Feature

Get on the Brand Wagon!

A special thanks to all who have supported the growth of the Whidbey Island Grown Brand. At last count we were up to 19 members. We especially appreciate the support of our newest merchant members, Star Store and The Goose Community Grocer.

For those who are considering membership now is the perfect time since your annual membership fee also gives you free membership in the Puget Sound Food Network (PSFN), the new web based marketplace developed by the Northwest Agriculture Business Center with a grant from the SBA. The PSFN links local agricultural producers, buyers and consumers in the 12 counties bordering the Puget Sound.

This is a great opportunity to increase sales and to enhance your brand equity by gaining increased brand awareness and positive associations as being part of the growing market for locally produced agricultural products. To become a member of Whidbey Island Grown please visit our website at www.whidbeyislandgrown.org and go to the membership page to get the information and forms needed for your class of membership.

Special contributors to this issue of Whidbey Island Grown are Sarah Richards from Lavender Wind Farm and Marian Myszkowski from Goosefoot, a local non-profit organization supporting local agriculture. Sarah is well known on the Island for her community involvement, her great lavender products and her destination lavender farm; her article shares some interesting insights on what it takes to run a successful small business on the Island. Marian discusses Goosefoot’s involvement in the development of The Goose Community Grocer, and new store located on the south end of the Island.

The Whidbey Island Grown brand was established to promote Island agriculture and to share useful ideas and practices among the agricultural community. Its goal is to give a stronger voice to agriculture on the Island and preserve farming by increasing farm profits. Please feel free to submit your ideas and articles and use this newsletter as your on-line bulletin board for Whidbey Island agricultural news. Please email your articles to Gary@AgBizCenter.org.
 

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Other stories

Teaming up for Marketing By Sarah Richards

I was whining to my accountant about another lavender farm not too far from me who was bigger and more capitalized than mine. Instead of agreeing with me and suggesting some plans on how to overcome such an obstacle, she said, “Oh goody.”
“What? Whose side are you on?” I muttered.

Then she explained to me that it’s an advantage to have a bigger competitor nearby because they are likely to do most of the heavy lifting when it comes to marketing the product in the area. I thought about it for a bit, and realized that she was right. After all, lavender is on the map in these parts, largely because the Sequim Lavender Association has been working for years on regional and even national promotion (Thank you, Sequim). People come to our farm and tell the staff about the times they’ve gone to Sequim or San Juan Island to visit lavender. Now they’re coming here. That’s great for our business and for others on Whidbey. I found out that some people come to Whidbey just to visit our farm - then they spend money elsewhere in the community by eating out and shopping, sometimes staying the night.

Promotion and marketing is one of those necessary activities that each business has to sort out. If you’ve signed up and been accepted into the Whidbey Island Grown brand program, then you have a helper that has some impact. As a newcomer to our island, the Whidbey Island Grown brand hasn’t quite got the cachet that it will - but that’s only because it’s just beginning to be known to consumers. In a few years it will be a community standard.

In the plan for marketing my farm I included strategies for getting people to visit. I decided that growing and making products from lavender wasn’t going to be enough; there had to be people coming to the farm to buy those products. So, I identified the setting and view from the farm as one of the products I had to sell. Then I set about marketing the farm and using avenues of promotion that were appropriate. One element was getting signage on the highway. It took two years of work to get the signs through state and county regulations and program “unavailabilities.” The signs finally went up and helped people to find the farm. It took time but has increased customer visits.

The opportunities for marketing extend widely. For instance, the people who work on the farm are part of the marketing efforts. They are cheerful when people come, they give good customer service, and then, when they aren’t working, they speak highly of the farm because they like it here. We also have printed ambassadors; our farm’s rack cards are distributed widely from airports to all the B&B’s on the island and nearby.

