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