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Building a Brand Legacy That Lasts with Agricola Family Farm
212 Plays5 years ago
Daphne Bicaise and her entire farming family were refugees from The Republic of Congo, rebuilding their family farm in the state of Texas with less than an acre of land.
Daphne shares with us how they navigated rebuilding their farm, engaged customers through storytelling, and how they’ve established a multigenerational farm brand.
Show Notes:
https://www.agricolafamilyfarm.com/
https://www.barn2door.com/resources
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Transcript
Adapting to COVID: Mindset and Growth
00:00:00
Speaker
You know, you can let something like COVID just affect you. You have to be able to find a way to work around it. You know, your story's there, your mentality, your positive mentality is there. How can I still drive the brand that I've been creating over the years and just still get, you know, make profits so I can pay for my bills. I can pay for the kids' foods and everything. How can I do that? So once you really ask yourself all these questions,
00:00:30
Speaker
It makes you think, huh, I need to think outside the box. I need to take like a pizza place. You know, what would they do differently?
Intro to Direct Farm Podcast
00:00:40
Speaker
Welcome to the Direct Farm podcast, the weekly listen for farm selling direct. We'll talk about the four levers for farm success, which are quality, brand, price, and convenience. We'll hear from outside industry experts and producers like you to delight your customers to save time and to increase your direct farm sales and business. We're glad you're here.
00:01:02
Speaker
Welcome back everyone. You are listening to the Direct Farm podcast. And if you're joining us because you heard about this at the conference on Tuesday, then welcome. We're really excited you're here and continuing to learn about your brand. If you do not know what I'm talking about, we had the Direct Farm series brand conference on Tuesday. It was a free virtual event and you can go watch all of the sessions freely and virtually at directfarmconference.com.
Brand Conference Highlights
00:01:29
Speaker
We had some really incredible keynote speakers join us. Curtis Koff is from REI. He's their chief digital officer, talked to us about mission-driven brand loyalty. And Emily Moose, who is the communications and outreach director for Agreener World, which is an independent certifier, they came and talked about how you really build that consumer trust that they've done such a good job of cultivating.
00:01:52
Speaker
We also heard from some very familiar names. If you are a regular listener of this podcast, we heard from Joe Shermer at Dirty Girl Produce, from Angelica Hayden at Hayden Farms Berries, and from Daphne Bechez, who we're going to be hearing from again today on this episode.
Daphne's Family Journey from Congo to Agriculture
00:02:08
Speaker
Daphne, both at the brand conference and in this episode, talk to us about what storytelling means when you are building a brand online. Daphne and her family at Agricola Family Farm have a really unique and honestly inspiring story. I'll let her tell it and introduce herself. I'm the oldest of five in my family. We're all farmers. We are from the Republic of Congo. We move here as refugees about
00:02:37
Speaker
In 2010, I would say May 20, 2010. And since then we've been here. I went to high school here. I also graduated college about two years ago in May, 2018. And I studied agriculture with a concentration in agronomy. So farming for me is like, it's nothing new, to be honest. At first, I honestly did not know what I wanted to study in college, but over time, I think there was so many opportunities within agriculture.
00:03:06
Speaker
I asked Daphne to take us all the way back to the farm's beginnings. Oh, let's see the farm. How did it begin? Let's see. So my dad was 15 or so when he started the farm back home in the Congo. I can't, I don't know what year that was, but somewhere over there. And he didn't really know what he was doing. His stepfather left him, you know, huge portion of land before he traveled back to France.
00:03:34
Speaker
And he had to find a way to, you know, provide for himself. And, you know, as a young man, you, you want to be able to just have enough cash in your pockets and take care of yourself. And he just fell in love with that. And over time, it just kind of grew. And he also had people from like the churches to help him with seeds. And I remember one of his actually Godfather helped him get two pigs that he was able to breed over time.
00:04:04
Speaker
and number increase and back then having a pig or two, it's actually really, really expensive. It's almost like having a fortune. So he was able to do that and then add some other animals. Then he continued to grow vegetables, which he would turn and sell back to the community or the church back home in the Congo. Then when we moved to,
00:04:30
Speaker
Ivory Coast, because of the war that happened around the 1990s, I think 1990, 1999, we didn't have any way to make money. So farming again was one of the only way we could really do that.
