By Clint Thompson
The Sweet Grown Alabama branding program continues to be a valuable resource for the state’s agriculture industry to connect with consumers.
Founded in 2019, the program allows specialty crop producers and their farming operations to be included in a database that serves consumers who want to support locally grown produce. They could be searching for strawberries, peaches, vegetables, pecans; all are included and easily searched for on the website.
Asiling Walding, assistant director of Sweet Grown Alabama, discussed the program’s importance during the recent Alabama Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association (AFVGA) Conference and Tradeshow.
“It’s grown exponentially, getting right up to over 400 members. To us, that’s still just a drop in the bucket of so many wonderful farms, farm stands and farmers’ markets in the state that we want to be able to reach,” Walding said. “We are striving every day to get out there, meet these folks and try to tell them about Sweet Grown Alabama and all the wonderful things we want to help them do and help grow their farm.”
Program Specifics
Membership dues are $100. Along with being included in the online database, members can brand their products with the Sweet Grown Alabama logo. Consumers can find what Sweet Grown Alabama products are near them.
Alabama Ag Commissioner Rick Pate spoke at the AFVGA Conference and touted the success of the program.
“Commissioner Pate was talking to the group at AFVGA that this program has done so much since COVID. Looking out at the crowd, there are so many Sweet Grown Alabama members and farms here that we get to hear from them and their testimonies of, ‘I’ve used the logo on this product,’ and ‘I have met new consumers.’ ‘I have sold more products.’
“We also get to network with new potential members here. We get to bring people in as well as get to see the other folks here.”
According to an Auburn University research study, consumers were willing to pay up to $1 more at the farmers market for certain items branded, “Sweet Grown Alabama” versus non-branded items from Alabama.