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I picked up a dozen free-range eggses from our CSA person yesterday. Also a flat of strawberries. I'll be making jam this weekend.
I got there early and chatted with her for a while. We've been customers for five years (I think) and they know us well. A couple years ago they stopped selling at the Saturday farmers' market; it cost them too much in time, effort, and paychecks for what they sold. Their CSA and restaurant deliveries are sufficient (the weekly CSA is full and has a waiting list).
Shortly after they stopped selling on Saturdays, they switched to "guerrilla vegetable deliveries". This involves setting up outside one of the restaurants they deliver to. They pre-sell "mystery boxes" of vegetables and people come pick them up. It's like the weekly CSA box, but more generous. They've expanded into selling eggses from their yard chickens and sometimes other goodies such as feta and yogurt from a neighbor's goat ranch. Julia told me that they e-mail about 400 people with the twice-monthly information; they sell up to about 100 boxes. It's been a huge additional income stream for them and they have been giving bonuses to their workers, putting up better infrastructure, and the like. (Also, Julia has a personal trainer to force her to work out.) The restaurants love it because it's exposure for them - more restaurants would like to participate than she can accomodate. The CSA people love it because they sell a lot, don't have to work long hours, and the restaurant feeds them afterwards. The customers love it because we get additional veg and can chat. Everybody wins!
Hmm, maybe I should remember this so I can use it for an MBA case study.
What I'm reading: Jack McDevitt, Devil's Eye
I got there early and chatted with her for a while. We've been customers for five years (I think) and they know us well. A couple years ago they stopped selling at the Saturday farmers' market; it cost them too much in time, effort, and paychecks for what they sold. Their CSA and restaurant deliveries are sufficient (the weekly CSA is full and has a waiting list).
Shortly after they stopped selling on Saturdays, they switched to "guerrilla vegetable deliveries". This involves setting up outside one of the restaurants they deliver to. They pre-sell "mystery boxes" of vegetables and people come pick them up. It's like the weekly CSA box, but more generous. They've expanded into selling eggses from their yard chickens and sometimes other goodies such as feta and yogurt from a neighbor's goat ranch. Julia told me that they e-mail about 400 people with the twice-monthly information; they sell up to about 100 boxes. It's been a huge additional income stream for them and they have been giving bonuses to their workers, putting up better infrastructure, and the like. (Also, Julia has a personal trainer to force her to work out.) The restaurants love it because it's exposure for them - more restaurants would like to participate than she can accomodate. The CSA people love it because they sell a lot, don't have to work long hours, and the restaurant feeds them afterwards. The customers love it because we get additional veg and can chat. Everybody wins!
Hmm, maybe I should remember this so I can use it for an MBA case study.
What I'm reading: Jack McDevitt, Devil's Eye
