Melanie Scofield lives in Jacksonville, OR and sells sourdough bread and many other products with her cottage food business, Farm & Flour.

Back in 2023, Melanie’s world was turned upside down when she was diagnosed with cancer, and she started baking a lot as a form of therapy. That led her to start selling to friends and neighbors, and eventually open up a very simple farm stand at the beginning of 2024.

After that, things went crazy! Within just a few months, she was selling hundreds of baked goods each week, and just a few months later, replaced the farm stand with a mini store on her property.

She is now building a commercial kitchen to try to keep up with the never-ending demand for her products, and today you’ll hear how she created one of the best farm stands in the entire country.

• Start Simple & Listen to Your Community: Melanie began by trading taste testers for reviews before she even opened her stand. She used polls to ask customers what they wanted: mini or full-size loaves, which flavors, everything. The result? A loyal customer base that felt invested from day one. Your customers will tell you what they want if you just ask!
• Consistency Builds Trust (Even When You’re Scaling): From day one, Melanie’s been open Thursday-Sunday, 9am-7pm. Her customers know exactly when to find her and what staples will always be available. Even as she grew from 12 loaves to 200 loaves a day, she maintained that reliability. Consistency might be your most powerful marketing tool!
• Make Every Package a Marketing Tool: Here’s a genius move: Melanie puts a QR code on the back of every bread bag linking to her ordering page. When customers finish their loaf (or gift it to someone), reordering is one scan away. Think about how your packaging can keep customers coming back!

Farm & Flour website (Facebook | Instagram)

Oregon Cottage Food Law

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Get full show notes and transcript here: https://forrager.com/podcast/158