Farmer Spotlight: Chucktown Acres
Chucktown Acres is a regenerative Farm located outside of Charleston, South Carolina, producing grass-fed beef, forest-raised pork, and pasture-raised chicken and eggs. Alex Russell started his farming journey through Joel Salatin’s Polyface Farm. With no farming background or agricultural knowledge, the internship propelled him to start Chucktown Acres. Established three years ago, Chucktown Acres has become a staple in the Charleston community.
As one of the newest members of the Barn2Door Farm Advisor Network, we recently sat down with Alex to learn how he’s managed the success of growing his business, the innovative tactics he uses to engage the local community, and how Delivery and Subscriptions delight his buyers.
You can learn more about Alex’s background and story in the full podcast episode here: The Farming Student Has Become the Master with Chucktown Acres
From Student Farmer to Full-Time Business Owner
Alex’s internship at Polyface Farm prepared him well for farming in South Carolina. However, Alex recalled that it was a transition to manage both farming and business operations together. “We started with 200 broilers, eight South Pole steers, six Berkshire hogs, and a half-acre garden. Since the farmer’s markets only ran six months out of the year, we knew we needed a way to sell our products like Amazon. That’s where Barn2Door came in.”
Early on, Alex realized that he needed a system to help manage the back-end of the business. Since most of his time was spent outside, it was essential to have a solution that would help him manage the demand for their products.
“We needed software that was simple to use, frictionless, and could support home deliveries. That’s what people expect today – having orders arrive at their doorstep, which was a priority for us. When we started Chucktown, no one was going to the grocery store, so it was amazing that Barn2Door helped set up our delivery processes. When we signed up and got our online store live, people immediately started buying stuff! The only thing Polyface didn’t teach me was how to run a business by myself. It’s been a journey to manage, but Barn2Door has saved us so much time and hassle and has helped us easily manage how fast we’ve grown.”
How Convenience and Visibility Drives Farm Growth
Before signing up for Barn2Door, Alex recognized the expectations of convenience in today’s market. Giving customers the ability to shop anytime, anywhere online with convenient access to local products was a top priority for Chucktown Acres. Looking to other Farmers to understand how they started and scaled their businesses, Alex implemented Subscriptions… but they didn’t take off like he thought they would initially. “We started a weekly and monthly Subscription box option. It’s funny because it started pretty slow, but today it’s grown to be a huge success. I was looking at Barn2Door to understand what other Farmers did with Subscriptions. I applied what I learned to our program, but we still saw a lot of a la carte purchases.”
Recognizing that most people want to know what’s included in the Farmer’s Choice Subscription Box before purchasing, Alex decided to use social media to increase visibility and drive sign-ups. “I started posting a weekly picture on Instagram, including what’s included in the box. Taking photos of the meat laying in the grass with some eggs explaining what our members would receive did the trick! People messaged me asking where to sign up, they were sending the pictures to their friends, and we immediately saw an increase in Subscription purchases. We got so many Subscriptions that we had to stop people from signing up!”
By using social media, a platform that buyers use every day, Alex increased FOMO (fear-of-missing-out) for his products to drive Subscription sales. Taking the time to remind buyers of how convenient it was to join the Subscription, with options like pay-as-you-go and buyer skip, sparked more interest. “We finally reopened Subscriptions a few weeks ago. We still post weekly what’s included in the box, which people enjoy. We strictly offer weekly payments, but people are busy and appreciate how easy it is to skip a week. It’s easy for us to manage those instances too. Barn2Door has made that process seamless for us!”
Read: 3 Ways to Drive Farm Purchases From Potential Customers
Watch: A Farmer's Market(ing) Campaign to Grow Faster Online
Engaging Customers Regularly with Online Touches
Alex quickly learned what it takes to run a successful business – from managing the back-end to marketing his products. While Barn2Door helps Alex seamlessly manage, track, and organize his inventory, it frees up time for him to implement marketing activities to generate consistent sales. “Barn2Door handles so much of the backend and logistics of our business that it allows me to spend more time on the Farm and engaging our customers online. The biggest piece of advice that’s stuck with me over the years is that you have to remind customers that you exist.”
Staying top of mind through regular communication with email and social media is critical to building brand awareness in your community and generating frequent sales. Alex uses different tools to do this. “We send a weekly Mailchimp newsletter now. I thought, ‘why do I need to advertise our products when we have grass-fed filet mignon 30 minutes from Charleston? But man, was I wrong.’ Sending out a regular newsletter makes the difference between a few sales and many sales during the week. After recognizing that, I’ve been consistent with sending out those email reminders. Reminding people we exist has played a huge part in the growth of our business.”
Alex also used social media and the 3 E’s (educate, entertain, and eCommerce) to keep Chucktown Acres top of mind. “When I first listened to the Direct Farm Podcast, I remember learning about the 3 E’s. The entertainment part really stuck with me. So, I decided to give it a try with a video I called ‘the power of chickens’ explaining how chickens have the power to heal the land. We got 8,000+ views in a couple of days, and I just knew I needed to keep doing them. Social media is free and a huge tool to communicate your message to your target audience! By consistently posting and being in front of our followers, we see more sales, and people remember we exist.”
Read: Why Social Media is Important to Growing Your Farm Business
Listen: A Chimp, Software, and Farming... Let's Talk Email Marketing
We’re honored to support Farmers like Alex, who are dedicated to cultivating the land, feeding the local community, and creating convenient access to fresh Farm products.
Barn2Door provides an all-in-one solution for Farmers to grow and manage their business. If you’re curious to learn why successful Farmers run on Barn2Door, watch this 5-minute video.