Dive Brief:
- Faced with increased competition from traditional grocers, meal kits and online retailers, community supported agriculture programs are looking for ways to maintain sales among a consumer base that has more options than ever before, according to the Chicago Tribune.
- Changes across the grocery industry — including Amazon’s purchase of Whole Foods and an increase of in-store selections — are expanding consumer options and creating new access to fresh produce.
- In order to survive, marketers and researchers said farmers need to become marketers, embrace new technologies and consider developing partnerships with grocers.
Dive Insight:
Once, getting fresh produce meant shopping at a farmers market or fruit stand. In recent years, community supported agriculture programs, or CSAs, brought the farm to consumers' doorstep — particularly in urban areas — with seasonal subscription boxes. According to the US Department of Agriculture, there were more than 12,500 CSAs in the United States in 2012. The popular boxes allowed small farmers to stay competitive while delivering upon the promise of “farm fresh.”
Now, with a proliferation of organic produce at grocers, competition from meal kits and the ease of ordering groceries online, CSAs are seeing their membership numbers decline. Those organic items aren’t just at specialty grocers anymore — they've spread to low-cost retailers like Walmart and Aldi as well. Meal kits like Blue Apron and Hello Fresh and those sold by Amazon and Walmart are also having an impact as well. Convenience is beginning to trump the “support-the-farm" philosophy that originally drove CSA growth.
CSAs are looking for ways to stay in step with current trends to slow the decline and even reverse this trend. As in any industry, the buzzwords of personalization, hyperlocal and authenticity apply here. CSAs are turning to technology — from apps to social media — to reach their consumer base with compelling stories, relationships with farmers and engagement with the community.
Partnerships with food hubs and, by extension, grocers offer a pathway to sustainability for these businesses. According to the USDA, “food hubs make it possible for producers to gain entry into new and additional markets that would be difficult or impossible to access on their own.” By offering a small farm assistance with distribution and marketing, these hubs held producers connect with stores and markets that are the right fit for their products. As consumers continue to seek out healthy and local food options, a win-win could be found by pairing grocers with CSAs to deliver options to consumers hungry for truly farm fresh and locally sourced products.