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Finding Success with CSA Subscriptions: Tagge’s Famous Fruit, UT
745 Plays3 years ago
In this episode of the Direct Farm Podcast, we talk with Laci Tagge of Tagge's Famous Fruit & Veggie Farms from Perry, Utah. We discuss CSA Subscriptions, the importance of product add-ons, and prioritizing CSA members to drive sales and build a loyal customer base.
Tagge's is a family Farm growing fruit and vegetables in Perry, Utah. Through their wildly popular CSA, Tagge's has become a staple serving many local communities throughout Utah.
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Transcript
Introduction to Direct Farm Podcast
00:00:03
Speaker
Welcome to the Direct Farm podcast, the go-to resource for farms across the US looking to grow and manage their business. Tune in weekly to hear tips and tactics from our most successful farmers on how to increase sales, access more customers, and save time and money. We'll also speak with industry experts, business leaders, and partners to share the latest farm business trends selling direct to market.
00:00:27
Speaker
Welcome to the direct farm podcast.
Meet Lacey Taggy
00:00:29
Speaker
I'm Rory, your host for today's episode. We've got a great conversation for you today with the newest of our farm advisors, Lacey Taggy from Taggy's famous fruit located in Perry, Utah. Welcome Lacey. It's really great to have you here. Hi, I'm super excited to be with you guys today. Thanks for including us. Yeah,
Taggy's Famous Fruit Overview
00:00:47
Speaker
of course. To start out, could you just tell us a little bit about Taggy's famous fruit and the products that you guys sell today?
00:00:53
Speaker
Yeah, so I'm Lacy Taggy. Obviously, I'm the farmer's daughter. So my parents are the owners of Taggy's Famous Fruit. Both my mom and dad are very actively involved. My dad's a farmer, and then my mom kind of oversees all the little loose ends.
00:01:09
Speaker
kind of keeps us going and ties those pretty bows. We have 80 acres of trees, six acres of berries, 32 acres of corn, sweet corn, 16 acres of pumpkins and squash. And then we do have some partnerships with other farmers that help us grow like road crops, like all the kell and beets.
00:01:30
Speaker
But our main focus is we have trees. So peaches, nectarines, pears, plums, apricots, cherries, all that. And then the coolest thing about us is we have six acres of certified organic blackberries. So we're a pretty big deal in Utah. And yeah, my dad's been doing this since he was 35. So about 20, 26 years. Wow. Yeah.
00:01:55
Speaker
That's awesome. Well, I know you kind of, you mentioned the blackberries there. I was curious, I was doing some reading on your website and it seems like that's kind of been one of the staples since you guys started, but could you tell us all how did Taggy's Famous Fruit come to be
Transition from CPA to Farmer
00:02:08
Speaker
really? What was that origin story?
00:02:10
Speaker
Yeah, so first off, my dad was 35. He was a CPA. He did that full time and he would just kind of needed a little side gig. So he decided to take off three weeks every summer and go to this place in Utah called Bear Lake. And they're famous for raspberries. So what he would do, go up there, get raspberries, bring them down to Salt Lake and the valley and sell them on the side of the roads.
00:02:35
Speaker
And then one day this lady's like, I need Brigham City peaches. So my dad's like, cool, I'll pick up peaches on the way down. And so he would get peaches from this farmer and the farmer would sell them peaches. And the farmer one year was like, hey, thing, why don't you buy my 30 acres? I'll teach you for a year how to farm. And my dad did it. He quit a CPA job, learned how to farm. And so that's kind of how he started when he was 35 years old. So
00:03:06
Speaker
Pretty cool story. Yeah, that's incredible. And also I just love that it started with just the stand and then eventually he gets that offer. Was there any kind of family history in farming before this? None. He had no experience. Yeah. Wow. So that year was really important.
00:03:23
Speaker
It was scary. Definitely. When you're 35, you quit like a legit CPA job just to farm. Like my grandparents were just like, to my parents, you guys are crazy. I was three years old at this time. So I didn't, wasn't really aware of what was going on, obviously, but yeah, my parents, then yeah, they started there and that's, they still did the Bay Lake raspberry. They go up there and get them, but then they had a farm. So it was cool. Yeah. Wow. And then, so like you said, you were three, you kind of grew up in that and on
Childhood on the Farm
00:03:49
Speaker
the farm. What was that like for you and your siblings?
00:03:52
Speaker
It was so fun. So we just drive around with them all day and we learned hard work. So like we had to work all every summer and when school started, we had to work every Saturday. That was just kind of part of the deal. And yeah, I'm really appreciate it. It taught me the value of hard work. So I'm grateful for it. Yeah. And so you had mentioned, you know, he started with this farm stand. Are you guys still doing farm stands today? Is that kind of grown now since you have the farm that you guys are owning and operating?