Migration Challenges and US Resettlement
00:04:43
Speaker
And that means growing, you know, we had barely about maybe 500 foot, no 500 square foot in terms of like space to grow vegetables.
00:04:54
Speaker
And we had about perhaps 10 chicken, you know, and, you know, they will come as chicks and we'll let them grow. We'll perhaps sell about half of it. And then the rest will leave it for the eggs. And then the other portion was for the vegetables, which we used to roll pretty much like traditional grains that either people who were also refugees in Ivory Coast and could not afford to either grow the vegetables. We were able to either sell it to them. And for those who could not afford to invite them all,
00:05:22
Speaker
also just give it away to them as well. And over time, we had the status of refugee who were admitted to have the status of refugee in Ivory Coast with the UNHCR, which is like kind of like a subdivision of the UN. And they were able to actually buy chicken from us over time. So they helped finance it.
00:05:46
Speaker
Then we will buy about maybe 1000 chicks or so, mainly broilers, and then we will be able to sell it back to them. So by the time they come back in order, it's about 500 chicks that we have to butcher per the day and process and they'll come and pick it up. And I think that's also one reason why we were able to come to the US because they looked at how important the job that dad was doing at the time.
Farm Establishment in Houston
00:06:11
Speaker
And, you know, not to say that other people weren't as worthy as we are, because I think all humans are, to be honest. It doesn't matter what you're doing, but it was just, it, for us, I feel, and I believe that farming was what enabled us to be resettled here in the US, which happened in 2010. Next, I asked Daphne to describe what transitioning both their family and the farm to the US looked like and how long it took for them to start farming again in the US.
00:06:42
Speaker
I will say, did it really take long for him to get back? He tried to do the normal work that people do, but it didn't work out. He didn't like it. I don't know if it's perhaps not to be bossed around or whatsoever, but there's just something when you love it. And especially at the young age you started, he had to continue. So he got involved with an organization called Planet Forward and they help refugees still till today when they were settled here to kind of teach them farming so that they can get back to their
00:07:11
Speaker
life and be able to provide for the family. And so my dad was involved with them. He was one of the first actually farmers in that first class to graduate from the program and to also learn from plenty forward as well. And in 2013, it's actually when we really established a farm in the Houston area, we had about less than an acre, I would say.
00:07:36
Speaker
And we were able to grow everything, you know, like from radishes to tomatoes to kale, pretty much seasonal things. And about three years later, we'd say, well, I think it's time to move to a bigger land. And then we moved in 2016 to Cleveland, which is about perhaps one and a half hour away from
00:07:58
Speaker
Houston. And it's out in the country. It's very beautiful there. You don't hear any cars. I mean, maybe now you do, but it's not as crazy as in a city in class. There's something about just fresh air, especially when you grow the vegetables, which is like super important. I think just using a land that's never been cultivated. And since then, we've been there. Daphne went on to explain where she feels like she can be really helpful on the farm.
Online Transition and Customer Engagement
00:08:25
Speaker
So
00:08:25
Speaker
Where I come in is through college, I've tried to find ways to help my parents increase the profit, increase the production, find customers. So even when I was in school, I was still helping with the communication being that my parents actually they speak English, but not as perfect, I would say, or perhaps not as me.
00:08:46
Speaker
But they get around with the way to speak. But it's like, I'm that one person behind that just runs stuff. But I still give the credit to my dad for doing all the hard work. And I say, well, I'll just give it a try. And I'll just do that. So I do have a full-time job on the side. But on my free time, I am either managing the bond to the website or the Facebook page or
00:09:15
Speaker
just talking to regular customers, answering questions, and hey, whenever vegetables coming in, and the little things in between that either my dad does not, or does not have time to do that I get to help with. Next, Daphne and I touched on how being online has evolved their business, how it's changed the way that she works, that their farm works, and how they're connecting with their customers. I will say one, when we first started,
00:09:45
Speaker
I had no clue how marketing worked, you know, and that's one, I think in 2015, when we actually had just barely, no, was it 2015, 2016, when we had barely just moved to the land. So I was able to learn a few things from there, how to handle it. And then moving towards the more like the online marketing with now, especially with Barn2Door, at first I was just like using Facebook, but now there is a way that I can just use to
00:10:12
Speaker
send out a mass emails and you know or communicate and have give that convenience to people.
