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 again
• Why their early businesses were important stepping stones
• The unexpected move from dairy into strawberry propagation
• The moment they decided to back one business rather than keep diversifying
• Why Ouse is uniquely suited to growing strawberry nursery plants
• Growing JCLM to around 10% of the Australian market
• Finding and bringing new strawberry genetics into Australia
• How six plants can become millions through propagation
• Digitising the customer journey from ordering through to delivery
• Building a team around Jack and Lisa’s different strengths
• Their goal to double JCLM’s share of the Australian market

Chapters

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
22:43 Building JCLM into 10% of Australia’s strawberry plant market
24:44 Creating value for customers and aligning the team
26:29 Jack and Lisa’s different strengths as leaders
28:45 Global genetics and the story of six Eclipse plants
32:34 Building a digital-first strawberry nursery
37:47 The ambition to double JCLM’s Australian market share
39:14 What are the chances your strawberries started at JCLM?
40:41 The strawberry needle scare, COVID and labour challenges