Operations and Market Presence
00:04:19
Speaker
Yeah, so when you bought the farm, it came with a huge fruit stand. So we have that one. It's in Perry. It's an hour north of Salt Lake. And then we bring a lot of it down to Salt Lake. We have seven fruit stands on the side of the road that have been around for 20, 25 years. And then we do attend farmer's markets. We go to about 15 farmer's markets a week, those little pop ups.
00:04:38
Speaker
So yeah, we keep those going and we've had all those locations. We've been up to 15 stands. So we kind of fluctuate, but the seven are a staple and yeah, we love our fruit stand. That's what we're mostly famous for is on the side of the road. Get your corn, get your peaches, get your berries. So.
00:04:54
Speaker
Yeah, that's really awesome. And I'm guessing that as you guys started with a farm stand being kind of your guys's first go to market path, I guess, what was the early stages of the farm? Like, you know, you're selling out of the farm stand, you're growing that, but since you were there, since you were three years old, what was the early stages of the farm? Like, so really it was just kind of like product wise. We just have a few things. So like, we just have raspberries or peaches and it just started slowly where my parents added more products.
00:05:23
Speaker
So now they have like over 40 different jams and salsas, local beef jerky. So now it's really expanded. It's not a one stop shop. You know, you do have to still go to the grocery store, but they're trying to make it where you can get a lot of stuff. So you don't feel like you have to go to the grocery store, but they've added a lot of products. They obviously have added new varieties of peaches, new variety that come on at different times. They've tried to have a fall crop of raspberry. So that's kind of how the stands have grown a lot.
00:05:53
Speaker
Yeah. What was, cause I know that early stage, obviously you guys are really well established now at this point, but a lot of farms that are, that listen or that are working with Barnadore, they're in that early stage of the farm process. How did you guys go about kind of starting to build a customer base? Cause I feel like that's always the first hump that people have to get over is that initial group of customers. How did you guys kind of go about growing those folks and getting them looped into your products?
Quality and Customer Service
00:06:19
Speaker
Right. Well, obviously you've got to have an amazing product. Like.
00:06:26
Speaker
We are impressing by our product and we always try to do the best customer service and make people happy. And then on top of that, social media really has helped get our word out. And if that's added a ton, but really it started with giving fresh fruit, picking it that day, making sure it's, you know, good produce. So that's what starts your customer base. And then after that you win them. So, and they keep coming back.
00:06:49
Speaker
It's all about our Brigham City peaches.
00:06:54
Speaker
So that's kind of how you got to do. You got to have a good product. You got to make sure you're doing things right. And then obviously you can add some little resources on to help you grow. Yeah. And I like that I'm almost curious. Do you think that
00:07:08
Speaker
Cause a lot of times when farms are selling, one of the things they're really harping on is the quality of their products and how local they are to folks. And I love that you guys refer to some of your products by the area that they're from. And so do you think that's kind of helped make that connection a little easier for customers to be able to associate that product with how local and fresh it is?
00:07:26
Speaker
Totally, totally. That name, Brigham City Peaches, Bear Lake Raspberries, Sweet Corn, those names really tie people and they remember where they got it. And they also know it's so fresh, you know? Like if they go to the grocery store, they're going to see a different name. It's not going to be Brigham City Peaches. And they're going to be like, no, we have to get the Brigham City Peaches. And that's what we have at our farmers markets. We have a sign says Brigham City Peaches and people come straight to it. They know, you know,
00:07:54
Speaker
Yeah, that's awesome. That's a really great strategy. I hope other folks try that because I think, yeah, it's a really smart to be able to tie that to a location that people are familiar with. Awesome. Well, what was kind of your guys's decision?
Joining Barnador
00:08:07
Speaker
What went into the decision to sign up with Barnadora? You guys have been using Barnadora for a while now, but what was kind of the point where you're like, okay, let's take this online and then specifically to do that with Barnadora?
00:08:19
Speaker
And so there was two goals. One was to get my mom off the computer. Last time on the computer, she could focus on other things. And then second goal was to upsell, to make more money. Those were the two goals. And that's why we joined. And so what kind of, how was that process? Did you guys look at other options? What was it about Barnador that made you guys decide to go this route?
00:08:40
Speaker
Yeah. So we always have been approached with a loss of CSA softwares. Really the approach is they did take more money. Obviously, Barnator is a great prize. We were shocked. Obviously that. And then also you guys gave me great support. And so I was able to get over that hump to transition from my old system. And it also, you know, your parents aren't as tech savvy.
00:09:01
Speaker
I also able to show my mom like here's how we're going to do it. We got it, you know, and it was great because I had great teams at Barnador that did it all for me. They put my old system into the new system and it really kicked us off really well. So that's kind of what it's been like.
00:09:18
Speaker
Awesome. Yeah. I was kind of curious too. Like what were you guys doing before Barnadore? You mentioned your mom was having to do a lot of time at the computer. What was the system in place for that beforehand? Yeah. So we get an order off WordPress, just our basic website. And then we type that order into an Excel and it was very coded and detailed oriented and it was, it was complicated.
