Persephone Brewing is so much more than a Beer farm
Persephone Brewing on the Sunshine Coast is really a utopian beerlandia. Set in a big red barn on a picturesque acreage, this brewery has grown its own culture. Known as The Beer Farm they are all that and then some (it will be hard to squeeze all of their goodness into one article).
First and foremost, Persephone is an environmentally conscious, socially aware, community minded group of amazing passionate people with many layers to their business. An 11-acre farm and craft micro-brewery, they are located in the uber charming seaside community of Gibsons. On their farm they operate two hop yards, an apple orchard, a vegetable garden, they make cider, they operate an onsite farmers market, they have chickens, a tasting room, event facilities, live music, a food truck and more.
Everything they grow on the farm is organic (although not certified). And as well as growing vegetables for the farmers market, they provide to local farm to table restaurants, have an onsite market and offer a Community Supported Agriculture program. The “Beer Farm Food Box” is created for their CSA customers. This super successful business model allows farms to continue operating by charging customers up front in a “share” structure essentially purchasing the farm’s harvest in advance and then receiving a portion of the crops as they’re harvested. The Beer Farm Food Boxes contain a variety of vegetables AND because they are a beer farm, it is optional to include beer in your boxes. They have also started a home delivery service.
Every aspect in the business has a greater purpose and is recycled and reused when possible. As part of this philosophy, they have implemented a Micro-Bulk Organic Feed Program allowing the community of local farmers to “become more profitable by providing access to certified organic bulk feed locally and at a cost comparable to (or less than) the current cost of non-organic bagged feed available through local retailers”. Neighbours helping neighbours grow organically. Everything they do here is big picture.
Persephone has built an extraordinary business model and they are passionate trailblazers, setting an example of what all businesses should strive for to make a better world. They are actually a certified B Corporation (as they describe this designation: ‘B Corp’ is to business as ‘Fair Trade’ is to coffee, or ‘Organic’ is to veggies) stating, “We take a ‘triple-bottom-line’ (People, Planet, Profit) approach to our business model, and incorporate both social and environmental sustainability into our operating principles and core values. We are committed to using the power of business to help solve social and ecological problems.”
These community heroes are also involved in building a permanent space for the local farmers market and they have built a Kids in Ag Fund allowing Sunshine Coast schools to apply for a grant from the Kids in Ag Fund for projects that connect kids to growing food.
And with all of this goodness in full operation, they also make time for good times on the farm with loads of live music and events. There is so much to learn from the Persephone Beer Farm, please visit, support their dream and go to their website to learn more about how you can implement some of their revolutionary practices into your own business.
Cheers!
http://www.persephonebrewing.com
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