Kendall Farms
Fallbrook, California
Visitors to the Kendall Farms website learn instantly there’s a key word this farming family has an affinity for. “Obsessed.”
It’s right there in the “About Us” section: Kendall Farms is a family owned and operated business, obsessed with growing the finest flowers and greens in the most conscientious way. Seriously, we’re obsessed.”
Flower farmers Jason and Danielle Kendall are applying that obsession to several new initiatives – programs and processes that both expand what they’re offering to consumers and create efficiencies that allow them to meet ever-increasing consumer demand.
“We’re going 100 miles an hour in 100 directions,” Jason explains. “We’ve been in total growth mode over the past year. We see great opportunities with California Grown Flowers and Certified American Grown Flowers.”
First up, Kendall Farms launched an online store on its website, selling California Grown bouquets direct to consumers and offering a subscription format for the truly obsessed.
In another initiative aimed at consumers, the Kendalls opened the farm to the public by participating in the American Grown Field to Vase Dinner Tour and creating other farm-based events.
“We’ve had inquiries for years from people who want to come out and see the farm. People really want to see and feel where the product is coming from, so letting consumers see the farm links it up, much like wineries have done,” Jason explains.
With consumer demand continuing to ramp up, it was time to modernize the farm’s bouquet manufacturing and making processes, so the Kendalls invested in a machine that cuts and binds the flowers, preparing them for delivery. This expanded Kendall Farms’ ability to produce bouquets and helped control labor costs.
Combined, the website expansion and automatization efforts have led to 30 new hires – overall good news for employment.
And when you grow sales, the systems that support those sales also must expand. That’s why Kendall Farms expanded its cooler footprint by 30 percent, reaching 8,500 square feet of cooler space to maintain the cold chain for its flowers.
The farm’s well system was also expanded, allowing it to operate without purchasing any water from the local water district.
Jason and Danielle admit they’re practically giddy with optimism about flower farming. The culture they’ve established, the family involved and the great team they’ve created makes the hard work of flower farming fun, they say.
“The American consumer wants to be more in touch with farms and there’s a great opportunity there,” Jason says. “We do it for the customers and our team. After all, how many people are lucky enough to get to grow flowers?”
Point taken.
