Scaling your CSA with Farmer’s Choice
Overview
Offering a Subscription bundle box from your Farm - often referred to as a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) - can help you attract recurring orders, increase cash flow and build Buyer loyalty for your entire season. It is important to create a system for your Subscriptions that is streamlined and diminishes stress instead of creating more complexity. Farmer’s Choice CSA boxes eliminate the chaos of Buyers choosing each individual item included in their box, and puts the power back into the Farmer’s hands to assemble complementary products to meet Buyer expectations. Your Farm can greatly simplify its operations, and reduce labor costs with a Farmer’s Choice CSA model to effectively scale and manage your program long-term.
Farmer’s Choice CSA allows you to choose the best recommended products for Buyers to enjoy, alongside best-sellers, new products and overstock items. Putting high-demand items in each box will entice Buyers to purchase, even if the Subscription boxes include products they have never tried. Offer various size options for different households (e.g. small, medium and large), and provide convenient fulfillment options. Subscription boxes will help your Farm move more products, streamline packing and fulfillments, and build recurring revenue, while providing food security for local Buyers.
Consistency with CSA Subscriptions
Buyers want consistent access to the products they enjoy. If Buyers can trust your Farmer-recommended Boxes with consistent frequency and fulfillments, they will feel confident in purchasing from your Farm. Your customers do not want to guess when they will receive their CSA boxes, or how much product it will contain, so provide clear expectations for Buyers.
Consider offering various CSA box sizes that will work for different sized households. If your boxes are too big or small for their household, Buyers may avoid ordering from your Farm altogether. Consider the household sizes that are most common in your local community. You may live in a town with many college students who only need a 1 or 2 person box, or a suburban area with large households looking for 4+ person boxes. Remember: ⅓ of Americans live alone, ⅓ live in a household of 2-3 people, and ⅓ live with 4+ people.
Offer pick-up locations that are convenient to serve Buyers, and consider offering delivery if you have a densely populated customer base to make your fulfillments worthwhile. Consistent fulfillment schedules and locations will help set expectations with Buyers and create a routine for your Farm. If you choose to offer delivery, charge a fee to cover gas and labor costs. Buyers will gladly pay for added convenience of direct delivery.
Offer your CSA boxes for Pre-Order, building fear-of-missing-out (FOMO) by marketing exclusive sign-up dates and limited stock. Remind Buyers that you “Sold Out” last season, so sign-up today.
Offering a Farmer’s Choice CSA
Farmer’s Choice CSA boxes include offerings chosen by you - the Farmer - rather Buyers individually selecting the contents of each box. Typically 90-95% of your existing Buyers will gladly opt to purchase a “Farmer Recommended Bundle Box.” While some Farms think every Buyer expects to choose their own products for their Subscription boxes, that is actually not true, nor is it easy to scale. If your CSA program offers a “Buyer’s Choice” model and grows to 100 - 250+ boxes each week or month, you will have to pack each individual box with different product offerings, then pack each vehicle specifically in order of fulfillment. You will lose a lot of money on labor, while increasing complexity, headaches and likely errors.
In the alternative, a “Farmer’s Choice” model enables you to scale and pack the Subscriptions quickly, move all your inventory and streamline your harvest dates. You may choose to offer a range of CSA boxes to give Buyers some product mix options. Consider offering boxes that would be popular among your Buyers:
Protein Farms: Protein Box, Griller’s Box, Herd Share
Produce Farms: Mixed Veggies, Salad Box, Seasonal Favorites
Dairy Farms: Breakfast Bundle, Dairy Staples, Charcuterie Kit
Include some of your best selections in each box to entice Buyers and to build FOMO for those who are on the fence over making the purchase (e.g. “Bacon in every box” for a Pork Farmer). Include new items in the box to test on Buyers, solicit their feedback and make changes to your products depending on surveyed opinions.
Strategies to Scale your CSA
It is difficult to scale your CSA when each box has differing contents. This is why a Farmer’s Choice CSA box makes it easier to scale your program, streamline your fulfillments and increase your profits. It is more simple to plan ahead and pack boxes when they include the same items. Successful Farms will include value-added products to further entice Buyers into larger box commitments.
Consider adding spices and rubs to a protein box or jams to a cheese bundle. This will make the box seem more attractive. Encourage Buyers to purchase add-ons if they are wary about the CSA due to the absence of a certain product. If a Buyer wants your produce box, but knows it doesn’t include mushrooms, market extra items as an “add-on” to spur the added sale and increase your cash flow.
Market your CSA box on social media and through newsletters to attract Buyers. Successful Farms will build hype by promoting their CSA sign-up dates weeks or months in advance, making access exclusive. If Buyers fear of missing out (FOMO) on getting a box Subscription, they will be more inclined to sign-up.
Building FOMO through your Farm marketing will help you secure more Buyers and recurring cash flow for the CSA boxes. Some Farmers will share the products included each week/month on their social media or newsletters in videos. This will satisfy the expectations of customers and build trust. You may also include recipes for the products within the box, to help Buyers feel more comfortable with items they may not have used before.
Read: Double your CSA Members
Partner with other local Farms or businesses to add exclusive items to your boxes. Some Farms will partner with bakeries to add pies to a produce box, or dairies to add cheese to a meat box. This will further add value to your CSA box, making each fulfillment special. You do not have to worry about not having a certain product for your pre-ordered boxes, because you can partner with a local Farm for that item, while still maintaining cash flow and fulfillment consistency.
Conclusion
Offering a CSA Subscription to your Farm Buyers can help build recurring revenue, consistent fulfillments and help move all your inventory. Consider deploying a Farmer’s Choice model to better scale your program, reduce labor costs, save time on fulfillments and increase your profit margins. Decide what will best serve your local Buyers, from product mix to box size. Consistently market your Farmer’s Choice CSA program, and partner with local businesses to add value, as scale your base of Buyers.
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