00:09:40
Speaker
but it was handwriting in every order. And we've had up to 1200 subscriptions, you know, so typing in all those and their add-ons and all this stuff. And then what was also taking a lot of time is people would get the add-ons weekly and we would have to type those in as well. So it was just all hand typed into Excel. And then we generate labels, obviously Excel, but it was a lot of work.
00:10:06
Speaker
Yeah, that's super time consuming. I know you kind of touched on getting all of your products and everything moved into Barnador, but that's a big transition to go from that system to using Barnador. What was the shift like? What was the transition like going
Benefits of Barnador
00:10:20
Speaker
through that? First off, she would be on the computer three to four hours and every night. So she'd work a 10, 11 day shift at her warehouse and at the farm. And then she'd go home and it was depressing. She would wake up to like 30, 40 emails, you know,
00:10:36
Speaker
And so the turn decision was amazing because we could just have the order. We know it's in the system and then we just print it off. You know what I mean? She didn't have to put it into another system and stuff like that. So that's really, it really, it saved her a lot of time. Yeah, definitely. And then I'm curious on the customer side of things, what was their response to when you guys made that switch to Barnador? How did they respond? Did they notice a difference? What was their reaction?
00:11:02
Speaker
No, they're actually really happy. Obviously, the older generation struggles still signing up, but a lot of my generation and those moms, they love it. And they like that they get emails of Hey, buy an extra box of peaches or
00:11:16
Speaker
get this they love it that they're able to be really included into what's in season and what they can add to their box they love it so it's nice to know like oh I can get more tomatoes you know and stuff like that so they really are happy and they're happy that it gets delivered right in front of their porch so they love it
00:11:34
Speaker
Yeah. Something you brought up there that they like receiving these emails. I know sometimes farmers are a little hesitant with a lot of the marketing that they do, especially around asking people to make a purchase, whether that's with email marketing or social media, but kind of from what you've said there, it sounds like you guys have had a little bit of a different experience than that. I guess I'm curious, what would be your advice to farmers that are nervous about that? I guess that are nervous about sending out these emails and why shouldn't they be nervous about asking for a sale?
Boosting CSA Sales with Emails
00:12:04
Speaker
Hey, I've been there done that I always get nervous about asking for more money because you already asked for the CSA box, right? That's like three to what $800 and you're asking them to buy more every week, right? But you know what if they don't want to buy they won't bite and if they want to buy they'll buy and you'll see it and
00:12:22
Speaker
I used to just send out the add-ons once a week, but I would send it out on Fridays, and then I would send it up out on Sunday. They'd be like, hey, signups are closing tonight for this week. And I would send it out twice, and it was more successful the more I sent it out.
00:12:36
Speaker
And if people are don't want to get it, they won't get it and don't feel pressured. But there are people that want it and appreciate it and they want to support you and they want the produce. So the more you send is more successful. And I had to get over that too. It was really scary at first because you already asked for 500 bucks, right? And now you're asking for another 50 to 60, you know, but they don't want it. They don't need to get it. And if they want it, you're going to see it and you're going to, you're going to appreciate it more.
00:13:01
Speaker
Yeah and it makes it worth the time definitely and I think too that something that I really like about the way you've approached that is kind of just giving people reminders because at the end of the day people their inbox is filled with a lot of things and they might be scrolling through when they see one of your emails and be like oh yeah I should add on something this week but then they keep scrolling they look at all their other emails they get back to whatever they were doing and so sending another email that's another reminder that just kind of
00:13:25
Speaker
hit them again and they'll be like, Oh yeah, I meant to go add ons honey this week or jam. And so they go do that. And it just kind of, you do have to be constant because people forget. And so that they might really appreciate those reminders. Well, I know we've talked about the CSA a little bit here, but you guys have definitely had a really great focus on keeping your product offering relatively simple with much of the store focused on that CSA. So how would you say that's kind of simplified your ordering process for customers and also for you guys?
00:13:55
Speaker
Yeah, it's been great. The products that we're able to put out, like the add-ons, it's been nice for people that want a different jar of jam every week or
00:14:10
Speaker
different jar of salsa. We also have like a corn add-on. Those things are just like an extra little boost. The add-ons are great because it, it just pays for wages. It pays for those little expenses and it kind of makes you feel like your head's above water, you know.
