Double your CSA Members
Tagge’s Famous Fruit and Veggie Farms in Perry, Utah has seen their CSA membership more than double over the past 2 years. While it did not happen overnight, Laci Tagge recently shared in a Podcast how pricing and packaging their products, expanding convenient delivery options, and personalizing their marketing efforts helped propel their Farm success. Now, they serve 1,000’s of community members weekly.
Listen to Laci’s Direct Farm Podcast Episode:
What is a CSA?
CSA is an acronym for Community Supported Agriculture, where Buyers that pre-order products from Farms pledge ongoing financial support to the business. CSA Farm Subscriptions also offer food security to Buyers who are seeking regular access to local products. Tagge’s Farm offers a 15-week CSA Subscription, while their Fruit Stands and Farmers Markets have longer seasons.
When a Buyer chooses to purchase a CSA from Tagge’s Farm, they secure a weekly subscription of seasonal produce. Laci refers to their subscription as a Farm Box. To recognize the loyalty of Buyers who pre-order, Tagge’s Farm offers two vacation holds and a makeup box for unexpected conflicts.
CSA Growth with Barn2Door
Preparing Orders
Before moving to Barn2Door in 2021, the administrative work of CSA management for Tagge’s Farm was overwhelming. Laci’s mother spent 4+ hours each day manually inputting payments, collating orders, and managing Buyer details in a spreadsheet (for their 500-person CSA).
Once Order details were manually captured, then they would create and print individual labels for their Farm Boxes. It took an enormous amount of time to simply prep Orders. As a result, Tagge’s limited their CSA Membership to 500 people, because any more would be too difficult to manage.
After signing up with Barn2Door, Tagge’s Farm was able to streamline the order, payment, and Buyer details with software that automatically updated details, which could be imported into any spreadsheet or reporting solution.
Separately, Barn2Door automated the creation of a Pick and Pack List, enabling Laci to save time, and shift her attention to growing their membership base (versus managing the details). Instead of spending 4 hours a day capturing Order details, Tagge’s now spends less than 4 hours managing 1000’s of Orders each week using Barn2Door.
Using a Pick and Pack List
A Pick List helps Tagge’s Farm to know what needs to be harvested and collected for all their orders, enabling Laci to ensure products are ready a day ahead of fulfillment. The Pack List then quickly informs Tagge’s Farm what to pack for each Order, including pick-up and delivery details. This is important given many Buyers purchase Farm Product Add-ons for their CSA boxes.
With a simple click-of-a-button, the Pack List also provides Farm labels and Farm-branded Receipts to print. Every box has clear instructions on who it goes to, and where and how the Buyer expects to obtain the order (including any entry codes or gate instructions).
“[Using] the Pack List to create my labels for a thousand boxes takes just 30 minutes.”
Marketing Efforts
To encourage Buyers to subscribe to their CSA Farm Box every year, Laci gives a discount code to previous members to sign up for the next season. Customer loyalty is rewarded, and Tagge’s Farm can secure Buyers and cash-flow ahead of the next year.
Tagge’s Farm utilizes social media in a number of ways to attract more Buyers. For those that post their Tagge’s Farm Box on social media, Laci rewards them with Store Credits (which encourages more shopping).
Listen: The ABCs of Social Media's 3 E's
The Farm also collaborates with local food influencers by sending them a Farm Box, which they can post and share on Social Media, educating their followers on how to cook, use the ingredients and inspire others to support Tagge’s Farm.
What do you put in a csa box?
Tagge’s Farm focuses on packaging Farmer’s Choice Boxes, meaning they choose all the produce that is included. This eliminates decision fatigue for Buyers, and allows Laci and other workers to pick a fresh variety of produce every week. While Buyers are given the fruits and veggies the Farm chooses, they still have the option to purchase Add-on Products to an order.
Add-on Products may include Tagge’s Farm salsas, syrups, and jams, or individual items, such as an extra tomato or squash. Laci also enjoys sourcing from other local businesses to add special items to some of their CSA boxes.
She partners with local bakers to include baked goods, such as peach pies or peach cinnamon rolls. Other vendors in their community will make goods such as peach butter. Laci loves supporting local businesses, even if it adds a little more work on her end to plan ahead.
Tagge’s Farm Boxes come in three sizes:, for a 1, 2, and 4 person household. Offering different sizes allows for Buyers to choose what suits their preferences. Many people live alone or with a partner, so they do not need a box that could feed 4+ people. Their 2-person Farm Box has become their most popular Subscription size, with 500 ordered in 2023.
Tagge’s Farm offers over 60 pick-up locations for their CSA members, including houses of their Buyers (which attracts potential customers in the neighborhood). While these pick-ups are free, Laci knows some Buyers are busy, so they can pay a $15 delivery fee to have their Subscription dropped off on their doorstep. Many of her loyal Buyers elect to pay a fee for the convenience of direct delivery of their Farm Box.
Since migrating their business to Barn2Door, Tagge’s has the time to go the extra mile for Buyers. In the off-season, Laci plans for the next harvest, considering how to continue growing their customer base through marketing. From including recipe cards to sending newsletters, Laci knows it is important to personalize Sales to give extra value to every order.
Advice for other Farmers
For new Farmers, Laci shared that “getting started will be hard, but you’ve got to choose hard.” There is going to be a lot of learning the first year of Farming, but the challenges will help you grow and learn how to run your Farm business. Laci encourages Farmers to focus on what you’re good at, and attract customers with your best products. Thereafter, expand your products, fulfillment options, and service areas after building an initial base of customers.
Laci has worked on their Family Farm for 15 years, and has appreciated how Barn2Door has enabled Tagge’s Farm to double their CSA membership. She has also benefited from selling Add-on Products, which has brought in more revenue and allowed their Farm to expand their delivery and pick-up locations.
With CSAs making up 40% of their revenue, it was important for Tagge’s Farm to find a solution that allowed them to streamline their operations and grow their business.
Conclusion
By offering a simple and easy Buyer experience, powered by Barn2Door’s order management and automation, Tagge’s Farm has doubled their CSA membership — increasing sales, accessing more customers and saving time. Absent Barn2Door, Tagge’s Famous Fruit and Veggies Farm would not have the time, bandwidth, or energy to serve so many Buyers.
If your Farm is eager to accelerate growth and save time, Barn2Door is ready to support your business. To learn more, watch this 5-min video.