Stall grows business to new heights

Argent, a commercial market gardener with more than 40 years' experience and a local supplier to Fresh Direct, has been leasing 20 hectares of land from the local Boric family for 20 years. Several years ago, his young children set up a small roadside stall selling fejoas harvested from a tree in the family's backyard.

After initial success they added grapes grown on a recently-planted family vine, which had too many on it to eat themselves. The continuing success of the children's project inspired Argent to build a commercial stall, with drivethrough access to sell farm produce.

"The uptake from the local community was fairly immediate and it's just grown ever since," Argent told Hort News.

"A lot of our customers have a sense of their carbon footprint. They like that it (the produce) comes from the field to the gate," he explains. "We don't run fridges here, so we're picking daily and managing our stock as accurately as we can - so it's picked and solid on the same day."

Argent says the price of his produce for the customer is considerably less than buying at the supermarkets.

"I can charge a little more than I'd get sending it to market. It's a win-win scenario."

He believes that customers are weary of the perceived supermarket duopoly and are seeking out smaller retailers to give them more independence over their grocery bill and strengthen local communities.

Sarah, a self-proclaimed repeat customer of Argent's, told Hort News that she likes the fact that the produce is fresh.

"I like to support local. This is personally-owned, as opposed to a mass production [supermarket]."

While his commercial partnership supplying Fresh Direct remains his main source of income, Argent believes that the commercial side of the operation supports the stall. He says the major commercial crops are always there for sale and it allows him to experiment with other crops.

He says it gives him an opportunity to grow small project crops that are either too risky to plant or not land efficient on a large commercial scale.

An example of such a crop is striped/graffiti eggplant, for which seed sales ceased in New Zealand several years ago. However, Argent maintains a small crop of the plant, which he sustains through cultivation and sells at the stall.

Nowadays, he estimates that about 30% of his operation's profit comes from his farm stall. On a good day the stall can earn around $1,500.

Argent credits his stall for giving his operation less reliance on the changing whims of the retail market, allowing for better financial stability during off seasons.

"When the markets went through a period where the buyers just weren't willing to pay sustainable prices, we really struggled and we had to find a plan B," he explains.

"It's made a huge difference - just for the pure interest of growing... I've been able to get back to my roots."