Case Study
Bailey’s Local Foods
The goal of Bailey’s Local Foods is simple: to take the hassle out of buying local. As a year-round, on-line farmers’ market, Bailey’s gives customers in the Waterloo area one-stop access to over 140 local farms and producers, with easy online ordering and convenient pickup locations and delivery options. With the logistical support of Open Food Network’s digital tools, Bailey’s has seen tremendous growth—and plans to keep growing—while keeping its small-scale roots at heart.
Taking the farmers’ market online
From its start as a small buying club, Bailey’s grew quickly, evolving into an online farmers’ market with a ‘just in time’ inventory of fresh products. In the early days, orders were coordinated with an Excel spreadsheet and pickups were moved from the family carport to a local church. Maryrose Ivanco, co-owner of Bailey’s, explains their model:
“We are not a co-op, CSA, discount buying club or box program. Instead, our farmers and producers inform us of their offerings which we list online for customers to order. Being able to place online orders efficiently is what gives our members easy access to so much choice!”
Expanding their offerings in a manageable way was another priority for Bailey’s. They knew that customers valued the authentic connection of using small-scale, local food producers, but also wanted access to more variety and new product categories. Designating Bailey’s as a ‘central hub’ through which other OFN enterprises could sell their products has facilitated this expansion of product offerings, increasing Bailey’s network of suppliers and the ease of coordinating them.
“OFN has been a life saver for us. It is capable of handling our scale – and most of the [OFN] volunteers … are producers or run food hubs themselves, so they totally understand. They have been generous with their time and support. They helped us through onboarding all of our producers and products, and now are there to help us grow” — Maryrose Ivanco, co-owner of Bailey’s Local Foods
Empowering local suppliers
Along with promoting local food to customers, Bailey’s is a prime example of how food hubs can empower small-scale farmers and producers. Each product in Bailey’s market is source-identified and linked to the supplier’s online profile, so customers know who and where their food is coming from. Suppliers also set their own prices, with Bailey’s adding a small sustainable markup. One of the biggest benefits of the OFN system is that once suppliers have created their digital product list, they can easily distribute through multiple on-line shops, hubs or markets. Since Bailey’s is a central hub, new local food enterprises in the area can quickly get established by connecting to Bailey’s customers via OFN tools.
Weathering the storm
Like most businesses, Bailey’s had to rapidly adjust to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. The situation brought challenges, but also unprecedented growth as customers and suppliers alike moved online at a remarkable speed. With years of experience in online distribution and short supply chains under their belt, Bailey’s was ideally positioned to respond to the sudden surge of demand for local food and online shopping channels that characterized the early days of the pandemic.
Looking ahead
As momentum in the region’s local food movement continues to build, Bailey’s is projecting further growth, targeting a move to a larger facility, while continuing to evaluate and refine their ‘in house’ systems in order to make buying local an easy choice.
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