Starting from 0 to 10% of Australia's Strawberry nursery market with Jack and Lisa Beattie

Jack and Lisa Beattie didn’t set out to build a strawberry propagation business. After leaving Jack’s family dairy operation and trying several different ventures, an unexpected opportunity at Ouse in Tasmania changed their direction.

Today, JCLM Farming produces around 10% of Australia’s strawberry nursery plants. Jack and Lisa share the decisions, setbacks and lessons behind that growth, and their ambition to become the provider of choice for Australian strawberry growers.

In this episode:

Leaving the family farm and starting againWhy their early businesses were important stepping stonesThe unexpected move from dairy into strawberry propagationThe moment they decided to back one business rather than keep diversifyingWhy Ouse is uniquely suited to growing strawberry nursery plantsGrowing JCLM to around 10% of the Australian marketFinding and bringing new strawberry genetics into AustraliaHow six plants can become millions through propagationDigitising the customer journey from ordering through to deliveryBuilding a team around Jack and Lisa’s different strengthsTheir goal to double JCLM’s share of the Australian marketChapters

00:00 Introduction and JCLM Farming today

02:20 Jack’s farming roots and moving from the UK to Tasmania

05:09 Leaving the family dairy business

07:25 The difficult first decade on their own

09:06 Their first businesses and lessons from things that didn’t work

12:12 Lisa’s perspective on money, growth and building the business

16:11 How strawberries unexpectedly entered the picture

18:55 The two phone calls that changed their direction