00:14:27
Speaker
So you got to do add-ons. You got to let people kind of do. They want bread. The more you give them, the more they want it, and they're excited. And we also were able to incorporate other local businesses. And that was fun, too. They could learn about a new business, and it would come with their box. But the one motivating factoring of all the add-ons for me is it was able to support my family. Because my parents were like, you got to figure out a way
00:14:52
Speaker
to make more money. And that's the reason why I was so excited about Bondador. I was able to add on that extra, I think this year I sold about $80,000 of add-ons. So that was able to show my parents like, hey, yeah, like this is a great way to incorporate some extra money and incorporate, you know,
00:15:13
Speaker
pay another person in the business, you know, that was the main motivating for me is I was able to get a commission on how much I sold. So that's really why I was able to take it over. And those add-ons really just kind of a little boost, you know, in your week where you're like, okay, we got this, you know, and you're feeling a little bit happier, you can help hire more help, you can make those extra deliveries and stuff. So
00:15:37
Speaker
Yeah, definitely. Yeah, the CSA is kind of like that base revenue that you know you're going to get, but then all those add-ons are just kind of extra added cream on top. That's really awesome. Have you guys changed your product offering much over time? Obviously you guys are using the CSA, the subscription model right now. Has that always kind of been one of your main products or how has that kind of changed over time?
00:15:59
Speaker
Yeah, so with our CSAs, we do make them commit to the whole 15 weeks. We've noticed that people have a hard time committing, but once they're committed, we make it worth their time. Our biggest complaint is that we're super generous. So once you're locked in, you're locked in. Obviously, there's a few cases here and there where we're generous and give back the money.
00:16:19
Speaker
We want people to be a part of the farm. We want them to struggle like this year was a bad tomato year. We want them to struggle with us that it was a bad tomato year. We want them to be locked in with us and support us, but we make it worth our time. We give them specials on the add-ons. They get three to four dollars off what our normal customers get. They get to be included in those other extra local add-ons and they get to be included in what's going on at the farm.
00:16:46
Speaker
They get to know all of that. And so that's why we kind of lock them in and make them be a part of the farm for the whole time. It's been very successful that way. I have talked to some barn to door reps and they want me to try the week by week, but I just, we haven't, we don't want to, we want to lock people in and we want them committed. But that is also another route that we could go is do a different thing by week, but we haven't done that.
00:17:15
Speaker
Yeah, I'm learning too. So everybody always is that's great. And I was curious with how you guys have your CSA set up. Do you have to be a part of the CSA to get access to the add-on products or could someone go in and just buy add-ons?
00:17:29
Speaker
Yeah, you have to be in the CSAs to get the exclusive stuff. So that's what thinks about Barnard during you have that private store. I am able to have a discount on bulk peaches. It's $5 off. If they want that, they have to be a member. If they want discount on like a bulk corn and all of that stuff, yeah, we make them be a member. And we have a little box. We have like this little one person box. We have different sizes, a two person and a four. So they could join, do the $300 box and then they can get all that perks.
00:17:59
Speaker
You have to be a part of the box to get the other good stuff. So yeah, no, I love that model too because a lot of times people do want access to those other things and they most likely if they're coming to you, they want those base products anyways, but then using that kind of like, I guess, wagging the carrot in front of them a little bit with being able to offer deals and discounts and then as well as just access to more products is a really great way to incentivize those long-term. I mean, like you said, they're committing for 15 weeks.
00:18:29
Speaker
So that's really great revenue certainty for you guys to be able to have that to rely on. And then they get access to all those other things. Yeah. And they love it. And I make it so every week's a different product too. I bring in other stuff, but then our original products are there too. So it makes it fun for them too. You mentioned some, you guys partnered with some local businesses and things. What are some of the things you guys have offered as add-ons in partnership with local businesses?
00:18:52
Speaker
Yeah, so we've done like a meat bundle, a local meat guy. We've done local bread pies. People love ham pies. Some unique bread. I've done some like Jewish bread. Yeah, any like local business cinnamon rolls I've done. These cronies, like lots of bakeries have reached out. Like I always post on social media, hey, any local business just want to partner with us. And it's been fun. Like, and they, it's really fun when they use our product, like our peaches.
00:19:21
Speaker
and make a peach pie for everyone or they make our apple pie with our apples and people love that. We did a butter this year. We did a peach butter. That was cool, like local butter person. So we've done a lot of fun stuff. Yeah, it's been great. And it's definitely, I'm better at selling my own product, but it's fun to include the little guys and
00:19:42
Speaker
You know, and I really love learning about their business and how they can make their stuff. And I tell the customers that, hey, this is our butter girl. She's making peach butter. Like, here's where she's located. Like, this is how she's working. She's using local milk. Like, so it's really fun. And I love to support these little guys because we were there too, you know.
00:20:01
Speaker
Yeah, that's really cool. And I love the collaboration that takes place there. I know that's something that a lot of farms are starting to do more and more of is kind of adding those partnerships to either increase their product offering in their store as a whole, or even like you guys are doing ad products that are available for a week or so. You mentioned you guys do a lot of that through social media and just throwing it out there as an open invitation. But I was curious, what would be your advice to folks if they are looking to establish some of those partnerships? What are some good ways to go about it? And then also making sure that it's a good fit with your farm.
