AN UNEXPECTED CALL SAVES A TWEED FARM FROM MAJOR DISASTER
A TWEED Heads micro greens grower was on the brink of closure due to the coronavirus downturn when an early morning phone call changed his life.
Pocket Herbs owner Iain Reynolds suffered a 100 per cent downturn in sales after COVID-19 caused a nationwide shut down of the hospitality industry.
His micro greens that once graced plates in restaurants, casinos and cruise ships sat untouched at his Burringbar farm.
Mr Reyonolds said at the height of the pandemic he stood down 17 staff and had lost hope for the future.
But a call from one of the country’s biggest retail giants has seen Pocket Herbs back in business.
“I was sitting at home on a Sunday morning reading the paper and my phone was going off,” Mr Reynolds said.
“I didn’t recognise the mobile number and I thought, ‘Well if it’s work, I’m not interested, it’s Sunday and I had been working seven days a week’.”
Mr Reynolds said his phone “tinged” to the alert of a voicemail message and then again to a text message.
“I couldn’t quite believe what I was reading. It was the head of the fresh produce division of Coles Australia. He wanted to reach out and introduce himself, ask if he could assist in anyway.
“When I spoke to him, he was very interested in what we were doing and felt there was a market for our product in Coles.
“I thought someone was winding me up at first.”
Mr Reynolds said a Coles representative saw an ad about his micro greens farm for an upcoming ABC Landline episode.
Weeks after Coles first contacted him his micro greens were stocked in dozens of stores in NSW and Queensland, including Elanora and Miami. Mr Reynolds supplies 40 cartons containing about 500 living micro green pots a week to Coles and is now frantically trying to recruit staff to help.
“For us in terms of business, it isn’t a large number. We used to pack 700 cartons a week for the food services industry … but it’s a fantastic start.
“We’re testing the market and learning how to range it in store. But I got an email this morning (from Coles) saying they’re happy with the sales which are northwards of 80 per cent.
“I’m like an expectant father at the moment, I don’t know whether I’m going to have a successful child or not.”
The micro greens come in 10 different varieties that include lemon balm, radish red, chervil and shisho green.