Mother’s Day 2020: An Open Letter from Our Founder, Lori Taylor
May 10, 2020, Updated Aug 10, 2022
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Mother’s Day 2020: An Open Letter from Our Founder, Lori Taylor
May 10, 2020
Happy Mother’s Day to our community here at The Produce Moms!
Our Mother’s Day Pop-Up shop is live on the website now. We have a free gift for everyone too – it’s a grocery list designed to help you master your time and get your shopping done faster. It’s a template I’ve used for years to organize my grocery shopping.
The season of Spring brings hope and new beginnings. I love this time of year and feel like nature is giving us permission to innovate, rebirth, or resolve. Any business owner anywhere in the world will agree that Spring 2020 was a season of innovation.
On March 17, 2020 we held a team meeting to figure out how The Produce Moms can help everyone we care about and serve – this starts with the farmer and ends with you. We call it “from seed to smile.” Of course we also had to figure out how to stay in business.
Content production is not free, as a matter of fact it’s very costly to produce and publish content. We also have a dedicated team that counts on the success and continued growth of The Produce Moms for all or part of their income. What a humbling moment it is to have 11 people on our team. From Annie in Portland, OR who does our Instagram photography to James in the UK who produces our podcast, we literally have an international team of content experts. It was paramount that we maintain our staff, and I’m proud and grateful to say that we have.
I will never forget the day I purchased The Produce Moms. My office was my childhood desk in the corner of my sons’ playroom in our basement. In the beginning I did everything solo: I would write blogs in the corner of the playroom or cold call farmers about doing consumer education and promotions while Joe & Mac entertained each other. Slowly but surely we would grow our following and our brand partnerships which empowered my small business to add a professional service provider, add a better software, add a part time employee, add another employee, and so on.
A quote from Eileen Fisher was taped to my desk: Life-fulfilling work is never about the money. When you feel true passion for something, you instinctively find ways to nurture it.
The COVID-19 pandemic brought me right back to this quote and those early days of grave uncertainty in the corner of the toy room.
I knew it was time to innovate or pivot again. The life of an entrepreneur is a never-ending journey of highs, lows, and redirections. The finish line doesn’t really exist either; it just keeps advancing. Me and my amazing team – we are all used to this. We know how to pivot.
Right now, moms want to know that everything coming into their kitchen is SAFE & HEALTHY. We need facts, not more fear or uncertainty. We need to hear from more thought leaders and experts, not people with platforms based purely on personal preference or lifestyle. Moms are the most powerful force in the world. Nothing will stop us from bringing the best to our children.
I want you to know that produce is safe & healthy.
I want you to have the knowledge and resources needed to serve more fresh produce at home.
We are in this together – The Produce Moms is a community of real moms. Together we can learn from each other and live a better life.
We are launching our first co-branded consumer product with Crunch Pak. It’s already on shelf at many retailers throughout the United States. With this launch and the merch store we are now a consumer brand. I added another quote to my desk – this one is from me: The Produce Moms is the first & only consumer brand that drives sales and consumption of fresh produce.
Over the next few weeks you will start to see new content offerings. You may already follow along with our COVID-19 stories from the frontline content, or our Eat Like Your Favorite Animal series. The Produce Moms Facebook Group is a great place to have direct dialogue with me, but the contact form on our website or simply replying to this email will put your message in my inbox as well. Let us know how we can support you.
The farmers are counting on us to not only purchase their fruits & vegetables but also help them understand the next priority or innovation that society needs – the adage “Mom Knows Best” has never been more true.
Thank you for being part of our community. We are just beginning. Happy Mother’s Day!
From seed to smile,
Lori
