Webinar Recap: Food on the Doorstep? This Farm WINS with Convenience

The Barn2Door 30-Minute Webinar series draws on innovative Farmer’s tactics to share what’s worked (and what hasn’t) for other Farms aiming to achieve the same growth and time savings. We were thrilled that Jessica Evans, of Evans Family Farms, joined us for the webinar, “Food on the Doorstep? This Farm WINS with Convenience”. 

You can watch the full recording (30-min), or keep reading the recap (5-min). 

Jessica Evans runs Evans Family Farms, producing pastured proteins (poultry, pork, chicken and lamb) in North Carolina, where she moved with her husband and children from Southern California in 2016. Since then, they’ve been growing the Farm and its customer base, recently launching direct home delivery (to their customers delight) and turning a profit on the first day! Here’s the top 3 takeaways from our conversation with Jessica. 

1. Convenience Wins. 

Jessica shared that convenience delights existing customers and helps her attract new ones—whether through bundled product offerings, subscriptions or door-to-door delivery. Meat bundles are an easy way  to offer customers a sampling of all her products. Subscriptions are popular with buyers looking to purchase once and receive her products on a consistent, ongoing basis. Finally, Jessica’s direct home delivery has taken off, and her customers are thrilled (especially in the midst of the pandemic). Jessica offers bi-monthly or monthly meat subscriptions in three different sizes available for home delivery; her customers love them! 

2. Branding Matters. 

The quality products that Jessica raises are reinforced by consistent branding and communication. “It felt wrong to put my filet mignon in a plastic t-shirt bag,” Jessica shared. She ordered branded Evans Family Farm totes which she uses for direct home deliveries. They look sharp, save plastic and reinforce brand trust with her customers. When Jessica decided to shift from shipping (“It was just too expensive!”) to direct home delivery, she simply took the seats out of her family van and loaded it up, driving along her existing wholesale route and charging a delivery fee. 

Read how they turned a profit on their first delivery day: Farmer Spotlight: Evans Family Farm. 

3. Put Your Farm Out There—On Social and Email!

Jessica posts on Instagram and Facebook almost daily, leveraging timeline posts, stories and email newsletters to stay in touch with customers craving an ongoing relationship with her Farm and products. She encouraged other Farmers not to overthink social media. “Your everyday life on the Farm may not seem interesting to you, but it’s fascinating to your customers. Just take pictures and post them.” She recommended staying positive, even on days when farming is tough and frustrating. People want a consistent, positive brand experience to remind them to purchase and cultivate loyalty to their local Farmer. 

We were honored to host Jessica, as she shared tactics and advice for other Farmers looking to offer direct home delivery and delight their customers with the convenience they expect now, and ongoing. If you’re interested in offering direct home delivery for your Farm, then read the 5 Easy Steps to Make Door-to-Door Delivery Profitable for Your Farm