Hello there fellow lovers of fresh!
This past weekend I had the pleasure of embarking on our first #GreenInTheCity Tour with the team! Travelling around the GTA in Ontario, we visited four different Loblaws stores with our innovative mobile greenhouse, the Greenhouse Education Center. Daily life on the tour consists of waking up bright and early, meeting for a team breakfast, and setting out on the road in our fresh new wheels, the NatureFresh Farms minivan! Upon arrival to the Loblaws store, we open up our trailer and make sure it’s fully ready and loaded to have a fun and functional day. Before we even finish setting up the trailer, curious onlookers begin to gather with questions and curiosities about what they are seeing! Our conversations begin almost as soon as we pull into the parking lot and after reflecting on the weekend and the conversations I had with consumers and visitors to the GEC, I am able to recognize the impact that each one of us had through the power of knowledge and meaningful interactions. Time and time again, I heard “thank you so much for the information!” from visitors to the GEC. The GEC was a welcomed sight for those who had never had the opportunity to visualize plants growing in a greenhouse, and I like to think of this weekend as mutually beneficial because I learned just as much as the consumers did! While I was able to inform them on how we grow, our sustainability initiatives, and our traceability, they in return taught me a better understanding of what is important to them when deciding on the right produce, as well as what is important to them in a company. I was very impressed with how informed the consumer really is and it was so fun to hear their perspectives on produce and topics such as GMOs and our unique commitment of transparency as a company.
Inside the store, even more magic transpired! Our sampling station became the hotspot in the store, with our Red Cherry Tomatoes causing quite the hype! It was truly a unique experience for me to see NatureFresh produce on display and for sale at the retailer, because I have now seen the product throughout it’s life; growing on the vine at the farm, picked and packaged, and now for sale. It was also a unique experience for the consumers because they were able to see how we grow the Red Cherry Tomato outside on the GEC and then they could come inside the store and taste the difference in flavour and quality in what we grow! Consumers were trying our product and were hooked instantly! But even beyond that, they were showing us that they support Ontario Grown produce and that Greenhouse Grown Matters, which is my motivation on this educational tour! In just one weekend, we had so many experiences from learning the best way to close the trailer, many stops at Timmy’s, to driving in the pouring rain on the 401- but the most memorable experiences were the amazing conversations that took place with consumers who are now equipped with the knowledge of #HowWeGrow! I can’t wait to get out there again with the team!
Follow along the #GreenInTheCity Tour with us!
Instagram & Twitter: wearethegrower
Snapchat: greeninthecity
Until next time,
Jacy