00:20:31
Speaker
yeah honestly it started at the farmer's market like the booth next to me she had hand pies and they're delicious and i was like hey do you want to make these for our customer that's kind of how i started and it's kind of fun to go around the farmer's market see what products would be great obviously our boxes get delivered and sometimes they're outside for an hour or two so i had to kind of find things that fit that way but it worked it's been working out great so
00:20:57
Speaker
Yeah, reaching out to your neighbor at the farmer's market, going to like a local grocery store that has local products, you can reach kind of see what products would look good with your stuff. Like, for example, we do sell on peppercorn, right? So the butter obviously with a hit, but like finding a seasoning like that would go good on corn and stuff like that, that goes good with your product people love. So yeah, fine.
00:21:17
Speaker
That's
Local Collaborations for CSA Add-ons
00:21:18
Speaker
awesome. And yeah, I love that idea of going to the grocery store and looking at some of the local people because grocery stores do, I think they're getting better at working with local folks. And so that also kind of has maybe an implication of the size of the business that you could then be reaching out to, which could be helpful to, to work with somebody that's maybe a little more established. Is that something that you found?
00:21:37
Speaker
Yeah, totally 100%. Because I love when other people reach out to us. And so I love when bakeries say, hey, I want to make peach pie, and I need your peaches. And I love it. So we can cooperate with each other. And I want people to do the same to me. So I'm obviously doing it back.
00:21:53
Speaker
Yeah. Awesome. What has been kind of the response from customers in the way that you guys are specifically packaging your products and offering these subscriptions, the CSAs? What has been the response from customers overall on that kind of setup and the way that you're offering products?
00:22:10
Speaker
Yeah, so they love it. First off, like I said, our biggest complaint is we're generous. So whatever is in season, we jam pack that box full. And they also love it because they have two options. They can go have the box delivered to their house for delivery fee, or they can go pick it up at a pickup location. And we have over 60 different locations where it's free. They go to that location and pick up the box. So it's super convenient. So I'm able to help people that live outside of Salt Lake, they're not able to get it.
00:22:38
Speaker
So these boxes are a great way to still be part of the farm without having to come to my permanent location. They're super happy about the variety they get in the box. They get to learn what's in season. That's one thing that's hard is a lot of people are naive what's in season. They're like, oh, I thought peaches started in June. And it's like, no, they're in August. And they're able to learn that and be able to eat what's in season. And that's why they like the box as well. They're able to be educated on what is actually grown in Utah.
00:23:07
Speaker
and what they can eat and when they can eat it. So. Yeah. That's a really great aspect. Do you guys ever do like recipes as well in that box to help people maybe learn how to cook something that they might not be familiar with? Yeah. So we, this is where we love using Melchim and that's where we post our recipes. We send out a weekly, what's on season and we include recipes, especially for those harder things like people struggle with eggplant and tomatillos and you know, kale and chard.
00:23:36
Speaker
we always include 10 different recipes, give them some ideas. We also have a little private Facebook group where people that are really creative cookers like members that I have will post on that to help people because sometimes you do get a few plums that you don't know what to do with and the members will be like hey do this with your plums or even giving tips on how to freeze. You know a lot of people are don't know how to freeze or can and so
00:24:00
Speaker
We do give those tips in the weekly email and we do tell them about the stuff because sometimes people don't know what is the difference between the apples or difference between the different plums, you know, so we do help them out there as well. Yeah. I love that Facebook group idea. Is that something you guys made or did your customers kind of just organically put that together?
00:24:23
Speaker
Well, I just got a couple emails like, Hey, I'm struggling with this. Like, is there other members I can ask? You know, and so then I just started when it was like probably three years ago, it was, I have 1100 subscribers, but only about 600 people are on it. It's been, yeah, it's great. Cause I have a lot of members that have been with us forever and they just know how to use the box really well. And they're the ones that are constantly.
00:24:46
Speaker
helping the newbies out because that is one of the struggles of the boxes is you do need to cook you need to get creative and it's so fresh you got to eat it quicker than you think and so it's been great little group resource to get more information for those newbies that are new to CSAs.
00:25:02
Speaker
Yeah, that's awesome. And I love that idea just because one, it's great that you guys started it and are able to kind of manage it. And so you have some, a little bit of control over there. Cause I know sometimes Facebook groups can get out of hand, but it's also great just that collaboration. And I feel like it almost continues to build that sense of community around the farm. Yeah. It's been super fun. I don't have time to cook right now, but it's so great that my members that can help me out and just post a simple recipe for them. It's been great.
00:25:32
Speaker
Yeah. At what point did you guys start doing CSAs? Is that something you've always offered customers?
00:25:38
Speaker
So this is our 12th year. So yeah, I've been full-time 10 years. So I've done the program for 10 years. So yeah, the reason why we started, the main reason is the upstart cost to being farm. You're in a hundred, 200K debt of seeds, you know, or even more nowadays. And this is the CSA. It helps us keep our head above water and feeling motivated. And that's the main reason why we started the CSAs.
