This Dairy Farm is the Crème de la Crème at Pricing their Products
Operating in North Dakota, one of the least populated states, Bartlett Farms has carved out an impressive business for their family’s dairy and beef operation. Despite the Farm’s remote location, just 2 miles south of the Canadian border, the Bartlett family has been undeterred in building a successful Farm business on their 160-acre homestead.
Capitalizing on the insights and counsel of industry experts in Farming (Joel Salatin), and Marketing (Erin Verbeck & Sarah Petty), Bartlett Farms is thriving by delivering high-quality products and a Buyer experience that fuels loyal, repeat business.
Recently, Barn2Door spoke with Peter Bartlett, one of the family owner-operators to learn more about the underpinnings to their successful Farm business.
Share “Why” Your Farm
While Bartlett Farms does practice organic and regenerative farming, that does not necessarily solve a problem for the Buyer. Moving beyond “How” they farm and focusing on “Why” they farm - to improve access to healthy and nutritious food - is a message that resonates with their target Buyers. Bartlett Farms focuses on health-conscious urban and suburban households who care about the Products they feed their families — that is a problem they can solve.
Simplifying the Purchase Experience and Pricing Structure
Simplified purchasing options that increase value for the customer has helped fuel Buyer loyalty, while increasing recurring cash flow for their Farm. Rather than reminding a Buyer to go to an ecommerce store every week, select their products ala carte, then check-out and pay a delivery fee, Bartlett Farms has opted for simple, no-hassle Subscription Plans.
For Bartlett Farms Raw Milk, you can sign up for a Family Basic, Plus or Premium plan, which are designed for different household sizes. Milk shows up in a glass bottle on your doorstep, freshness is guaranteed for 7-10 days (or a replacement is free), there are no bottle deposits, and delivery fees are included. Best of all, Buyers can sign-up once and then Milk gets delivered like clock-work.
With the Barn2Door + Routific Integration, Bartlett Farms customers get real-time updates on delivery, including email reminders and SMS notifications, so they’re always in the know (no guesswork).
Bartlett Farms is commanding a price of $25 per gallon of Raw Milk! That is the value Buyers are willing to pay for high quality products and an A+ experience.
When people realize that here's a Farm that knows that my kids need safe alternatives to dairy and this is essential for their health, they're willing to pay $25 a gallon. That helped us kind of in a sense, weed out people who didn't care as much.
- Farmer Peter
A note of caution -- some rural customers may not “get it.” No worries. Focus on those target Buyers who are willing to pay for the value of your Farm Products and a high-quality experience. Those Buyers will expect convenient Pick-up or Delivery options.
Start with Pick-ups
Before starting a Pick-up, notify prospective and existing Buyers ahead of time. 8 out of 10 Buyers will drive up to 5 miles for a Farm Pick-up at a local business, church or school. Pick a location that is convenient and aligns well with the Brand values of your Farm.
Peter Barlett attempts to memorize the customer names and orders to put a personal touch on the Pick-up experience. When Buyers choose to purchase from your Farm, you are part of the package, so be sure to engage customers.
Given Bartlett Farms is located in North Dakota, they have been creative, too, with paying 3rd party service providers (with their own refrigerator vans) to run their Farm Products to more distant Pick-ups. Paying a driver an hourly rate plus mileage reimbursement is standard and the costs can be spread across all the Orders (plus Bartlett Farms does not need to purchase and maintain another delivery van).
Bringing Back the Milk Van and Growing +50% Year-over-Year
Recent events have highlighted the problems with our global Food supply chains and logistics.
Bringing back the Milk Van and expanding to offer direct Delivery has accelerated growth for Bartlett Farms. A loyal base of customer Subscriptions, has helped their Farm grow consistently by building recurring cash flow. They now serve customers on 6 Delivery routes twice a month in North Dakota.
A simple “all-in-one” Buyer experience that delivers Farm Products to their doorstep has accelerated customer growth and Farm revenues.
“We have now hired seven part-time drivers that'll meet us at the pick-up points or at a rendezvous, and then we'll pass off parts of the delivery, and then they take our Products to customers’ homes.”
Utilizing Barn2Door to manage all of their Product inventory, subscriptions, orders, pick/pack and fulfillments, has enabled Bartlett Farms to focus on growing their business (versus the systems to make it work). Direct integrations for email marketing (Mailchimp) and delivery (Routific), has made Barn2Door turnkey for their dairy and beef operation.
CONCLUSION
With high-quality Products, a great Brand, and an impeccable Buyer experience, Bartlett Farms is building an enviable Farm business in rural, North Dakota. By delivering great value to their customers, Bartlett Farms has demonstrated that a direct-to-market business can thrive in any geographic market.
Barn2Door is delighted to serve 1000’s of Farmers in all 50 states. We provide an all-in-one solution to help Farmers grow and manage the online and in-person sales. If you’re curious to learn more, watch this 5-minute video.