled, a squillion, with little need for extra time or effort. “Are summer rolls scaleable?” It takes roughly 3 hours to make 20 packs, so that’s 9 minutes per pack. “We’re not doing a squillion”. “What about hot sauces?” Perfect. So we bottled some of our authentic Thai chilli sauces and offered free sampling at the market. “Hey there, wanna try some dips?” They’re also handy to grab people’s attention.
Testing the Market!
Sharing a quick example of our market products. Sai Oua aka ‘Chiang Mai’ sausage. Start by grinding fresh pork neck sourced from the Asia Supermarket in Belfast. Blend a mix of fresh chillies, shallots, garlic, lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves and galangal. Add soy sauce, oyster sauce, other ingredients. All into the mixer. Set natural hog casings on the sausage stuffer. Stuff the sausages. Vacuum seal. Label. Ready to go. It took roughly 4-hours and we sold all for a profit of £19. Between 2 of us we probably made around £2.37 per hour. Not the most profitable of products.
This venture was more about testing markets and testing products. In this instance it was part of a barbecue pack which we successfully sold out within minutes with our delivery service. And here we realised why we never continued with these products as it’s really not fun working solely with meat products. It’s more like being a butcher and it takes a certain type of person to be a butcher. We therefore switched back to our focus on tasty Thai meals at Bangor market and our sosigs are better to delivery menus and fancier services.
The Market Runs itself
On our first day at Bangor Market, we turned up to ASDA car park around 7:30, pulled up in a parking space, and just set up shop. It’s that simple. Beforehand we had given the council officer a heads up via email but they would not be on site until later. Normally the officers will be there from 8ish until closing time if you do need them for anything. Otherwise there is no real interference, expectations or obligations of the local traders at Bangor Market as the market more or less runs itself.
Similarly, it is up to traders to do their own promotion, as the general market footfall is not always suited to all businesses. We use it more as a point of sale with pre-orders to existing customers who may not normally visit. At the same time we always pick a handful of new customers each week and get to promote our other services. So it is up to the traders to bring footfall to the market, and, collectively, the more traders, the more likely the market will succeed. Although it can be hard to encourage traders when there’s little footfall to begin with.
What Time Does Bangor Market Open?
The official times are 8am to 1pm which aren’t ideal for those working a 9-5 workweek. At the same time, when we first turned up at 7AM, the fishmonger and grocers were already busy setting up for their shifts. So the market is open from early morning and we take advantage of the early hours by setting up for 8:00AM before the workday begins. We are then there until we sell out which has been as early as 9:15AM and we’ve not yet made it through to midday or the 1PM closing time. Through these times we have sold up to 70+ meals so it’s definitely a worthwhile venture.
The early hours are also our preferred times as early birds can grab a quick breakfast, lunch, or dinner before joining their 9-5 grind. It also fits with our own interests not just in promoting authentic Asian eats but street food and other food experiences. Something that plays a big part in our other lives as travel and food bloggers in Asia where my favourite part of the day is scouting the morning street food and food markets of Bangkok, Penang, Singapore, or wherever we are at the time. Only this time we are on the opposite side of the table.
Where is Bangor Wednesday Market?
The Asda car park in Bangor. Just off Main Street, via Market Street (location here). While not the most glamorous of locations it is convenient with a large car park next to it and you can always call into Asda for your big shop. While there are park-and–pay charges (£1) they are also rarely enforced. I know this fella (honestly, not me) who has parked there tens of times with no problems at all. Parking fees are also waived if you spend a tenner or more in Asda and this same fella would normally pay at the tills but with self-service he just doesn’t bother anymore.
The only real issue with the location is that it’s not really sheltered at all. For us this hasn’t been a major issue with relatively mild weather through the summer months. We also have our gazebo for shelter if the rain does show up. Otherwise it’s the blustery days which can cause a bit of havoc, with signage etc. blowing around, and our rather basic garden gazebo near took off a couple times even with our cheap weight plates holding it down. Similar weather will likely determine customer footfall as well in the months ahead.
Is it worth Trading at Bangor Market?
It’s obviously not the sexiest of markets, but it is a useful one. It also depends on your objectives. During Covid lockdown, for example, the Guillemot, Hellbent, Olive Tree… were all trading there. Because it’s a cheap and convenient point of sale for those with no fixed premises or other reliable outlets. The same is for us. It was not only somewhere to sell our wares, but to promote our products, hand out business cards, and to give locals a taste of proper Thai food. Admittedly many (most) of our customers had pre-orders and came specifically from our own online audiences. But, again, the worst that can happen is you’ve spent a tenner and gained some experience.
I don’t like to talk about profit because we focus more on the value of repeat business and building a brand. We also aim to find the services we enjoy so we can fit them to our current lifestyle design. So it’s a stepping stone to other markets, a testing ground for new products, add this to our other services like deliveries and private dining, Bangor Eats. Then maybe try events and catering next, scalable products (no more barbecue packs), homegrown products and premium services. If you can make around £200 profit per service with 5 services a week then you’re well on your way to a healthy living wage. But it does take a lot of hard graft.
Small Businesses and Traders in Bangor?
We are putting together a directory of local businesses and independent traders in Bangor with a shop local marketplace (currently a work-in-progress). It takes 2-minutes to add your business (here) and everything is free including local listings, a local business map (here) and the use of our commission-free online marketplace (here) used to promote and sell products. We also help build business landing pages and work with SEO and online visibility to help promote local crafts, unique products/services and small independent traders in Bangor. For more info on the shop local marketplace check here.