00:10:19
Speaker
to order the things online without having me to do the extra work. Before it used to be, I would send the email either every Wednesday or Thursday night, sometimes Friday, because I'm running around, I'm late, it's just crazy. So now with like
Storytelling and Authenticity in Branding
00:10:35
Speaker
Vangido, I'm able to just send, what's it called again? Schedule the time that the emails needs to go out and it's just sent. All I need to do is like pretty much update like the numbers, what we have available.
00:10:47
Speaker
And just make sure that everyone is in there, like, you know, they're getting the orders correctly. So of course the follow-up question to how are you guys adapting to being online is how are your customers adapting? People actually loved it more for some reason, like it's weird. Even those people who didn't like really want to do it, they're like, well, this is new. Like how can they, how, you know, how can I order things online? But it's just like, I'm like, it's like Netflix.
00:11:16
Speaker
Or it's like ordering a pizza, you know, you just click here and there, you just show what you want and then you put your credit card and boom, you're done. So I liked it more because of the, the fun share subscription that we do before it was really hard to kind of keep track of it. And now like, I'm able to just have, you know, when the email.
00:11:38
Speaker
The last email that comes in, so my deliveries are actually on Saturdays. So I do get email reminder from Warren to do, I think Thursday night to say, Hey, this is the amount of people you're going to deliver to. So I don't even need to think, Oh my God, how many people am I having? Like it's already there for me to check and like, just print it out and, you know, just package all my things on my vegetables and go drop off.
00:12:06
Speaker
So definitely the online marketing did help a lot, just having everything in one place instead of having to be all over the place like around Facebook and the email. That answer brought me to my next question for Daphne, which was, what does brand mean to you and to Agricola Family Farms? So our branding, I think for me, it's like being true to the customers, sharing our story so they understand why we're doing it, wherever you're from,
00:12:35
Speaker
having that one-on-one conversation with a customer, for example, when you go to the farmer's market or just posting, hey, this is what happened at the farm today. For example, there's been a few times we had some dogs running into our property and we've had times where they killed perhaps 10, 15, even 100 chicken at once. And those are stuff you don't just keep for yourself. You have customers out there who are willing to help you
00:13:03
Speaker
You know, it's just like a way to find that you don't have views of their health, but you say, okay, this is what happened today. You know, some days farming is awesome. It's fun. It's all happy. But in some days, this is what happened. You know, so just being true to the customers, just let it, sharing your story with them, letting them understand what's going on, being able to answer the question. I think that's why it's just like create the brand for me.
00:13:31
Speaker
And our story is our brand, I would say. Our story is like a way to share the brand that we, you know, that people need to see. I don't, you know, I think sometimes it's slogan and I'm like, oh my God, I should have put out there. But it's like, the story is there. You know, there's not, if you complicate it too much, then you don't get the results that needs to be happening.
COVID-19: Adaptation and Stability
00:13:57
Speaker
Daphne went on to explain how that storytelling and not making it too complicated, how that comes across on social media, and how deliberate she is in really telling that story and being authentic about it.
00:14:09
Speaker
I'm sure you've seen like our Instagram. It's not just me. You will see there. Sometimes you will see my dad. Sometimes you will see my mom. Sometimes it's my little sisters. So, you know, I don't exactly do the whole like, Hey, today's an introduction for little Gina. You know, she's five years old. She's seven years old and she's holding a radish. It's for me, introducing them is like, she's, you know, she's holding that cucumber. She's, you know, with her happy face and
00:14:38
Speaker
Oh my God, Jenna is doing this today. And then just, it just shares that idea that love with someone else without me having to be like super strict about the way I need to like share the branding with other customers. So it's kind of just like letting them learn about us through like what do we do through the moments that we share at the farm. So it makes them feel like they're actually at the farm and live in that moment with us, I think.
00:15:05
Speaker
As so many places across the country are looking down another surge in the coronavirus pandemic, I wanted to ask Daphne about the ways that COVID impacted their business earlier this year and how they were able to adapt to maintain their normal volume of sales and be really resilient in terms of the pandemic. So with the COVID, I think a lot of people did have, how would you call that? Lots of challenge, you know, when it comes to sales, especially farmers. At first, you know, it was like,
00:15:34
Speaker
No one wanted to go out, so you have to find a way to get the produce to the people, get the eggs to people, you know, because it was a crazy time. It happened so fast. And for me personally, in terms of my health at the moment, I had to leave the farmer's market. So that was one thing how COVID did affect me personally, and I think also affected the farm business.
