You’re not the only one figuring out how to grow your business.
We’ve been building something for ambitious small-scale food producers, shops and food hubs. Growth tools, training and strategy built for our sector. We think you’re going to find it useful.
↓ See what we’re working on
Ash Wheeler, Trill Farm Garden
One newsletter a week.
Every week.
Ash has been growing veg in Devon for years. Getting it to people who want it was always the harder part.
Since joining the Thrive Project in January, he's sent a newsletter every single week. No gaps, no scramble. It's become part of how the farm runs.
First test: launching Stan's Eggs through the newsletter. Orders came in, a new product found its audience, and the farm now has a direct line to its customers it didn't have before.
Get more customers.
And keep them.
Build community.
For farm and food businesses who are time-poor and ready to grow in a steady, sustainable way, without burning out.
No contracts. No pressure. Just a quick chat to see what would actually help.
“We targeted 20 new subscribers, achieved in three weeks.”
You didn't get into this
to write email sequences.
Most people in food and farming got here because they care about the land, the community, and what they produce. Marketing was never the point. But the businesses that stay viable are the ones who found a simple system and stuck to it, without it taking over their life.
"The best growth system is the one you'll actually use."
What we build with every clientThe first 30 days
are the wobbly bit
New customers don't follow neat funnels. They zig-zag, and without support in this window, businesses lose good customers who were almost there.
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🌀Emotional investment rises and falls as people work out whether this is really for them.
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⏭They skip a week, forget to re-order, get confused by emails, or feel unsure if it's worth continuing.
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📉Without intentional support in this period, good customers drift away, often without ever complaining.
the gap between the plan and the reality
Why so many businesses get stuck around 100 orders
One van, one route, one day a week only gets you so far. Most direct-to-customer food businesses hit a natural ceiling and don't know how to push through without burning out.
- Marketing always drops to the bottom of the list.
- The team is already stretched. There is no slack in the system.
- They know there is demand, but lack the systems and strategy to safely reach it.
- Growth feels like it means burning out, not building something sustainable.
Not every customer has the same needs
The customer who wants recipe inspiration each week is not the same as the one who just wants reliable deliveries. Getting this right is not just good marketing, it is the foundation of retention.
Segmentation built into your customer journey from day one means the right message reaches the right person at the right moment, without you having to think about it every week.
"When people feel understood, they stay. When they feel like a number on a list, they leave."
Four practical outcomes
Everything in the Thrive Project moves the needle on at least one of these four things. Tools, skills and strategy working together, not as separate offerings.
More customers and members
Clear, supported access to direct routes to market. Getting your story in front of the right people at the right moment.
- Tell your story clearly and compellingly
- Create strong offers that attract the right people
- Improve discoverability through Google and optimised ads
- Run effective, creative promotions
- Make the journey from social to shopping slick
- Strengthen your unique story, ethos and selling point
- Use local events, pop-ups and open days to attract new members
Keep your customers longer
Build focused strategies that increase customer retention. Understand what drives loyalty and build it intentionally into your system.
- Welcome and onboard new members well
- Customer journeys mapped from first order to loyal member
- Lifecycle nurture and emotional connectedness
- Help people feel heard and part of something
- The power of your team in activating customers
- Avoiding overwhelm: sustainable, manageable retention
Bring old members back
Lapsed customers are not lost customers. Re-activation campaigns and win-back sequences built around real reasons people leave.
- Understand why people actually left
- Make sure your offering still meets their needs
- Win-back sequences, check-ins and re-engagement offers
- Events and experiences that draw people back in person
- Farm open days, workshops and community moments
Increase basket value
Identify new opportunities, upselling campaigns, diversification and wholesale channels that increase what each customer is worth to you.
- Assess and refine your product range
- Upselling campaigns and new product launches
- Collaboration and wholesale opportunities
- Sales support across cafes, restaurants and chefs
- Growth and diversification exploration
- On-farm events that showcase and demo your wider product range
- On-farm events that showcase and demo your wider product range
- Measurable outcomes that demonstrate impact over time