00:26:07
Speaker
Yeah, yeah, definitely. That revenue certainty is huge. What would you say if farmers are looking at kind of setting up a subscription model for their products? Obviously you guys have got this pretty well down to a science at this point. What would your advice be to folks that are just getting started with a CSA or a subscription?
00:26:25
Speaker
You've got to have good product, you know what I mean? You've got to make sure you're putting in good stuff. Our CSA members are in priority. They get the best of the best. And then our fruit stands get second option, you know what I mean? You have to have a good product. You've got to give what the people want to give. And we have those Brigham City peaches, those Bear Lake raspberries, and those Willard Bay blackberries, you know, we have a great product. And that's what gets customers locked in.
00:26:53
Speaker
Yeah definitely and I feel like I've heard that too with folks doing meat or things like that like making sure you're guaranteeing because like steaks for example always go fast but making sure that your subscription customers have access to those first is a great way to incentivize those long-term purchases. Yeah one of the big things on our farm is we have these donut peaches
00:27:13
Speaker
they look like a donut, they're white peach, they're little. And those are a big deal. And like this year, we lost like 60% of our crop. And our customers got them in the box and we weren't able to sell a lot. And some years we have a lot of them and they're able to order those and
00:27:29
Speaker
It is, you got to make them feel priority and they also know like, Hey, it was a bad donut peach year. Like I got to sign up next year. So I make sure I can get a box of, you know, so that is true. You do need to make sure they feel special and that they are getting priority. Yeah. Are there any kind of tips or tricks or advice you would give folks in terms of building a CSA on barn to door and like having a subscription set up there that you guys have found have been really useful or worked well for you guys?
00:27:58
Speaker
Yeah, it's all about convenience, right? You need to have some locations for them or have a reasonable delivery fee. I honestly, the drop-offs have worked great for us. We just ask people to volunteer their home. And then I'm still learning about the delivery and dropping off because it is a kind of cost efficient, takes more money. And I don't know the right price for that yet. We're still learning, but the best for us is them to pick up the box.
00:28:26
Speaker
At a location near to them and i've been able to offer some businesses some homes all over that has made it convenient for people to join us yeah i'm curious in terms of promotion for this how do you guys promote your csa and your subscriptions to your audience how are you kind of working on adding more people to it.
00:28:46
Speaker
So our most successful is using our members. We say, hey, post on next door. We'll give you some credit in the store. And then we obviously have worked with influencers and finding some food bloggers and stuff like that. That costs a little bit more than you want to pay. And then we've used some ads, but mostly it's your members. Talking to them, telling them to tell their friends, or even splitting a box with their friends. Reaching out to them has been the most successful.
00:29:16
Speaker
way of getting new members. That's really great. Yeah, definitely continuing to lean on the community there and have it build around that. And also to your customers are probably, we always talk about like your ideal customer and who those people are. And if you've already found one of them, it's likely that their friends are similar and also your ideal customers. So it's a closer in, I guess, to get them added. Do you guys offer pre-orders for your CSA and allow people to basically like sign up before the season will even start?
00:29:45
Speaker
Yeah. So our season just ended last week and we'll open them up in a month. Obviously we don't put a big push on it until like March, April, but a lot of people want to secure their spot and we do cut it off. Like we do make it exclusive and cut it off. So we do make it available for them to order eight months in advance.
00:30:05
Speaker
And I know you, you said, you know, you want it to be a little exclusive. What, why is the reason you guys take pre-orders and how do you guys feel that they've been helpful to you as you're preparing for the next season?
Importance of Pre-orders
00:30:17
Speaker
Yeah. The reason why the pre-orders is nice is because we can plan, we can plan on unique stuff. We want to grow for the program. Like for instance, you know, like the eggplant and stuff like that.
00:30:29
Speaker
We're able to get more creative and get better C's and plan more. That's the reason why we like the pre-signups. Yeah, definitely. So with the CSA, you guys offer a couple different sizes. Could you maybe just talk about how you decided on those sizes and what you guys offer for different sizes of your CSA?
00:30:47
Speaker
Yeah. So the different sizes just happened like four years ago. So we would do, you know, there's a share and a half share. So we'd have this half bushel box and it was huge. People didn't like it. There was too much in it. And so we were like, and it was for a family. It did feed four to six people. And so about four or five years ago, me and my mom were like, Hey, this is just,
00:31:11
Speaker
you know, we're not getting as many sign up because some people just want a little taste. So that, that big box, we made it called the four person box. And obviously remember, like I said, our biggest complaint is we're generous. So that box fees a lot more than four people. And then we came up with this little two person for like a couple. And then we have this one person box, you know, for the people that just want a taste of it or live alone or just want to see what's, you know, get a little bit of everything. So we had to do those three different boxes because
00:31:40
Speaker
we are too generous. And so it's able to get more signups because we have those different sizes and different options.
