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By Joe Boomgaard | FoodBiz
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ADA — Sietsema Orchards had a good business going for it when the family-owned operation was located at the busy intersection of Knapp Street and East Beltline Avenue.

Andy Sietsema is the fourth generation owner of Sietsema Orchards, but the first to leverage technology in helping drive the agribusiness’ success. Drawing off the local food and buy local movements, Sietsema plans to get the word out about his quality products using social media, as well as connections made with other local businesses. He wants to expand the orchard’s offerings to a winery and hard cider mill to help appeal to more people while maintaining the feel of the business. PHOTO: JOE BOOMGAARD

But the family decided to sell the property to developers and moved the orchard off the beaten path to 2 Mile Road in Ada in 1995. The Sietsema family continued to farm, but it didn’t have a direct-to-consumer presence like it had in the past. Over time, however, some of the family members wanted to find a way to reconnect with those consumers. Buying trends and the rise of technology just happened to play in their favor.

“We were continuing to farm, but we had the itch to get back to what we had at Knapp and the Beltline,” said Andy Sietsema, the fourth generation in the family orchard business. “And the markets changed. The whole buy local and local food movement is what’s helped us make the decision easier (even though) we’re a little off the beaten path.”

Sietsema is an unlikely orchardist. Growing up, he said he wanted nothing to do with the family farming business, where he worked during high school and college. In fact, he said he hated working in the orchard.

But Sietsema always knew he wanted to be in business for himself. He got a degree in management from Davenport University and tried working for other companies, but realized it just wasn’t for him. That led him to real estate — he currently works for Patriot Realty — because it allowed him a flexible schedule. Being cooped up in an office just wasn’t for him.

“In real estate, there are so many people and parts in a transaction that you have to work with. There are so many things that can go wrong, and when they go wrong, they look at you. Here, at the orchard, I don’t have to deal with anyone else’s problem. If a hailstorm comes through, at least it’s not five other entities’ problems. I’ve got a job, I do it and do it the right way — no excuses,” Sietsema told FoodBiz.

But while he longed for the Sietsema Orchards of old, he knew that operating a farm and business took a lot of work. His father didn’t want the 70-hour workweek that was common at the previous location.

“I told him that I didn’t think we’d have to. I’m here now, and with modern technology, we can make a profit and not work 70 hours,” he said. “The Internet is not what it was five years ago, let alone 12 years ago when we were at Knapp. Our name is widely known and we have a product that’s superior…(but) without the web, we’re not viable — not here, starting up.”

Sietsema leaned heavily on the social engagement capabilities of Facebook and Twitter to get the message out about the orchard last year. He said he was pleased with the turnout even though he only decided in June to start the operation up at the 2 Mile Road orchard. Throughout June, July and August of last year, he started promoting the apples and what the orchard had to offer.

“I took a look at other orchards and businesses and what we did have (at the former location). What we had worked. I just needed to tweak it and adapt it to today’s society and habits,” Sietsema said. “We want people to come here, but not have it be a touristy feel. I go a lot on feel. I know what I want to do in my head. I know what I have to do to implement that, but I have to take my time. You learn from the mistakes and you learn as you go. This is not our first rodeo — we know what we’re doing. Now, it’s a matter of time and massaging the business and how we want it to look. But we have to make a profit, and we might have to sacrifice some things.”

People come to an orchard store for the fruit, but they also want the experience of being on the farm. The location fit well with providing a quality experience, but the family didn’t have everything customers were looking for. They didn’t have other food products or baked goods or a corn maze to attract more people. That was partly because of local township regulations that the farm could only sell what it grows on its premises, but also because Sietsema didn’t want a frantic scene and long lines at the pastoral site.

“The bottom line is it needs to be profitable. We can do it and be profitable and have a down-home feel where a family can come out and spend a day walking through the orchard,” he said.

The family is looking to install a kitchen and bakery to be able to offer more food onsite, and it wants to extend its season with new varieties of apples and other fruits. Sietsema is investigating what it would take to have a hard cider mill and winery with a tasting room using all products made in the orchard. He said he is also considering doing “dinners on the farm” by bringing in local chefs to cook dishes with all local products, as well as get those chefs to include Sietsema Orchard products at their restaurants.

One key marketing opportunity for the operation will be the newly installed heirloom apples, which date back a century or more. The varieties are perfect for shipping and for ciders, but they don’t look like the apples people are familiar with today. In fact, they’re downright ugly, Sietsema said.

“We’re going to put together the ugly apple (campaign),” he said. “The marketing opportunity is that no one has them or has tasted them. With people going back to local foods — knowing where their food comes from and that it’s not been genetically modified — it’s something new to get people introduced to and understand. There’s a story behind it — they want to know Thomas Jefferson had these.”

Sietsema again hopes to leverage technology to help sell people on the idea of ugly apples, whether that’s through gift basket sales — the heirloom apples ship well — or through QR codes placed near the various trees that people can scan on their smart phones to get more information about the variety of apples.

Local First has also been an important venue for Sietsema. The organization approached him last fall, and membership has led to new business opportunities, he said. Sietsema participated in the group’s recent sustainability conference.

“Local First is such a success for the community and the country. We’re one of the few Local First organizations that the rest of the country looks at,” he said.

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TAGS:

• ada
• agribiz
• andy sietsema
• local first
• sietsema orchards