February 9, 2024
It is year three at Friends and Family Farm, and we are adjusting how we work.
"Work Smarter, Not Harder" is easier said than done in farming, but we have spent the winter month revising and planning.
One area ready for a change is the operation of our Online Farm Store.
Here is what we're changing, why we are doing it, and what it means to you as a customer.
In 2021, neither of us had operated a farm OR an online store before. And let me tell you, those are two high-intensity endeavors. Even more so when your online store has highly fluctuating inventory items.
New products coming into and falling out of season constantly. Harvestable quantities varying from week to week. The constant risk that something we listed on the store (which is still in the field when we put it up for offer) might get attacked by bugs, extreme weather, or other unpredictable "threats" before the time we harvest and deliver it to our customers.
Last year we managed 100 different items on the Online Farm Store. From small bunches of herbs to big bags of lettuce, juicy gems of strawberries, crunchy bunches of carrots, sweet jars of honey, and so much more!
It has been a lot of work for us to update the inventory every week. Not to mention writing weekly newsletters to let our customers know what is available week to week, and remind them to place their orders.
And, unfortunately, we have not seen as many sales through the Online Farm Store as we had hoped.
Our hope for the Online Farm Store was that it would be a bustling marketplace. Like going to the farmers market, but being sure ahead of time that the things you wanted were in stock, in season, and reserved - just for you.
We are not exactly sure what kept people back from ordering in the store, but we have a couple of guesses. We hope to address these in the future, as we gain capacity to grow the business.
But for now, we need to dial back on the online store.
There are so many things we can invest our time and energy in, that will be more beneficial to our business at this stage.
So, first of all, we have decided to continue with the Online Farm Store in a more minimal version this year.
The reason we don't fully close it down for now is primarily that we offer Unlimited Vacation Credit to our CSA members, and they need to be able to spend it in the Online Farm Store throughout the CSA season to make up for the weeks they miss.
We also have a small, but loyal, following of customers who honor us by buying Pre-Purchased Credit every spring. They spend it on the Online Farm Store throughout the season - and we want to maintain this mutually benefitial relationship we have established.
We also hope that by focusing on select core products, we can become more dependable for people who might be interested to start shopping with us on the Online Farm Store in 2024.
The only thing changing will be the selection.
We will focus on a smaller selection of core products.
Things we know are popular, things we are growing in larger quantities, and things we know we can offer for extended periods during their season.
We would love to be the place where you get your weekly salad mix, your sweet strawberries, your juicy tomatoes, your local honey, etc.
At times, the selection on the Online Farm Store was rather overwhelming we suspect. It required scrolling through a long list of every available item in the store or clicking into many different product categories to find what you were looking for.
With a smaller core selection of products, it should become quicker and easier to see what's available and choose what you want.
The process of ordering online and picking up in person will not change, so it is business as usual when you wanna shop at the Online Farm Store.
We deliver to two locations in Eugene every Wednesday, where you can pick up your order and say hi to your friendly family farmer.
We are still a small, friendly operation, and we value the close connections we build with our customers.
We are always happy to hear from you if there is anything that you are missing from us.
We will either add requested items to the store, or we can make plans directly with someone to bring them what they are missing when it is available, even if it isn't listed on the Online Farm Store.
Get in touch! Find our contact information here.
If you have thoughts or feedback to share about the Online Farm Store, we are excited to hear from you.
We definitely hope these changes will bring the Online Farm Store forward, stronger and better, for many seasons to come!