00:31:47
Speaker
Yeah. What was the kind of shift you saw once you went from doing the one big share, what was the change that you guys saw in signups and kind of overall attitudes towards it? Once you guys kind of split that up and had more. Everyone was excited. I got members back from previous years. Like, yes, I just couldn't eat it all. You know, and it's like, well, great, get this little box. And it's been great because people will get the smaller box and then they'll upgrade or they will downgrade. And it's been kind of flexible for them so they, they can figure out how much they want to eat. So.
00:32:17
Speaker
It's been really good response and I'm happy we did it. Yeah. And I know we've talked before and you've mentioned that retention is always kind of your guys's biggest goal. And one of the struggles with the CSA, what are some of the things you guys are doing to help keep people around and have them sign up for next season?
00:32:34
Speaker
Yeah, retention, it's across the nation. Everyone gets about half their signups. But the one thing that helps is giving them ideas on how to cook and trying to keep them motivated through the season. Another thing is we keep them in by keeping us farming. And they keep us going. And that's the main point is keeping your local farmer around.
00:32:56
Speaker
And then also it's kind of painful for them to go through the winter and get those, you know, produce that are in his fresh and then they miss it. So obviously our product is amazing. It's picked that day. It's in their box. They're getting the freshest stuff. So that kind of helps with retention is they start to notice the difference between the store and our stuff. And then the next thing is, yeah, we do give them a coupon code at the end of the year to join next year. And that's kind of that's helped a lot as well.
00:33:26
Speaker
Yeah, that's awesome.
Engaging CSA Membership
00:33:27
Speaker
I love that idea and definitely, you know, saying thank you for going through those 15 weeks with you. And I love, I think, I feel like overall you guys are doing a really great job of making this subscription like an experience and that they are a part of the farm. They're a part of a community of CSA members. They get to interact through your guys's Facebook group. They get to interact with you guys through your marketing, through your emails. I think you guys have done an awesome job of just making that more than just a box showing up at your door.
00:33:53
Speaker
But what would be your advice maybe to farmers that are either struggling to grow like a subscription customer base or like you guys, like you mentioned, keeping those folks around. What would be some advice or some ideas that you would give to them?
00:34:08
Speaker
Oh, man. Yeah, I'm still learning. Obviously, getting the idea out there. No one knows what CSA means. You know what I mean? Like you got to educate through social media. You got to get yourself out there, get on your local TV show or getting in connecting with other local food bloggers. You got to like educate people like this is what we have. Be a part of us.
00:34:31
Speaker
Get this box, try it out, learn how to cook, challenge yourself to cook. Like you really need to educate people on this, what a CSA is.
00:34:40
Speaker
and get this weekly subscription. Social media has definitely helped in that part a lot. But yeah, just word of mouth, like tell your friends, your neighbors about this box and that they can pick it up right here once a week. It's just like getting them excited about sharing it too. But really social media is where it is and how to teach people what it means and to join us and to be exclusively with us.
00:35:05
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah, definitely. Well, so we've touched a little bit on some of your fulfillments and I know delivery is something you guys are doing. When did you guys start offering delivery for customers and how has that been going? Yeah, we've offered deliveries the whole 12 years we've done it. It's an extra, I think we're doing 15 bucks a week. So it is a little bit pricier. It's an extra 15 bucks, but it comes right to your door. But then again, our drop-offs are free. We would like to expand more on delivery. It's just trying to find that right price.
00:35:36
Speaker
It's hard. It's challenging. But it is there for those that don't have time and want to do it. And they're actually one of our best customers. They're the one that gets the extra stuff and they love it. And they like it just coming to their door there. If people want it and want the convenience, they'll pay for it. Yeah, definitely. Have you seen growth in terms of the delivery side of your program? Yeah, definitely have seen a lot of special deliveries going on. Yeah, it's been there, especially if we're in the door. It's helped. Yeah.
00:36:04
Speaker
Awesome. And then I know you said the delivery fee is $15 and that does seem like a lot, but it almost makes me glad to hear that you guys are charging that much because delivery is always expensive with time. No matter what, while that time can oftentimes be a little bit easier for farmers because they kind of can do it on their own schedule, but it also is expensive and now more than effort with gas and just making sure you're maintaining the vehicle. How did you guys kind of decide on that $15 and is that something you think you'll stick with?
00:36:30
Speaker
Yeah, it's kind of just kind of the wage is going on around, you know, 15 like the minimum wage a little bit. So yeah, that's kind of how we decided it's been 15 the whole 12 years like it hasn't just kind of been the price we've had and my mom thought was reasonable, we definitely could
00:36:48
Speaker
be lower on locations that are closer to us, but it's out of the way. It's definitely not convenient of dropping off 40 boxes at a house. You know what I mean? It is a special out of the way, an extra time to drop it off. So that's just kind of how the price has been. Yeah. I was curious with Barnador and MailChimp. I know we've talked about you guys send out recipes and some other things. Are you guys doing like newsletters and have you had good success with those?
