Progress 05/01/09 to 07/31/10
Outputs
OUTPUTS: Our progress and accomplishments during the project period of May 1 through July 31, 2010 includes: - Indentified appropriate wholesale florists, floral business consultants and industry events (trade shows and conventions) to collaborate with and support this SBIR Phase I project; - Developed working relationships with several wholesale florists and event designers in the Northeast to assist in the development of a marketing system for Seaberry Farm's woody cut businesses and products; - Worked with specialty cut flower researchers at Cornell University and curators of several arboretums in the Northeast in order to determine and test additional plant materials of interests for woody cut uses; - Tested our woody cut materials with wholesale florists, event designers and end users (retail florists and end consumers) to discern their perceptions of the various uses of woody materials at varying market levels; - Communicated with other growers and suppliers to identify specific facility and equipment for the operation; - Worked with business and floral industry consultants to develop appropriate marketing strategies and materials for different facets of Seaberry Farm's business practices; - Attended workshops, conferences, and trade shows to identify additional resources and suppliers and determine the most appropriate and effective venues through which Seaberry will attend as an exhibitor; and - Developed a Commercialization Plan to further expand and develop Seaberry's woody cut business. PARTICIPANTS: Individuals: Richard Uva, Ph.D., Owner, Seaberry Farm, LLC - Principal Investigator Wenfei Uva, Ph.D., Owner, Seaberry Farm, LLC - Co-principal Investigator John Renehan, Farm Employee, Seaberry Farm, LLC - Hired by Seaberry Farm, LLC in March 2010 to assist in the woody cut flower operation. Partner Organizations, Collaborators and contacts: Cornell University, Ithaca, New York - Drs. Chris Wien, Bill Miller and Mark Bridgen assisted in identifying additional plant materials of interest for Seaberry Farm operation. Arnold Arboretum, Boston, Massachusetts - Michael Dosmann, Curator, assisted in identifying additional plant materials of interest for Seaberry Farm operation. U.S. National Arboretum, Washington, D.C. - assisted in identifying additional plant materials of interest for Seaberry Farm operation. Mel Heath, Bridge Farm LLC. - assisted in evaluating woody cut materials and production methods. Carol Caggiano, Retail Florist Consultant, assisted in identifying potential buyers, cut woody material uses and marketing strategies Bruce Kalen, Senior Sales Manager and Plant Buyer of Potomac Wholesale Floral, assisted in product grading, packaging and marketing strategies. Cathy Kyle, Kyle design, assisted in development marketing materials. Jan Willis, Business Consultant, assisted in developing business, marketing and commercialization plans TARGET AUDIENCES: Not relevant to this project. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Not relevant to this project.
Impacts
Through assistance from industry trade associations, we identified appropriate wholesale florists, floral consultants and industry events pertinent to the implementation of this SBIR project. Periodic interviews were conducted with collaborative wholesale florists, event designers and woody producers in other regions to address seasonality and availability of woody cut materials, and their pricing in the industry. As a result, Seaberry has developed a) a comprehensive product availability list for Seaberry's products according to our production and research in 2009 and 2010; b) a seasonal product availability and pricing list for competitors' offerings; and c) a seasonal product availability and sourcing list for wholesale florists. To compare Seaberry products with others in terms of quality, packaging and prices, product, samples were sent to collaborating wholesale florists and floral consultants for comments. Product samples were purchased from the trade to compare to Seaberry Farm's products. We have established an on-going marketing relationship with several wholesale florists in establishing a year-round contract to purchase materials from us in the coming year. Seaberry Farm has identified the best practices used to establish a marketing and delivery system with the suppliers. This data was collected via several methods: 1) worked with specialty cut flower researchers at Cornell University and curators of several arboretums to ascertain additional plant materials of interest for woody cut uses; 2) interviewed with selected retail florists throughout the Mid-East region in order to evaluate how each currently uses woody cut materials; 3) evaluated trends through Seaberry's retail market located in Easton, Maryland, in turn gaining knowledge of the end consumer's perception and use of woody materials; 4) attended the 2009 American Specialty Cut Flower Grower Association's National Conference in New York and Maryland Flower Grower Field Days to gather pertinent information on facility and equipment needs and marketing strategies employed by other growers to gain a strategic presence in the industry. Worked with several consultants to develop ideal marketing strategies and materials for different aspects of Seaberry's business, including developing a marketing plan, a business plan and a commercialization plan. Worked with a greenhouse supplier and a cooling system supplier to identify a suitable greenhouse and a cooler for the operation based on the Seaberry's specific needs. Attended the 2010 International Floriculture Expo in Miami Florida to identify additional equipment and material suppliers who are willing to work with Seaberry to develop or modify their equipment and materials for Seaberry Farm's specific use, including packaging materials, stem cutting and wrapping equipment, harvesting carts, post harvesting chamber. Discussed with several local farmers for their interest in participating in a grower network to produce woody cut materials based on Seaberry's marketing specification and market through Seaberry's marketing network.
