Starting the company “The Neighborhood Harvest was born from the idea of sustainability. In 2011, at the college of William & Mary Mason School of Business, I participated in leading an entrepreneurship and internship program built around three ideas: people, product and promotions. In the product track, sustainability was one of our focuses; I presented the idea of producing our own lettuces and herbs commercially and for direct-to-consumer distribution, which ultimately became SmartBasil Farms and then The Neighborhood Harvest.”
Hardest part of launching the company “Challenges were plenty, some of which included simply learning about greenhouses and hydroponic growing, finding farm land that had electricity … and finding a builder!”
A lesson learned “When we first entered the herb market, we focused primarily on growing and selling fresh basil to Sysco Foods. But, after our first full year, we experienced challenges and eventually had to change our model; we learned that large food service wholesalers are not interested in paying a premium price for basil in the commercial market.”
Risks taken “The personal capital required for funding the business as well as starting and running a successful business of home-delivered greens and creating a new market for it that didn’t previously exist.”
Biggest obstacle overcome “Switching from wholesale (grocery stores) to retail (home delivery). We had a small number of wholesale customers, and when we decided to switch to home-delivered greens, our customer base grew extensively. We made this change because we did not know of anyone in the region that was growing these products and delivering to the door of the end user. This major change presented many challenges, including a need for more growing space, a staff increase and developing a delivery process that ensured our greens were kept at cool temperatures until the customer arrived home.”
What or who has helped you the most in establishing your business? “When SmartBasil and The Neighborhood Harvest first started, we put together a focus group that provided great insight for us. As we have grown, that, along with listening to our customers’ feedback, has helped the most in establishing the business.”
Other business partners “Thomas Vandiver, president, and Eric Coble, chief financial officer.”
Greatest innovation “The variety of greens that we grow and delivering them to the door of the end user. We foster innovation by constantly challenging the business model, to compete with grocery stores by delivering fresher greens, lettuces and herbs at comparable prices to your front door, which is new and full of opportunity.”
Company growth “In the spring of 2015, we expanded from a 5,000-square-foot facility to more than 18,000 square feet of growing space. We employ 15 full-time farm employees and five sales consultants. We have grown from a small group of 50 customers, back in the fall of 2014, to almost 1,600 customers today!
Earning a profit “We anticipate a small profit in the second quarter of 2016.”
Future plans “Over the next few years, we plan to expand the size of our greenhouse facilities. As the company grows, I want to see us become an employer of choice and continue to find innovative ways to give back to the community. The future holds promise in this area of culture and community for The Neighborhood Harvest as it grows to become a household name.”
Biggest challenge for the future “Markets are always fluctuating, so it is nearly, if not impossible to anticipate what will directly affect your projections and profitability, but our biggest challenge for the future will be educating the consumer about a product they currently don’t realize they would like, but that we have learned they will love!”