Whidbey Island Grown has plans for promoting the brand both on and off the island. The marketing is determined by the membership and our management partner, NABC. I went on the website recently and saw that a large percentage of members are meat growers. I was surprised. There were meat producers I’d never known of listed on the site. Up to this point, the “big” meat producer on the island had been Three Sisters Beef. They have done a considerable amount of marketing through several avenues, including a good website, going to farmers markets, and working very hard to get into local grocery stores. They have smoothed some of the rough spots for the other producers - it will be easier to get into grocery stores because both stores and customers accept and look for the brand. Three Sisters Beef will help the other members of Whidbey Island Grown by the work they have already done over the years.

Now it’s each farm’s turn take advantage of the Whidbey Island Grown brand program. The brand can help all of us market our products if we work together to support it.
 

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The Goose Community Grocer: Proud Supporter of Whidbey Island Agriculture

Last spring, Chris Hurley, CEO of Goosefoot, a non-profit community development organization on South Whidbey Island, contacted Maryon Atwood from the NABC, with the glimmer of an idea. Goosefoot had recently committed itself to renovating an empty 21,000 sq. ft. space it owned into a supermarket to meet the needs of a growing, diverse community. Chris wanted to know how the new store could be most supportive of local growers and producers on Whidbey Island.

The Goose Community Grocer is a one-of-a-kind partnership between Goosefoot, the owner, and the Myers Group, the operator and a family-owned business on South Whidbey. As a non-profit, Goosefoot will reinvest any net proceeds from their grocery venture back into the South Whidbey community. 

From the beginning, the vision for the store included carrying as many products as possible from local growers and producers. The challenge was how to make that happen most efficiently. As a supermarket, the Goose needed a significant amount of product on a regular basis, of a consistent quality, and packaged for retail sales.

As Chris, Maryon, and John Albertsen, from the Myers Group, continued their discussions, opportunities began to unfold for collaborative efforts between The Goose Grocer and Whidbey Island Grown. Goosefoot made a connection between a supportive donor and the NABC to provide the necessary funding to develop and test market a Whidbey Island Beef program. The Goose Grocer made a commitment to serve as a major retail outlet for Whidbey Island Grown branded goods. The official launch date for the program will be March 13th at the store. All will be invited to sample this great local product.

The Goose Community Grocer opened for business in September 2009. “We are very proud to be a Whidbey Island Grown brand participating retailer,” says Gordy Edberg, Goosefoot board president. “As our first major effort, we look forward to participating in the Whidbey Island Grown beef program in collaboration with Whidbey Island Grown and the NABC.”

As more Whidbey Island Grown products become available, you’ll find them in the aisles and on the shelves at The Goose!
Sign up at thegoose@goosegrocer.com to be on our email list and receive notices about special sales and promotions…including Whidbey Island Grown product launchings.

The Goose Community Grocery
14485 Highway 525, Langley, South Whidbey Island
1-866-326-6714
www.goosegrocer.com
www.goosefoot.com

 

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An Update from Greenbank CSA By Sebastian Aguilar

The farm is coming together very nicely and we are now on the cusp of spring! We have been busy getting ready for the 2010 season and are planning a kick-off party on March 15th at 5:30 pm in the big barn at Greenbank Farm to meet and greet all of our new farmers, advisory board members, and partners and to welcome back shareholders and friends. Look for your invitation…coming soon.

We have 9 new farmer-trainees coming from around the country, many with farm experience, all eager to further their education in sustainable farm production and small business management. We have purchased a tractor with implements and a greenhouse for growing transplants and look forward to managing the farm towards health, abundance, and beauty.

Some changes we are making to the CSA based on your recommendations from a recent survey include:
• Larger weekly quantities of staple crops such as lettuce, carrots, and tomatoes and less of the specialty crops such as fennel.
• Better value. We have dropped the price to $450 and we will keep track of our offerings…our goal is to provide you top-quality produce at 20% below market retail.
• A balance between consistency and diversity. No chard for weeks on end but crops you love when they are in season.
With our improved infrastructure, new field and the pioneering work done by last year’s farm crew, we are expecting a bountiful and delicious season. We hope you will join us this year!

Please visit our CSA website for detailed CSA information and to sign up.

Thank you very much for supporting this exciting endeavor to train our next generation of sustainable farmers, rebuild the agricultural potential of Greenbank Farm, and keep Whidbey Island clean, green and strong!

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