Hypothetical Scenario for Our Training Exercise
We have created a scenario with issues and questions that you might encounter in your position as an advisor/educator with folks in the natural products/medicinal herb industry. Please read this over and give it some thought before the training session. At the training session, you will be assigned to one of three groups: Agriculture and Natural Resources, Chemistry and Manufacturing, or Marketing, Business and Financing. Throughout the day, you should be searching for the answers to the questions for your group. Be sure to discuss it with others in your group; this is where the real learning, sharing, networking takes place. In the late afternoon, you will break out into your groups and have 30 minutes to meet and compile agreed upon answers to the questions. Then each group will have 10 minutes to give a presentation about how you would approach the problem and advise these clients. You can appoint one member of your group, or several of you can do it together. This is where you can get as creative as you want.
Amanda and Marc and their Herbal Tea Business
Amanda and Marc have a 40 acre farm in Madison County. They inherited the farm a few years ago from Amanda’s grandparents. It has a good house, barns, several outbuildings in good condition, working tractors, and an irrigation well. Amanda grew up on a farm and has a degree from NC State in Horticulture. Marc has a degree in business and had started a small body care product business (lavender based soaps, lotions, and lip balms made by a company in New Jersey) in Raleigh. It was very successful and he sold the business for a tidy profit. He has no farming experience. Amanda and Marc want to grow medicinal herbs on their farm and create a line of healing teas to be sold in bulk, tea bags, and as bottled finished products. They will live in the house and can convert some of the outbuildings into work areas if needed. They want to produce as many of the ingredients as they possibly can. These are smart and capable people and they have done their homework. They have sought out three subject matter experts to answer some of their questions.
Agriculture and Natural Resources Expert:
The farm has 20 acres of wooded land; 15 acres of land that has been used to grow vegetables, silage corn, and tobacco; and 5 acres with buildings and roads.
1. Amanda would like to grow ginseng in the woods for use in the teas. She realizes that it usually takes 7 to 8 years to get full-sized roots in a wild-simulated or wood-grown setting, but she wants to know if she can sow the seeds thicker than usual and harvest the roots when they are three years old, thereby getting a high yield of young roots that should make a better tea. She envisions planting about five acres of her woods in ginseng. They don’t intend to start producing the ginseng tea until they have their own roots. Does this sound feasible to you from a horticultural viewpoint? Do you have any concerns from an environmental stewardship viewpoint? What regulations does she need to know about? What about security concerns? What about plant identification?
2. Amanda also wants to grow California Poppy in the open fields. She knows that this is an annual crop and if she sets out transplants next spring, she will have a crop to harvest by late summer. How will you advise her? For example, what equipment should she have on hand? What services might she need? What might she need for proper post-harvest handling? What problems might she encounter?
Chemistry and Manufacturing Expert:
Amanda and Mark want each tea to have a specific purpose. For example, the tea based on California poppy will be a bedtime tea to help you sleep. The ginseng based tea will be for stress reduction and mental clarity. And the tea with feverfew will help relieve headaches.
3. They want to know how to make each batch of tea equally effective. How would you advise them? What resources are available to help them? Is there a testing service that can help them ensure the quality and effectiveness of each batch of tea? Do you envision any legal issues that they might run up against?
4. They would like to use the Natural Products Processing Facility to make and package their teas. They have questions about drying, grinding, packaging, and bottling. They want their product to be different from what is currently on the market and wondered if there was an unusual tea bag or other delivery method available to them. How would you advise them? What problems might they encounter? Can you think of any permits, licenses, or certificates they might need? How about quantity of product they want to produce?
Marketing, Business, and Financing
Amanda and Mark have a great idea, but they don’t have a good image for their product yet. They want their product to stand out in the marketplace, but they don’t have the creativity to come up with a name, logo, and image.
5. How would you advise them on getting a name, logo, image, etc.? What ‘trigger questions’ will help them think through the whole process? Who will you advise them to visit with?
6. They don’t have a business plan or their financing lined up yet. Where can they go for that help? What advice would you give them? What would you tell them about expectations about making a profit in the first year of harvest?