A conversation with Juliette Simonin, co-founder and COO of CrowdFarming, a company that works with over 320 farmers and sells fruit and veggies boxes directly to 400.000 consumers. In this discussion, we explore how Juliette transitioned from working at a large insurance company to co-founding Europe’s largest direct-to-consumer organic fruit and vegetable platform.
How do they educate these consumers that a farm is not a screw factory, and that every fruit is different? Delivery times depend on harvests and weather. The conversation also touches on how they keep consumers engaged in the process of growing fruits, and how vital it is for farmers to know there is a growing demand for their organic produce as they make changes to their practices.
Finally, we discuss why CrowdFarming is focused on helping farmers transition toward regenerative practices. Spoiler alert: resilience is a key driver. This resilience is also why the company bootstrapped for most of its early years before eventually deciding to take on outside capital.
LISTEN TO THE CONVERSATION ON:
EDUCATION OF CONSUMERS IS KEY
Juliette talks about the importance of educating consumers about regenerative agriculture and the benefits of supporting regenerative farms.
”We have a customer service team that is dedicating a lot of time to discuss with our customers and to also give them some advice. We have a blog where we try to explain things about agriculture that, unfortunately, we usually don’t know about agriculture. I started crop farming, and I had no clue about so many things because it’s not something we get to be taught. So, it’s a bit of a shame. So, we do a lot of that, and then we’re trying to create a sense of community of people. And actually, on regenerative, we just launched a very interesting initiative. We were really happy about it because we launched 1% for the Soil initiative […] We’re going to take 1% from their sales, not from the farmer, obviously, on our part, to be investing in new programs for regenerative programs on other farms. […] So we created this committee, and we said, okay, we have four votes, and the first vote is going to be a community of consumers that are motivated.” Juliette Simonin
TRANSPARENCY IS FUNDAMENTAL
Juliette talks about the importance of consumer education and transparency, explaining the unique challenges of their business model.
”I think the first thing is to be transparent, and as you were saying, just to tell what’s happening, when it’s happening, and why. And I think people on this are always understanding, because they’re saying ‘Okay, it’s real. It’s not someone trying to send me whatever they find of this product. It’s really from this farm, and that’s why there is an issue, and that’s why I’m not getting them in the end, because it’s true, it’s honest’. So, I think in that sense, it’s working.” Juliette Simonin
WHY CROWDFARMING DIDN’T RAISE FUNDING EARLIER
They’ve thought about it, but haven’t done it yet.
”We had many debates, and we’re still not clear about it. There is just one thing that for me, and it’s not very popular opinion. So, I’m sorry if I put it like this, but it was for me, a big question mark when we had the question of should we do a crowdfunding being called crop farming, that would make so much sense, right? And I think it was because of personal experience—what I’ve seen around in other startups about evaluation—and you know there was a peak in valuation, and so consumers were getting shares or something that was valued so much, and two years later, well, it wasn’t valued that much. And I don’t know, I had a feeling like, sometimes there was a bit of a question mark. Are we using these people in a way because they’re not experts on finance and not they’re taking a lot of risks, which normally professional investors are taking those risks. And so that’s been, and it’s very personal, and it’s been one of the reasons for which, right now we’ve been thinking about it. Of course, we don’t want to do that, but we’re like, maybe it’s not the right place where we should be because it’s so versatile.’’ Juliette Simonin
WHY REGENERATIVE PRACTICES STARTED TO BECOME PART OF THEIR WORK
Resilience is really a big part, and it means a lot, especially in Europe.
”When you realise, you’re destroying your soil and your land to produce, it’s like it doesn’t make sense, right? And so, the moment you start regenerating, you recreate this. Yes, a system that makes sense for you as a farmer; well, of course, you’re happier with your work.” Juliette Simonin
”These agronomists started to learn about practices from other farmers and to share them in their group. And, step by step, we were seeing that some farmers that were implementing some techniques were getting more resilient or had better results, where we were seeing more biodiversity on their farms, like many things. And it was like an observation. And I think it was the end of 2021, beginning in 2022. I guess when we really started to associate that with regenerative, mainly also because from the US it was being discussed more and more, it started to arrive in Europe, and that’s why I’m saying it was not like. One day we decided, okay, it has been more like and we’re like, oh, but that’s a bit what some farmers are doing in their premises, and that we’re trying to promote so it has a name, and maybe with this name, it can be easier to explain to them why it’s important, and that’s how we started the official program, which is transitioned to regenerative, which is also supported by our agronomist, and with a clear plan with some external partners also. ” Juliette Simonin
OTHER POINTS DISCUSSED
Koen and Juliette also talked about:
- The need for patience in achieving regenerative agriculture goals
- The importance of open-mindedness and the willingness to try new approaches
- The need for continuous communication and education to build consumer trust
LINKS:
LINKED INTERVIEWS:
- Cristina Domecq – Building a regenerative movement by connecting 350000 consumers directly with 250 farmers
- Franco Fubini – Delivering unmatched flavour to 2000 of the world’s top restaurant and unlocking consumer demand
- Osvaldo de Falco, connecting Italian organic fruit farmers directly to consumers
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The above references an opinion and is for information and educational purposes only. It is not intended to be investment advice. Seek a duly licensed professional for investment advice.