Farming in lavender

Expand the product line and go retail to survive

BRIGHTON — John Murrell is a pioneer. He and his wife started the first lavender farm in Ontario. "We weren’t farmers," he said. "We were dreamers."

Neither of them had worked long enough to retire and both plunged full-time into this new venture, laying the marketing ground work for others.

Started in 2002, and after investing $250,000, they turned their first profit this year and expect to finally pay back their investment over the next five years.

"We’ve invested so much money, we can’t turn away now," says Murrell. He says if he had known how much work and money it would take to get started, "I’d think twice."Lavender is a perennial crop and takes two to three years to mature before you can produce a product to sell.

But the hardest work is done and they are seeing the end of the tunnel. In fact, they are planning to franchise the business. Originally, from England, they moved to Canada to be closer to their daughter. They first set up a traditional lavender farm near Stirling, but moved to Brighton two years ago and set up a store front with a greenhouse at the back with 10,000 plants, which are a big part of the attraction. Catering to the popularity of the 100-mile diet and the trend to buy locally grown food, he realized "people want to see it growing." If local production were not a factor, consumers can purchase cheaper dry lavender imported from Europe, where large producers and markets have already been established, he said.

While the Murrells wanted to try their hand at farming, they discovered what many niche market farmers have learned. Most of the workload does not include traditional farming. Murrell says work is split between farming, marketing and manufacturing. "We have people pop by who are thinking about going into the industry," says Murrell. "Farmers ask me ‘You have to get off your tractor?’"

Lavender Hills sells lavender everything, from lavender jams and chocolates, to soaps, body lotions and hand creams. It’s all in their store called Lavender Hills, surrounded by Lavender plants and their purple hue.

Since the lavender market was non-existent when they first started the business, they had to create one and diversify quickly. "We’ve turned from being farmers to skin chemists creating lotions and massage creams – everything lavender. Manufacturing was a necessity, a move he regrets but deemed necessary to survive. Although they sell wholesale to 50 stores across the country, the money is in retail, he says. Here’s how revenue breaks down: 80 per cent from the store, 10 per cent from wholesale, and 10 per cent from Internet sales (www.lavenderhills.biz).

Murrell says he is determined to continue on in the industry. "Like a winery, it’s a huge investment if you want to make it your main source of income. It all depends on whether you can generate the interest for your brand," he says. "The secret in this business is in good marketing.