Richmond residents have yet another way to get local produce delivered to their doors.
Arganica Farm Club, a D.C.-based grocery delivery service, expanded its services to Richmond last week.
Dominique Kostelac, founder of Arganica, launched his business in Richmond on Feb 6.
“There was a niche here where we can reach a lot of people fairly quickly,” said Kostelac.
“Richmond was a no-brainer.”
Besides Richmond, the delivery service serves D.C., Maryland, Northern Virginia and Virginia Beach.
Similar businesses have been cropping up in Richmond over the past two years, including Dominion Harvest, Relay Foods and Farm to Family. Arganica is the latest competitor to try its hand in Richmond and tap into growing demand for fresh, local food. It might also be the biggest.
The weekly service allows customers to purchase fresh and organic food from local farms and small producers through email, and have it delivered to their homes. People sign up for a membership and pick from the products Arganica features on their site each week, and the company sends it to them every Sunday.
Kostelac wouldn’t disclose exact membership numbers but said it’s pressing five figures and rapidly growing.
“I’d say 20 percent a week.”
Because business has been growing, Kostelac said he expects to do $50 to $100 million in sales in the next two years.
Arganica just expanded to Virginia Beach two days ago, and Kostelac has plans to branch out to Baltimore within a couple of weeks.
Along with expanding its services, Kostelac is looking to grow his team. Arganica has about 100 employees, and he plans to hire 50 or more within the next two months.
Members can purchase fruits, vegetables, pastas, seafood, meat, wine, beer and other items that come from different areas that vary week to week.
“We have anywhere from 500 to 1,000 products featured.”
Food is sent to a distribution center where delivery teams come and pick it up and deliver it to the customer’s home.
Kostelac said about half of the products are delivered to them and the other they go and pick up from the producers.
“We go to Lancaster, Monterey, Virginia, Chesapeake and the Shenandoah Valley.”
For this week, Richmond residents have the choice of a wide assortment of produce, meat, poultry, breads, and dairy products from Polyface Farms, Chesapeake Seafood, Pennsylvania Farms Co-Op and others.
Prior to the food distribution industry, Kostelac was living in D.C. for 18 years working as a real estate developer buying, selling and rehabilitating historic properties until the now CEO said the real estate market crashed.
“The economy made us do a face plant,” he said.
After that, he and his family moved to a farm in Advance Mills, Va., in 2005 where the idea for Arganica grew.
“I was harvesting wood and maple syrup here on the farm and realized I could be selling this.”
Kostelac made syrup and harvested firewood on his farm and sold it to D.C. residents for a couple seasons before deciding to launch Arganica in October 2009.
He wanted to create a central source to connect people with local farmers and offer a wide selection of fresh produce.
“An aggregate just makes sense for people economically.”
Memberships are $80 for three months, $140 for six months and $250 for a year. A standard Arganica crate costs $25 for a mix of organic and local foods and $35 for the “all local” box, which is larger.
“We’re anti-CSA. People buy what they want.”
Richmond residents have yet another way to get local produce delivered to their doors.
Arganica Farm Club, a D.C.-based grocery delivery service, expanded its services to Richmond last week.
Dominique Kostelac, founder of Arganica, launched his business in Richmond on Feb 6.
“There was a niche here where we can reach a lot of people fairly quickly,” said Kostelac.
“Richmond was a no-brainer.”
Besides Richmond, the delivery service serves D.C., Maryland, Northern Virginia and Virginia Beach.
Similar businesses have been cropping up in Richmond over the past two years, including Dominion Harvest, Relay Foods and Farm to Family. Arganica is the latest competitor to try its hand in Richmond and tap into growing demand for fresh, local food. It might also be the biggest.
The weekly service allows customers to purchase fresh and organic food from local farms and small producers through email, and have it delivered to their homes. People sign up for a membership and pick from the products Arganica features on their site each week, and the company sends it to them every Sunday.
Kostelac wouldn’t disclose exact membership numbers but said it’s pressing five figures and rapidly growing.
“I’d say 20 percent a week.”
Because business has been growing, Kostelac said he expects to do $50 to $100 million in sales in the next two years.
Arganica just expanded to Virginia Beach two days ago, and Kostelac has plans to branch out to Baltimore within a couple of weeks.
Along with expanding its services, Kostelac is looking to grow his team. Arganica has about 100 employees, and he plans to hire 50 or more within the next two months.
Members can purchase fruits, vegetables, pastas, seafood, meat, wine, beer and other items that come from different areas that vary week to week.
“We have anywhere from 500 to 1,000 products featured.”
Food is sent to a distribution center where delivery teams come and pick it up and deliver it to the customer’s home.
Kostelac said about half of the products are delivered to them and the other they go and pick up from the producers.
“We go to Lancaster, Monterey, Virginia, Chesapeake and the Shenandoah Valley.”
For this week, Richmond residents have the choice of a wide assortment of produce, meat, poultry, breads, and dairy products from Polyface Farms, Chesapeake Seafood, Pennsylvania Farms Co-Op and others.
Prior to the food distribution industry, Kostelac was living in D.C. for 18 years working as a real estate developer buying, selling and rehabilitating historic properties until the now CEO said the real estate market crashed.
“The economy made us do a face plant,” he said.
After that, he and his family moved to a farm in Advance Mills, Va., in 2005 where the idea for Arganica grew.
“I was harvesting wood and maple syrup here on the farm and realized I could be selling this.”
Kostelac made syrup and harvested firewood on his farm and sold it to D.C. residents for a couple seasons before deciding to launch Arganica in October 2009.
He wanted to create a central source to connect people with local farmers and offer a wide selection of fresh produce.
“An aggregate just makes sense for people economically.”
Memberships are $80 for three months, $140 for six months and $250 for a year. A standard Arganica crate costs $25 for a mix of organic and local foods and $35 for the “all local” box, which is larger.
“We’re anti-CSA. People buy what they want.”
These are great services. We are members of a weekly delivery service called Horse and Buggy Produce out of the Charlottesville area. We love it! Everyone should get produce this way!
I also love Horse & Buggy–a great service with Great People in the Charlottesville Area. We like the CSA concept Horse & Buggy uses because it brings us what is freshest and best from the local farmers based on the farmer’s schedules, not our inferences of what should be best now. Part of what I pay for is that local knowledge Horse & Buggy provides. It also supports local farmers to efficiently produce their crops–not force their production schedules to fit my tastes, hence I get fresher, less expensive produce. The Meat, Poultry and fish I have gotten from Horse… Read more »
We support local farms in our area here in Richmond thru Fall Line Co-op and our children @ WmMary support two co-ops there, Real Foods Williamsburg and Off The Vine Market. Pretty much the same concepts, however, we noticed that the membership for Arganica is yearly and pricey and a majority of their food is from PA, not VA.
I don’t recommend Arganica. I signed up the day this article came out. It took a few weeks to get processed (understandable). But once my membership was approved, despite following the instructions, my first order never arrived, and the following week, I didn’t even receive an order form. Current trying to get a refund on the subscription fee.