Like most farmers and ranchers, Jessica Oddo has a lot of irons in the fire. When Oddo moved back to the family ranch, her priority was finding a way to grow their sales. Traditionally Mt. Shasta Wild had sold its beef through conventional livestock auctions. But that revenue wasn’t enough to support another family member joining the business.
Direct marketing would capture more of their beef dollars and Mt. Shasta Wild is in a region with strong consumer demand for ethically-raised and healthy food products. So, Oddo started going to farmers markets. However, while farmer’s markets were a great way to educate consumers and promote Mt. Shasta Wild, but too time-intensive for the sales made.
But Oddo also knew she was a rancher, not a website developer. She didn’t want to spend all her time managing a platform. And with a tight ranching budget, she couldn’t afford expensive software.
The Solution
Food4All’s online platform was the perfect answer. Oddo easily set up Mt. Shasta’s online store and embedded it directly to the ranch’s website. And because all transaction fees are charged to the buyer, there is no cost to Mt. Shasta.
With the transaction part taken care of, Oddo concentrates on product education and pursuing the ranch’s other commitments – like coexistence practices including re-introducing apex predators to the wild backcountry their cattle forage. Or working with agencies and other vendors to develop a local processing and marketing cooperative.
Read the full Mt. Shasta Wild Case Study.