Dear Customers,
As we head into the cooler months, we are grateful for the harvest this year and for the beauty that surrounds us. But we are also looking forward to the new year, to celebrations with family and friends, and to all the big plans and changes in store for us.
Once again, I took the time to sit down with David Cross, Azure’s Marketing Director, for an interview that I hope will shed some light on a few topics of interest to you.
Anticipating and Anniversary
David Cross: Azure Standard’s anniversary is just around the corner, and I know you had mentioned earlier that it depends on what you'd call the anniversary. Is it the 40th anniversary of you making flour with a Magic Mill on your kitchen table, or is it the 30th anniversary when Azure Standard officially started? As you reflect back over that time, what are your lasting memories?
David Stelzer: It’s been an awesome journey. I would call it our 30th anniversary because that’s when we actually started using the Azure Standard name. Before that, I just called it Stelzer & Sons Grains and Flours.
Originally, I started delivering grains and flours to little stores here in the Northwest. Then, people including friends and family would ask me, "Hey, can you pick this up in Portland, or Eugene, or Seattle, or whatever, and bring it to me?" I started getting a lot of people that wanted us to bring other types of product, and not just flours and grains.
It happened so frequently, and I was doing so many favors, that I actually put together a little list, about 30 years ago now, of the things that I could do. I even set up wholesale accounts at a few select places in Portland.
Azure Standard is Born
In 1987, between Thanksgiving and Christmas, my wife and I spent almost that whole time working on my notes and ideas. Because the winter is our slow time on the farm, and because I was still farming full time then, we were able to sit down and put together all my notes from all the different places where I could get things wholesale, or close to it. We typed it all up with an old-fashioned word processor typewriter because we didn't have a computer yet.
One of the first Azure Standard logos
And then we reformatted that into a half-page layout, printed them on 8.5-by-11 sheets, folded them in half. And that was our first catalog – five 8.5-by-11 sheets folded in half.
That's the first time we ever put the Azure Standard name in print. And the name really expressed the vision that I had at that time. I really felt like I was commissioned to set a standard in the marketing of organic food, and I felt like there was such a huge need. I also was dedicated to maintaining a high standard of integrity with what I sold. I wasn't going to lie about what people were buying. In fact, I can't and won't do that to this day. Because, if it's subpar, I don't care if the paperwork is in order. We’re not doing it. Every time I might be tempted, all I have to do is think of the name Azure Standard. Azure Standard doesn't do that. It's what we do, and it's who we are.
Azure Standard Today
Thirty years ago, it was just my wife and I. Now, we have more than 100 people working at Azure. But organic has gone so mainstream. The largest retailer in the world, Amazon, just bought Whole Foods, a nationwide organic grocery store chain. But they didn't buy it because they wanted integrity in the marketplace. Amazon realizes that the marketplace is demanding a better, healthier line of food – and they want a slice of the pie.
With Amazon in the game, the largest segment of available organic food is now completely commercial. It's all about perception and the money that it makes. I think of all these changes to the marketplace during the last 30 years, all the players that have joined the organic game, and there is a renewed need for an Azure Standard of integrity.
Meeting Demand
Cross: The larger entities such as Walmart, Amazon, and Costco have got a lot of clout because of their size and their relationships with their suppliers. One of the things that has been a problem for Azure's customers in the last few months has been getting all the items they want from Azure. What message would you like to give our customers about the out-of-stock situation and how it's improving?
Stelzer: The last six months or so have definitely been a difficult time. We ended up having to spend a lot more money on infrastructure than we had budgeted for, and we ended up in a situation that makes it difficult to make the large purchases that we have always made in order to give the very best product at the very best price. In the past, we've bought whole farmers out. If I feel like they're a really good farm, or a really good farmer, we will contract with them or purchase their entire crop. Sometimes it's a year before that money can come back. But because of this, it's put us in a difficult cash flow situation.
Hopefully this fall we'll get a lot more things worked out. I'm working on several different options for being able to purchase products again, but we were not able to purchase like we traditionally have been able to for many months. And it's hurt. It's really hurt.
The only way that I'm really going to be able to turn that around is to just sell more. And I know that sounds like a misnomer because we don't have the things you want most. But we still do have the vast majority of products. I'm not able to make those investments that really give the best value for our customers, and I apologize for that. But the more that we can sell, the more margin that we're able to turn around and use for those larger purchases.
I want our customers to understand that we're not compromising quality; we're just compromising quantity. There's also a substitution aspect to the website now, where it recommends likely substitutions for a product that may or may not be in stock by the time the order is processed.
Customer Focus
Cross: I know that when we told our Drop Coordinators to encourage their own Drop customers to continue placing orders, we did see a slight uptick in sales.
Stelzer: If you're really interested in helping keep the Azure Standard vibrant, help us sell more product. That’s the way that we're going to get back to where we were and way beyond. I'm really excited about the future, and I think that the need is really strong again for having that standard in a marketplace. We can still give the very best values out there, especially for those that are able to buy in bulk.
Here at Azure, we're not held accountable for not maximizing profits other than to the marketplace itself. We answer to you, our customers. Our guarantee to you is that we will give you the very best that we can find.
Parcel Shipping
Cross: We now have a fully functional UPS parcel shipping option on our website, and I think it’s another great tool for customers who want product sooner rather than later. What does this innovation mean for the customer?
Stelzer: Over the past six months or so, we have heard a lot from different customers about the need to be able to get products more quickly, especially if they run out of something. We've actually worked pretty hard this summer to develop our parcel carrier option. We have always done a small amount of parcel carrier, but it was really kind of an afterthought.
We never were able to show you how much it would cost up front to have your order delivered via UPS or USPS. On the website, if you choose parcel carrier, it will actually list options with the costs for each one. This is especially convenient for those who are unable to join a Drop or are not near a delivery route, or they just don't want to have their orders delivered that way.
We’ve also experimented and figured out how to ship at least the semi-perishable frozen items and the refrigerated items via UPS as well, which we never even tried to do before. It’s just another option, another possibility, for our customers to get the products they need when they need it.
The Benefits of Independent Business
Cross: We are an independent company with independent roots. But what's the benefit to the customer? Why does that matter?
Stelzer: Azure is an independent family-owned company, and we support and help get other independent manufacturers and small companies off the ground. We believe in an independent food supply chain where you know what you’re getting, where it came from, and how it was grown or produced. It is one of our core principles. Not only was America created on independent, entrepreneurial businesses, but there is a level of accountability with an independent company that a corporation would never have.
Of course, I am not talking about a corporation’s structure. I’m referring to the concept of not being independent. The loyalty of a publicly-traded corporation or a subsidiary is to its parent company. That parent company will dictate what is important to that company. And, typically, in almost every case, the most important thing is just the bottom line and compliance. A publicly-traded or a subsidiary company is focused on making a profit or aligning that company’s goals with the parent company’s goals.
In an independent company, the focus is on the passion that we have for the product, for the experience, and for the customer. That’s Azure. That is what we strive for each and every day.
Yours in Abundant Living,
Originally Published in November 2017