Oprah Winfrey Sows Seeds For Growing Venture

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From a little organic soil and seeds, one Angeleno has grown his business to more than $1 million in sales in less than a year.

Chad Corzine’s Urban Agriculture Co., which sells kits for growing flowers, vegetables, and herbs, had already gotten his products into stores nationwide when the annual Oprah’s Favorite Things list featured them last month, rocketing his online sales up 4,000 percent. He expects to have sold more than 160,000 kits by the end of the year and his business to triple next year.

“We were in a 6-foot-by-6-foot closet starting in January and now we’re in a 4,000-square-foot warehouse in Vernon,” Corzine said.

He created the grow kits so that even people who have little green space could grow food and other plants. The kits include seeds, soil, and a planter made from recycled tea bags for less than $20.

Corzine, 29, got the idea while working as the director of business development at his father’s candle and bath products company, Archipelago Botanicals. He wanted to start eating more fresh produce, but was surprised he couldn’t find any easy do-it-yourself solutions online.

He started assembling the kits a little over a year ago, spending Friday nights in his apartment prepping them to sell the next day at farmers markets. After a particularly successful day, he quit his job and raised $5,000 on Kickstarter, leading three individual investors to buy in.

Corzine said he originally thought he’d sell his product wholesale to garden stores, but quickly realized people were buying his kits as gifts.

He has since rebranded the business as an outdoor lifestyle company and plans to sell game sets such as bocce ball and croquet next year.

“We started with, Can you garden in a city?” he said. “Now we’re asking, What do people like about gardens?”

– Caroline Anderson

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