Publications
- No publications reported this period
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Progress 05/01/09 to 04/30/10
Outputs
OUTPUTS: Our outputs during the project period of May 1, 2009 through April 30, 2010 include the following: - Indentified appropriate wholesale florists, floral business consultants and industry events (trade shows and conventions) to collaborate with and support our SBIR project; - Developed continuous working relationships with key wholesale florists and event designers in the Northeast to assist in the development of a marketing system for Seaberry Farm's woody cut businesses and products; - Worked with specialty cut flower researchers at Cornell University and curators of several arboretums to determine and trial additional plant materials of interests for woody cut uses; - Tested our woody cut materials with wholesale florists, event designers, retail florists and end consumers to discern their perceptions of the various uses of woody materials at varying market levels; - Communicated with other flower growers and floral suppliers to identify facility and equipment needs for the operation; - Worked with several consultants to develop appropriate marketing strategies and materials for different facets of Seaberry Farm's business practices. - Attended the 2009 American Specialty Cut Flower Grower Association Annual Meeting held in October, 2009. PARTICIPANTS: Individuals: -Richard Uva, Ph.D., Owner, Seaberry Farm, LLC - Principal Investigator -Wenfei Uva, Ph.D., Owner, Seaberry Farm, LLC - Co-principal Investigator -John Renehan, Farm Employee, Seaberry Farm, LLC - Hired by Seaberry Farm, LLC in March 2010 to assist in the woody cut flower operation. Partner Organizations, Collaborators and contacts: -Cornell University, Ithaca, New York - Drs. Chris Wien, Bill Miller and Mark Bridgen assisted in identifying additional plant materials of interest for Seaberry Farm operation. -Arnold Arboretum, Boston, Massachusetts - Michael Dosmann, Curator, assisted in identifying additional plant materials of interest for Seaberry Farm operation. -U.S. National Arboretum, Washington, D.C. - assisted in identifying additional plant materials of interest for Seaberry Farm operation. -Mel Heath, Bridge Farm LLC. - assisted in evaluating woody cut materials and production methods. -Carol Caggiano, Retail Florist Consultant, assisted in identifying potential buyers, cut woody material uses and marketing strategies -Bruce Kalen, Senior Sales Manager and Plant Buyer of Potomac Wholesale Floral, assisted in product grading, packaging and marketing strategies. -Cathy Kyle, Kyle design, assisted in development marketing materials. -Jan Willis, Business Consultant, assist in developing a business and marketing plan TARGET AUDIENCES: Not relevant to this project. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: - The original proposed project period was to begin on May 1 and conclude on December 31, 2009. However, the applicable industry conferences and trade show events are generally held in the spring; therefore, in the time allotted, we could not attend most events to conduct our research and promote our products and company. Therefore, we requested a no cost extension to extend the project period to July 31, 2010 in order to enable us to attend several of these important industry conferences and events.
Impacts
- Through assistance from industry trade associations, including Wholesale Florist & Florist Supplier Association, American Institute of Floral Design and Society of American Florists, we identified appropriate wholesale florists, floral business consultants and industry events pertinent to this SBIR project. - We cultivated on-going working relationships with several wholesale florists and event designers in the Northeast region including Potomac Floral Wholesale Inc. in Silver Spring, Maryland; McCallum Sauber Wholesale Florists Inc. in Washington DC; Delaware Valley Wholesale Florist in Sewell, New Jersey; and Amaryllis Inc. in Washington D.C.. - Through working with specialty cut flower researchers at Cornell University including Drs. Chris Wien, Bill Miller and Mark Bridgen, and curators of arboretums, including Arnold Arboretum (Boston Massachusetts), U.S. National Arboretum (Washington DC), and Wheaton Arboretum, we were able to ascertain additional plant materials of interest for woody cut uses; - Through interviews with selected retail florists in various Mid-East regions, including Washington DC, Maryland's Eastern Shore, New York and Delaware, we evaluated how each currently uses woody cut materials; - Through Seaberry Farm's new retail market located in Easton, Maryland, we have gained knowledge of about the end consumer's perception of and use of the woody materials; - We attended the 2009 American Specialty Cut Flower Grower Association's national conference in New York and several Maryland flower grower field days to gather pertinent information relating to the following questions: 1) What are the facility and equipment needs to suit ideal or best-practice conditions from the grower's perspective 2) What marketing strategies are employed by other growers to gain a strategic presence in the industry - Worked with several consultants to develop ideal marketing strategies and materials for different aspects of Seaberry Farm's business, including Carol Caggiano, a retail florist consultant; Bruce Kalen, Senior Sales Manager of Potomac Floral; Jan Willis, a business consultant; and Cathy Kyle of Kyle Design; - Worked a greenhouse supplier (Syngenta), we constructed a greenhouse to assist in forcing and production of our woody cut materials to better meet market demand, and currently working with a cooling system supplier to identify a suitable greenhouse and a cooler for the operation based on the Farm's specific needs. - Obtained two agricultural business development loans from Caroline County Economic Development Corporation and Maryland Agricultural and Resource-Based Industry Development Corporation to help us further develop our plan.
Publications
- No publications reported this period
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