As the world has industrialized and digitized, locally grown foods have become harder and harder to access. For most people, local food is not part of their diet because it’s too difficult to source. We believe we can solve this problem and create a better food system. Instead of today’s global food system that relies on long-winded supply chains, monoculture crops, and hidden markups, we are building a new platform in which farmers and communities reap the benefits of increased local food access.
The local food movement began in the early 2000s and has continued to gain momentum every year. It’s a critically important long-term trend with significant tailwinds. The best way to accelerate this momentum is by making it easier for farmers to find customers and access new markets. Before Local Line, getting local food to market was complex, tedious, and low margin. It was common to spend hours each week on admin, setting up deliveries, and processing and tracking orders.
Local Line offers farmers an opportunity to reclaim their sales channels and reach their customers directly. Using automated inventory management, direct ordering, and online payments, farmers now have a profitable way to step away from traditional sales channels, such as farmers’ markets, co-ops, and boards.
E-commerce offers farmers a chance to diversify their income and reach a larger audience while continuing to manage back-end operations. But not all e-commerce platforms are created equal. As a farmer, it’s important to recognize the uniqueness of the perishable supply chain. Local Line has built-in localized logistics, seasonality settings, proper workflows for products sold by weight (ex: cuts of meat, cheese, etc), and enables farms to sell to both wholesale and retail customers.
At its core, Local Line exists to make life better for farmers. Take Jesse from Milky Way Farm in Woodstock, Ontario. Like many farmers, he and his partner, Meghan, used to sell their produce through a CSA program with pick up on Saturday morning at the local farmers market.
As time went on, Jesse started dreading his Saturdays, knowing that he’d spend the entire day––sunrise to sunset––traveling and standing behind his booth at the market. On Sunday, he’d spend the whole day recovering. Not only was this taxing on his mental and physical wellbeing, but he was also missing out on important time with his young children.
Today, with their Local Line store up and running, Jesse and Meghan sell their produce online throughout the week and offer a 4-hour pick up window on Saturdays. Sundays are now dedicated family days!
Or talk to Melissa from Bluegrass Beef Kentucky. Through sharing her business, family, and farm through social media and her website, she has felt more connected to her customers than ever before. Her followers get multiple updates every week on what’s happening on the farm and what they can expect next.
At the market, she felt that she never had enough time to speak with each customer one-on-one. By opening up the realm of digital communication, she’s more connected than ever, and with a broader range of customers.
When you select an e-commerce platform for your farm, you should feel like they are your partners, working every day to help make your farm more successful. At Local Line, the first thing we do is help farmers move their sales online. This is important because it keeps things organized, improves record keeping, and sets farmers up for future exposure to more online customers. A well-kept system allows the farmer to be prepared for incoming demand.
Next, we help you increase your exposure to new markets and new customers. Online sales decrease the cost of reaching new customers. As more consumers continue to shop online, farmers increase their access to these online shoppers.
Over time, what starts as a simple online store turns into a connected ecosystem of other local growers, hubs, markets, and customers you can tap into. As a Local Line customer, you can plug yourself into your local food community and find new channels & partners. The end result - you secure your future as an independent entrepreneur.
Let’s make local farming profitable!
