If there is only one lesson to learn about starting a business that the pandemic taught us it’s this: People want access to homemade and fresh goods but want access to it in a modern way. Think about doorstep delivery for groceries that have exploded on the scene over the last two years.
Now that Amazon has bought Whole Foods, people have access to better produce than they were getting at their local supermarket. However, if they can have fresh food from their local area to consume then they would like that even more. In this article, we will go over why you should think about starting a market garden business to satisfy this gap in the market.
CSA is more widespread than ever
Many people are more aware of how a CSA or Community Supported Agriculture works. This is a system in which people subscribe to a local farm to receive regular deliveries of fruit and vegetables. In many cases, a box of whatever is growing that week is delivered to their door.
This system is a boon for local growers and customers alike. It provides the farmer with working capital from the get-go as people pay in advance for the season. It also helps avoid waste since they know how much food they need to grow to fulfill their orders. Many small operations no longer need to go to farmer’s markets every day to sell their produce in such a system.
The costs are also fairly low to get the goods to the consumer. A small market gardener doesn’t even necessarily need to spend time and resources on delivery. Some choose to set up a pickup point for customers rather than home delivery. In this case they can hire couriers in Texas to bring their boxes to a pickup point.
It is very profitable
Being a small market gardener offers up a lot of flexibility and with that comes profitability. There are a lot of ways to add value to what you do when you are a small producer. For instance, with the help of social media, you can make people aware of the variety of produce that you offer. You can specialize in certain ingredients to make things like ramen, tacos, or some other specialty cuisine that people are interested in. because of this, you are able to get your asking price for these items rather than be subject to market forces that drive prices down such as what happens in the dairy industry.
There is a system that can be used to determine what the most profitable vegetables are that you are able to grow with the resources you have available. Some vegetables may be highly profitable for a farm that is bigger, but your limited space and the cost of water in your area may make it less so. Find the right vegetables that will cost less to grow and command a high price and you have a winning formula that big farms are not able to do.
