| Farms can reap big dividends in profits and consumer | | | | fruits and vegetables in summer, showcasing a |
| loyalty with strategic naming. | | | | kaleidoscope of luscious produce from farms along |
| Sierra Schlesinger smiles easily while selling two | | | | the state’s central coast. A walk down the line |
| pounds of shelling beans at the farmers’ market | | | | reveals some of the farms’ intriguing brand |
| in Berkeley, California. “People know us as the | | | | names: Ella Bella (named after the owner’s |
| dirty girls – even Joe (the farmer) gets tagged | | | | daughter, Ella), Full Belly (need we say more?), |
| as one although he bristles a little at that….They | | | | Blossom Bluff, Gospel Flat. And while the names may |
| remember us,” she says. The farm gets its | | | | be branding products that are worlds away from |
| name from the original owners, two women who | | | | commercialized big business, they follow principles of |
| tried to call it Fan Tan Farm in 1995. Local farmers | | | | brand name creation that are familiar to those of us |
| nicknamed them the “dirty girls” and the | | | | from professional naming firms. Unique company |
| name stuck. Today Dirty Girl Produce and its Early Girl | | | | names like Frog Hollow Farm, (whose yellow peaches |
| dry-farmed tomatoes have become legendary in the | | | | are indescribably delicious) and Flying Disc Ranch |
| San Francisco Bay Area and beyond. | | | | (where the fresh, soft dates are more delectable |
| “Sometimes people don’t even bother to | | | | than fine caramel) suggest superior produce, grown |
| look at the signs,” says Dirty Girl worker Steve | | | | with great care. They draw you in for a taste and |
| Wright, “but they know what they’re | | | | make it easy to remember the brand later. |
| looking for and ask you: ‘Are these the Dirty Girl | | | | Such company names also pique your curiosity and |
| tomatoes?’” | | | | make you want to know more about the farms |
| The recent movement to eat local and organic has | | | | themselves. And the farms are enthusiastic about |
| people thinking a lot more about where their food is | | | | sharing. The family that owns Gospel Flat |
| coming from and how it’s grown. And distinct, | | | | Farm—named after the four churches that once |
| creative farm names help smaller farms differentiate | | | | stood on the property—regularly invites students |
| their produce from that of their industrial agribusiness | | | | from the nearby middle school to see sustainable |
| competitors (whose produce usually isn’t labeled | | | | agriculture in action. (Here the farm looks more like an |
| in the supermarket). Agricultural brand naming also | | | | enormous garden than an actual commercial farm, |
| makes it easier for consumers to feel connected on | | | | with organic crops thriving next to rows of flowers.) |
| a personal level with the people who grow their food, | | | | Bottom line? People remember engaging names and |
| “putting a face” on what’s often seen | | | | when the produce is consistently good, they develop |
| merely as a commodity. | | | | a fervent loyalty to those farm brands. |
| Bay Area farmers’ markets are a heaven of | | | | |