Dear Loyal Customers,
The very first signs of spring have come to the farm, and we are joyfully watching the early wildflowers make their debut. We are grateful for the snow we received over the winter, which will supply us with water for the growing season, but the crocuses poking up have prompted a raging case of spring fever around the farm! We are suddenly motivated to get in all the last minute planning for our field crops! I can hardly wait to put the plow to the ground and begin on our large acreage crops.
Our Ellie’s Eden starts are thriving and ready to begin their journey to your gardens. I love to look across the greenhouse and imagine these eager little seedlings growing into mature plants in your gardens across the entire country! We value the partnership we have with you as together we spread healthy food across America.
This winter at Azure, we have been pondering some big decisions. Over the course of the past two years, our output has more than doubled. As you probably know, this fall we couldn’t pull orders and process products fast enough to keep up with demand. We are grateful that you stood beside us, bearing with drop delays and scheduling snafus.
We understand how disruptive it is for our customers when delivery times and dates are inconsistent. We have analyzed our processes and worked hard to become more efficient. Supply chain and demand increases have played a part, but it is clear that space constraints under increasing demand is slowing us down. To avoid this becoming a long-term problem, we have to increase our stock — AND our space.
We have considered several options, including a second distribution center in the eastern half of the country. After doing quite a bit of research on that, we realized that building a warehouse in the east will take us more time than we have, and will impact our ability to serve our customers in a timely manner. We think that a warehouse in the east may be a goal in the not-so-distant future, but in the meantime, we have made the exciting decision to enlarge our current warehouse in Moro. We will be doubling its size and capacity! Enlarging our warehouse will enable us to keep more products in stock and our trucks loaded and running on time.
If all goes according to plan, allowing for delays associated with building in the supply chain crisis era, our goal is to have the expansion complete by fall 2022!
We have some ideas about how you can support Azure’s expansion by getting involved in a customer sponsored warehouse program. Several years ago, many of you participated in our customer sponsored inventory program, which provided an opportunity to receive Azure Credit at an attractive rate of return. A similar program for the warehouse would allow you to partner with us in bringing affordable, natural foods to more families across the country. More details to come!
We appreciate you hanging in there with us as we grow, and we assure you that, as always, we will do our absolute best to get every order filled as quickly as we possibly can. We are committed to ensuring our current production will not be affected throughout the expansion!
I wish everyone a spring full of growth and new life, and I will leave you with a reminder that it is almost time to plant your garden. If you begin planning now, you will maximize your growing time – Ellie’s Eden starts are waiting for you!
Gratefully,
David Stelzer
Founder and CEO, Azure Standard