After promising – but modest – success with a CSA-style program, one Montreal-based company has flourished after making its direct fresh food delivery service more flexible.“People want to be able to choose what they want and not get stuck with vegetables they don’t know how to cook,” says Lauren Rathmell, a founding member of Lufa Farms. Rathmell’s company, founded in 2011, operates a weekly direct-to-consumer delivery program, delivering baskets that combine Lufa’s very own fresh produce along with produce and food items from other local farms and artisans.
“When we first opened, it was a little bit more of a typical CSA model,” says Rathmell. But after asking for customer feedback, Lufa found that their customers wanted more control over the items they received. So in early 2013, Rathmell’s company unveiled a new pick-and-choose online order system, allowing consumers the chance to select what they receive. Says Rathmell, “[Our customers] basically just order what they want each week.”
The system has proven hugely successful – Rathmell now estimates that Lufa baskets reach 2% of Montreal residents. “Our first summer in 2011, we delivered maybe 100 baskets a week. This year, we’re shipping more than 6000 baskets a week,” Rathmell says. “A big piece was the customizable marketplace. That really opened up a lot of doors for us.”
Company’s produce grown in rooftop greenhouses
Lufa’s flexible ordering system isn’t the only thing that sets it apart from other basket-delivery programs. Lufa’s own produce – which makes up approximately 25% of all food delivered by the company – is grown in rooftop greenhouses mere steps from some of the homes to which Lufa delivers.
“We want to be closer to where people live,” explains Rathmell. With a 32,000 square foot facility in Montreal and a second, 43,000 square foot facility in nearby Laval, Lufa is able to supply Montrealers with locally grown produce year round. Customers receive Lufa-farmed produce on the same day it’s picked. Currently, the company grows eggplant, cucumbers, sweet and hot peppers, and a wide variety of both tomatoes and greens.
Rathmell says that the benefits to building greenhouses on top of existing structures go beyond proximity to urban customers. “The number one advantage to being on a roof is we save a lot of energy,” she says, explaining that heat generated and retained by the buildings beneath Lufa greenhouses make heating them much more cost effective. “We use about half the energy for heating each year as a [traditional] greenhouse located in the same area of Quebec.”
Continued Montreal expansion planned, exploring other cities
Lufa’s success and continued growth has its management considering other markets where their model might make an immediate impact. Rathmell says that the company has looked at Vancouver, Toronto, and Boston as potential sites for expansion. But with business in Montreal continually growing, the company’s focus – for now – remains local.
“For us, the trajectory is to keep expanding in Montreal,” says Rathmell. “We continue to see growth every week, and we want to be able to keep up with demand.”
Photo credits to Lufa Farms.
For more information:
Lauren Rathmell
Lufa Farms
Tel: +1 (514) 669-3559
+1 (514) 669-3559
+1 (514) 669-3559