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Episode Summary
If you’re a farmer who can’t set your own prices, it can be disheartening—especially when you know just how much time, effort, and money it takes to put out those products. As heartbreaking as it sounds, that was the reality that many dairy farmers in the US faced. Because of that reality, many dairy farmers tried to either add or transition their dairy farms into hemp farms. And one of those farmers is Sam Bellavance.
In this episode of Carrot Cashflow, we’re talking to farmer Sam Bellavance of South Hero, Vermont to talk about how he and his team created a brand that helped Sunset Lake CBD to stand out as a premium producer in a sea of CBD companies.
Today’s Guest: Sam Bellavance
Sam Bellavance is the founder and executive director of Sunset Lake CBD. As a second-generation dairy farmer in South Hero, Vermont, he saw and experienced the struggles of dairy farming, to which he responded to by adding hemp production to their farm and jumping into the CBD market. Four years in, and Sunset Lake CBD has made itself into a reliable producer of pesticide-free, premium, and affordable CBD products.
Relevant Links
Sunset Lake CBD – Website | Shop | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter
In this episode of Carrot Cashflow
- Diego introduces the episode’s guest, Sam Bellavance (00:32)
- Adding hemp to the dairy farm (01:44)
- Hemp as an add-on that fits the farm (03:26)
- Taking a chance in a crowded CBD market (04:51)
- Commodity versus boutique products (07:39)
- Conceiving what Sam Bellavance wanted his brand to be (09:50)
- Sunset Lake CBD’s target market (12:02)
- Brand visuals that resonate with the quality of the product and customer expectations (14:23)
- Being intentional with wording in the branding (16:37)
- Figuring out selling CBD products through visuals (18:12)
- Snapping photos with a phone versus hiring a professional photographer (20:22)
- Deciding on product listings and descriptions (21:19)
- Sunset Lake CBD’s customer split (24:08)
- Transparency with the results of a quality test (27:49)
- Finding the middle ground of pricing, quality, and customer expectations (31:13)
- Testing the average product versus your product and posting the results online (32:37)
- Pre-purchase, at-purchase, and post-purchase buyer experience (34:37)
- Sam Bellavance’s advice on creating a brand that matches what you do, who you are, and what the customers want (36:52)
- What you think is important versus what your customers think is important (40:32)
- What’s a good CBD product to try for a first-time user? (44:19)
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