By Clint Thompson
Sweet Grown Alabama has grown leaps and bounds since its inception just seven years ago. Sweet Grown Alabama Director Ellie Watson talked about the program and her vision for it moving forward.
“We’re incredibly proud of how much growth Sweet Grown Alabama has had since 2019. We went from a concept to a program with over 600 members. That has been an incredible testament of how the industry has taken our program to heart, and really, every single agricultural group has supported what we’re doing,” Watson said.
“What we would love to see in five or 10 years is just this continuation of Sweet Grown Alabama becoming a household name for consumers. We want, immediately, when someone thinks about a local product, for the Sweet Grown Alabama logo to come to mind and for them to use our website as a trusted resource. We have made incredible strides since 2019, and our marketing impressions and numbers grow every year. But for me, it is still something that we’re striving to increase, is that consumer recognition of the brand so that we become a household name.”
Locally Grown
Sweet Grown Alabama is a one stop shop for Alabama growers and consumers to find fruit and vegetable farmers across the state. The Sweet Grown Alabama logo emphasizes locally grown and provides a path for the state’s producers to market their commodities more effectively.
“We’re doing our best, and we have grown with lots of creative marketing strategies. We have found farmers in every corner of this state who maybe haven’t been involved in other organizations in the past, but Sweet Grown Alabama has been a really good fit for them to get involved and to reach new consumers,” Watson said. “We hear stories every day of consumers who are right down the road from Alabama farmers, but they never knew the farm existed until they found that farm on the Sweet Grown Alabama database.
“For us, that’s a real measure of success, knowing that we’re putting real dollars back into the pockets of Alabama farmers and fishermen through our work. And we will continue doing that and continue helping our consumers support those farmers easily by finding them on sweetgrownalabama.org.”