From Lockdown to New Growth Mode: How Tega Hills Farm Did It
Mindy and Mark Robinson of Tega Hills Farm in Fort Mill, SC, discovered their member associations and their community were enough to get them through an extraordinary year.
Photo courtesy of Tega Hills Farm
Mark and Mindy Robinson are small farmers doing big things. On two acres, mostly under cover, in Fort Mill, SC, Tega Hills Farm grows a wide array of restaurant-friendly crops. Prior to the pandemic, it serviced between 50 and 60 restaurants in the area — the farm is on the state line, and Charlotte, NC, is a 20-minute drive away.
When the shutdown hit, its customer base dried up. Today, Tega Hills Farm’s list of restaurant customers is only half what it once was. They’re not alone. Research by the National Restaurant Association project that “by the end of 2020, the restaurant and foodservice industry will sustain $240 billion in losses.”
Thankfully, that wasn’t the full story. This greenhouse grower moved quickly to reshape itself and build a new customer base. It’s a remarkable story of a farm tapping its community ties and remaking itself after crops were already in production.
Choose Your Best Customer Options
Like vegetable growers across the country, the Robinsons found themselves with crops planted for a market that was temporarily gone.
“Direct-to-consumer sales used to be 10% of our revenue, now it’s a third to half,” Mindy says.
That 10% came from a regular spot at Matthews Community Farmer’s Market in Matthews, NC, about 30 minutes away. The Robinsons had developed stronger relationships with customers than they realized before the pandemic.
“We believe you are selling more than produce,” Mark says. “Customers like seeing your face each week, not just a farmer but a person.”
Those connections paid off as some of their customers actually helped them develop a CSA-like program in two higher-end communities. The Robinsons were able to make weekly deliveries to these two towns.
One couple, who had been long-time customers, helped the Robinsons develop a weekly produce delivery route in their higher-end community. This couple used their community’s private Facebook page to promote Tega Hills Farm’s produce delivery service and reminded neighbors to place their orders.
Other customers expressed a desire for a CSA program, which was something the Robinsons had not actively promoted in years past. So they responded, creating a solid program with expert help (more on that below). They now sell CSA shares for spring, summer, and fall, and plan to offer a Winter CSA program also.
Hire the Expertise You Need
Six months prior to the pandemic, Tega Hills Farm had only two online orders, Mindy says.
With its new consumer-facing business model, the operation needed its website to reflect its new priorities. The Robinsons turned to Barn2Door to help them retool TegaHillsFarms.com.
The investment was well worth the result, Mark says. They paid a reasonable upfront cost of a few hundred dollars, then a low monthly maintenance fee.
“Right now, before going into our farmers’ market on Saturday morning, a third of our produce is already sold. Our online sales have become a very good indicator of how our total sales are going to be at the farmers’ market each weekend,” Mindy says.
To continue reading, visit GrowingProduce.com.
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