Week 1 : Nashville ❤ Bloomsbury Farms: Soup-A-Stars!
As we said our farewells with a heavy heart to our MBA2 peers, the four of us were extremely enthusiastic about starting our road trip adventure. We each packed our bags with all the necessities, including food, clothing, and other items. However, one of our team members realized that since this was a road trip, there was no limit to the weight of our bags. Sanya even packed utensils for our journey! 😂
On the first day of our trip, Joe picked us up in black van, and we headed towards our first destination, Nashville, to work with our first small business owner. We made two pit stops on the way, and we switched drivers each time. Our first stop was at IHOP, where we enjoyed delicious calorie-loaded pancakes, and our second stop was at Gander, where we had some amazing American food. Additionally, we made an important stop at Kroger to purchase an aux cable for our car, so we could have music during the trip. Finally, after a 12-hour drive, we arrived at our destination. The Airbnb was absolutely amazing and we settled down over the weekend with all grocery shopping and arranging our kitchen. We played Monopoly games and spent more time together to learn more about each other.
On Monday, we met Lauren, the entrepreneur who built Bloomsbury Farm from scratch. She started by selling organic vegetables and sprouts at local farmers markets in 2009. Since then, the farm has grown and expanded, producing a wide variety of fresh fruits, vegetables, sprouts, and herbs for local businesses, markets, and wholesalers in and around Nashville and the greater region. She is a busy and energetic multitasking mom of a 9-year-old and a newborn daughter named Wren. We were excited to meet her and learn about her life journey.
Lauren holds a Bachelor’s degree in Social Work and a Master’s degree in Management. Combining her education with her lifelong passion for cultivating and providing the highest-quality organic produce, educating her community about the land and the importance of the food we eat, and being able to walk to work every morning while raising her daughter with the same love for the earth that her parents instilled in her is not only her passion but also a true gift.
We learned about how Bloomsbury Farm is both GAP and organic certified, which reflects the commitment to bringing the highest quality and healthiest foods to the local community. They produce the finest sprouts and wheatgrass in Tennessee using organic seed and growing methods. They distribute their products to wholesale and retail locations, such as Whole Foods, Produce Place, and Turnip Truck, as well as many restaurants.
During our visit to the farm, she gave us a tour of how organic farming is done and the process she follows before shipping her fresh produce to customers, including CSAs. We also enjoyed visiting the strawberry farms and even picked a couple of strawberries that were super delicious. We had never tasted such amazing, fresh, juicy strawberries before!
In our initial meeting, we also learned that Lauren is open to experimenting and listening to new ideas about diversifying her business. She mentioned our help in growing the CSA business, looking at her social media strategy, and diversifying her product portfolio would be the most valuable area. After making changes in the business model, she was facing issues with lower customer engagement and high churn rate. After our field visit, we brainstormed and narrowed down the scope to something more concrete and deep, rather than trying to touch on everything.
We decided to help her with the CSA Referral Program and Social Media strategy, which required gathering a lot of data points and closely understanding the business’s performance. We also conducted secondary research to understand the competitors and visited the local market to gain insights into customers’ needs and preferences.
During our Wednesday meeting, we gained further insight into the farm owner’s values and vision. She aimed to create a community of individuals who appreciate nature and consume organic, fresh food. Additionally, she is revolutionizing the learning process at her farm school. Her philosophy is that children learn best through play, which helps them trust their instincts, develop social skills, and gain independence and confidence. By allowing children the time and freedom to explore, their innate curiosity is fostered, and they are receptive to learning new concepts that will stay with them for life.
The natural environment offers numerous opportunities to develop risk assessment and problem-solving skills. As nature is ever-changing, children must adapt and develop resilience, grit, and self-confidence. During our visit, we observed many happy children enjoying the farm experience. We also learned the importance of building the farm’s brand as it provides a unique, personalized, and friendly experience for families and friends to unwind any day of the week. The farm’s atmosphere is serene, filled with greenery, fresh air, and animals, which is a rarity in cities.
She also mentioned a strawberry pick-up event which was supposed to happen on Friday at the Bloomsbury farm and we were super excited to meet the real customers and witness what it looks like. Also, our team met three most adorable pet dogs she had at the farm and we just fell in love with them. They were super calm and chilled in life, unlike us 😀
On Thursday, we spent the day working together to finalize our deliverables. We split into two teams to complete the presentation slides. In the evening, we attended an incredible music show at the Grand Ole Opry.
As the last day approached, we were excited to present our recommendations to her. Our suggestions included ways to grow business and optimize her social media efforts:
- Referral Programs to increase customer base and revenue for CSA
- Customizable forecasting model to optimize referral incentives for anyone on her team to us.
- Weekly Instagram post planner with diverse topics and hashtags for a wider audience and increased engagement
- Marketing strategy with her newsletter
- Website recommendations for improved online customer experience and increased website traffic.
During the first week we did a couple of more activities together such as:
- Cooked Indian food for dinner and enjoyed eating it together.
- Explored a variety of dining options including cafes, high-end restaurants, local eateries, and dessert places.
- Attended lively after-parties in downtown after being unable to get tickets to the Taylor Swift concert.
- Played board games and card games.
- Watched the TV series “Love is Blind” together, enjoying the suspenseful episodes.
As we end our first week, we are super excited for our next stop which is The Little Rock, Arkansas. Meet you guys next week. Stay tuned!!