00:37:15
Speaker
Yeah, we do newsletters. Those have been successful for customers that aren't in our CSA program. Cause we do, we have other products of jams and salsas and we ship those out. And we also have our, cause we're seasonal, right? So our product, we give out ideas of where they can get our product in the winter and how they can gift it and.
00:37:35
Speaker
stuff like that. So we've used the newsletter and the new people that join our website, get a newsletter and learn about us more. So it's been really successful. Yeah. Have those been a good driver of sales for you guys? And kind of, especially with those add-ons, I know we talked about that a little bit, but have they been a good conversion rate, I guess, for sales? Yeah, totally a hundred percent. Yeah. So for a CSAs example, they get to see the new stuff that's in the store. It clicks it. So that goes right to the store, like,
00:38:01
Speaker
Hey, we have a ton of corn this week. The special is a dozen for this, add a dozen on, and they're able to click it, go right and order it. And it's been great for cells. I was curious with some of the other integrations on top of MailChimp, like the advanced reporting tool. Have you guys used any of those and what has kind of been your experience with them? Yeah. So I've only been able to do the advanced reporting tool that's helped to see.
00:38:27
Speaker
What add-ons do the best? What season? What time? What has been some of the outcomes of using the advanced reporting tool? Like I know you kind of can, can cue in on some of the specifics of the business, but why is that information helpful to you guys?
00:38:41
Speaker
It's nice to know when people order our boxes the most, like what month. It's nice to know what product is the most high selling. It's nice to see that. It's also nice to see the whole year, what I make.
00:38:59
Speaker
what week was the best for add-ons for CSA. It gives you those little details that you're able to kind of focus on like, oh, hey, people really like the donut peaches. Let's really hit it hard next year. Or people really don't sign up till March, April. So let's not stress. Let's give it a little bit of time and really push into March and April. So that's why the advanced reporting tool has helped out a lot.
00:39:23
Speaker
Yeah, it's kind of nice and to know when to really focus your marketing efforts to around those times as well. I'm sure it is really helpful. Awesome. Well, as our newest member to the farm advisor network, what would you say you're most excited for in joining the team?
00:39:38
Speaker
Well, first off, I love what Barnadore has done for our business and how much money it has helped us be able to increase and sell.
Barnador's Benefits for Farmers
00:39:47
Speaker
I would love for other farmers to get that extra money and extra cash flow. Like we need farmers to stick around and I want farmers to learn that skill because
00:39:57
Speaker
Obviously, we need to sell stuff to be able to keep doing what we love to do. And then the next thing is, Barnadore is always willing to improve. And it's been exciting to be hands on and see the new changes and help them make better changes as well. So it's nice to partner up and help them out so that other farmers that are like my scale or even lower scale will want to join and want to be part of Barnadore as well.
00:40:23
Speaker
I'm really excited. I know you'll be participating in our connect program and a lot of other things like that. So I'm excited for you guys to be able to participate in terms of just what's next. What is ahead for Taggy's famous fruit in the coming year.
Future Plans for CSA Expansion
00:40:35
Speaker
Yeah, so we obviously our CSA program is a focus. We want to have our members join us again. We're excited. We just pray for good weather. We want to have the best peaches, have the best product to give everyone. And we also, we won't forget about the farmer's markets and fruit stands. We love getting ourselves out there and we will always continue to do those as well. Yes, they're more work, but we love our roadside stand and we love our customers that come there as well. So we're super excited just to keep going and
00:41:04
Speaker
just to plant more trees, grow more tomatoes and stuff like that. So yeah. Awesome. Great. Well, Lacey, thanks so much for joining us on the podcast. Yeah, you're welcome. Thanks for having me.
00:41:16
Speaker
I want to extend my thanks to Lacey for joining us on this week's podcast episode. Here at Barned Door, we're humbled to support thousands of farms across the country, including farms like Taggy's Famous Fruit. We're honored to get the opportunity to learn from our most successful farms who share the tactics, resources, and tools they use to grow and manage their farm businesses.
00:41:35
Speaker
If you would like to connect with Lacey or other farm advisors, attend Barnadore Connect. You can register for weekly sessions at barnadore.com slash connect. For more information on Taggy's Famous Fruit, you can also follow them on Instagram. Their handle is at taggysfruit. Thank you for tuning in. We'll see you next time.
00:41:56
Speaker
Thanks for tuning in. For more free farm resources, tips, and tactics that are most successful farms use to grow and manage their business, visit barnadore.com slash resources. Also don't forget to subscribe to the Direct Farm podcast to automatically download our weekly episodes. Thanks for listening and we'll see you next week.