FOA 192: Farmers Becoming Food Companies

Farm & Rural Ag Network

Michael Bosworth is the President & CEO of Next Generation Foods, a food business that markets and distributes locally produced foods in the Northern California area. Brent Lafollette, Martin Miller, and Robert James Woodry are 5th generation farmers and the founders of Premium Growers, a company that produces and sells a variety of flavored, premium roasted Oregon Hazelnuts. They are some of the many farmers who transitioned from being producers to direct-to-consumer retailers.

Michael joins me today to share his company’s humble beginnings. He explains how he puts a price tag on his products and how much of his farm is dedicated to retail. He also describes the benefits of going to food shows. Brent, Martin, and Robert discuss why they decided to start a hazelnut company. They share the effort it took to get their company up and running. They also describe the marketing process involved with their hazelnuts.

“It's incredible what you can learn about how people are using your products.” - Michael Bosworth

This Week on The Future of Agriculture Podcast:

• The origins of Michael Bosworth’s company and how they transitioned from a farm to a food business.
• The first client who asked them to supply organic ingredients.
• Adding their margin and how the ingredient price and competition factor in.
• The percentage of farm production that goes to the food business aspect.
• Attending food shows and scouting for new food products to offer clients.
• The type of clients they like to work with.
• Brent's farming background and how he, Bob, and Marty founded Premium Growers
• Their hazelnut product and the processing involved before clients receive them.
• How they set up their business to be a direct-to-consumer type of company.
• How long it took for their business to become stable.
• The customer feedback they've received since they started.

Connect with Michael Bosworth:

• Next Generation Foods

Connect with Brent, Martin, and Robert:

• Premium Growers

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