00:15:58
Speaker
Our presence we went there at the farmers market needed was my dad and my brother, because sometimes he has some serious health issues so he couldn't be as there as much as needed so.
00:16:09
Speaker
we lost lots of sales. Lots of customers did ask, hey, when are you guys coming back? What are you guys doing? But, you know, it was very that uncertainty during that time. Although, and then, you know, whenever I think when Buangido did approach me, I was like, I was kind of, you know, not sure what to do because, you know, you're into that stress moment and you don't know what's going to work for you. Then you find out, hmm,
00:16:37
Speaker
I think now we have to work like, you know, a pizza place, like being able to just drive and drop off the things. And hence why I started doing multiple home deliveries. Cause I thought it was better one for healthy shoes, you know, you just drop off the box and you leave, but then you don't need to have that direct conversation or meet up with someone, you know, you just use either your phone or your computer to just make sure that they're getting what they need. But having like, you know, just.
00:17:08
Speaker
everything there online and just making it convenient for them did help us in terms of like, I was able to, you know, catch up on the sales that I had lost over two months, you know, so I was able to get the customers back and say, Hey, this is what we're doing. And they also helped me myself in terms of like tracking our inventory too, because, you know, at first, like, I think every Saturday when I had the market, I didn't sometimes I'm like, I don't know what we're going to sell today. I have no idea what's running out, but now.
00:17:38
Speaker
I'm able to just like keep track of everything. But then also I know what people want more of a sale. You know, some people eat more eggs and they want like five dozen of eggs per week. So you have to be able to provide that.
Embracing Possibilities and Resilience
00:17:53
Speaker
And also that drives the sales up because now we know what we need to sell more of. And I think that's how it's been working for us. It hasn't been easy at first, but it didn't crease up once like we did the online sales. I don't know.
00:18:07
Speaker
who I heard that from, but they were pretty much saying, you know, you can't let something like COVID just affect you. You have to be able to find a way to work around it. You know, your story's there. Your mentality, your positive mentality is there. How can I still drive the brand that I've been creating over the years and just still get, you know, make profits so I can pay for my bills. I can pay for the kids' foods and everything. How can I do that?
00:18:37
Speaker
So once you really ask yourself all these questions, it makes you think, huh, I need to think outside the box. I need to think like a pizza place. What would they do differently? Are they just gonna close the door? So it's, I think all these questions that I had to ask myself. So I think it was very important. My last question for Daphne, as it's been for Joe and for Angelica, is if you could go back a year ago and give yourself a piece of advice, what would it be?
00:19:06
Speaker
Definitely to be open to possibilities because you never know what's ahead of you. And in terms of farming, you have to open your mind to surprises. Today, it could be how you're burning all the vegetables or some dogs coming in to, you know, to, to just kill all your chickens at night. You have to be able to be open and sometimes trust that, you know, there is help. There are people out there who can help you.
00:19:33
Speaker
and that you're not alone in a situation once this happened. And again, COVID is definitely one example. If we didn't reach out to people, hey, we have this much vegetables that we need to sell, what can we do to sell them? I would definitely think about it again, like, hey, it's just, it's okay to stress, but don't give up. You have to keep working. And especially with our story, we've been through so much
00:20:00
Speaker
this is like only a tiny portion of it. So definitely don't give up. Always look for possibilities and different ways to drive the sales home or reach the goal that you've had in mind, which is like expanding the farm or just making more profit, more sales, I would say.
Final Thoughts and Resources
00:20:22
Speaker
So again, that was Daphne because at Agricola family farm, they are down in Cleveland, Texas. Daphne also spoke at our direct farm series conference on brand. And again, you can go watch all of those sessions free. I forgot to mention earlier, but there are actually tactical sessions offered by some other barn to door team members. So if you are interested in learning.
00:20:45
Speaker
If your marketing efforts are working and how to use more engaging media, meaning photos, videos, with the tools right on your phone, there are wonderful sessions for you there, virtually at directfarmconference.com. Thank you so much for listening. We will talk to you again next week.