SHERIDAN — For “Papa” Joe Wesnitzer, growing leafy greens started as a hobby. A friend had approached him for mechanical help building a self-contained hydroponic system and the project spurred Wesnitzer to apply a lifelong interest in gardening to a new environment.
Now, Wesnitzer has been selling greens — primarily lettuce varieties, but also kale, swiss chard and basil — for nearly four years at local farmers markets and stores.
His business partner and son-in-law, Adam Bunker, joined the business full time in 2019 with the aim of helping to expand Papa Joe’s Produce.
The company operates two greenhouses currently, but has begun construction of a third that will serve primarily as a research and development setup to test production of various flowering crops such as tomatoes.
According to Bunker, funding from the IMPACT 307 Start-Up Challenge could help accelerate the duo’s capital growth plan, which includes two additional phases.
Papa Joe’s Produce’s Adam Bunker shows the healthy root system on a head of romaine lettuce Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2020. Using the raft hydroponic system Papa Joe’s Produce is able to produce 600 heads of lettuce per week.
The next phase will focus on increasing local sales through greater customer awareness and product availability. Wesnitzer and Bunker will also aim to diversify into other crops.
“At some point, it becomes easier to provide existing customers with additional types of produce than to reach new customers for lettuce,” Bunker said.
Papa Joe’s Produce has already worked to have produce in several local stores and restaurants. Next they’ll need to let customers know where to find it.
“Looking several years into the future, by the time we reach Phase III growth, our production will likely exceed local demand and we’ll have to significantly expand our regional sales,” Bunker said. “That stage of growth comes with an entirely new set of challenges — primarily with transportation/distribution of products.”
Start-Up Challenge funding would enable Papa Joe’s Produce to more quickly begin construction on its second phase facilities — which in turn increases production/sales to a point that the business can self-fund continued annual expansion from revenue instead of investment.
As the business grows, Bunker anticipates needing to hire one or two part-time employees to help manage each additional greenhouse.
The business isn’t solely focused on profitability and growth, though.
Both Bunker and Wesnitzer want to help expand Wyoming residents’ access to local foods more generally.
“Fresher produce is overall more nutritious, so we want our communities to have better access to these higher-quality foods,” Bunker said. “At the same time, we want our fellow producers to succeed because there is significant economic opportunity for Wyoming.”
He noted most of the food consumed in the state comes from outside Wyoming, so the opportunity to bring those dollars back into the state is high and could allow the state to embrace its agricultural roots and increase revenues at the same time.
Adam Bunker, left, moves heads of romaine lettuce from a 72 plant raft to a 36 plant raft so the maturing plants have more room to grow while discussing meeting schedules with owner Joe Wesnitzer at Papa Joe’s Produce Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2020.
While growing Papa Joe’s Produce takes much of the duo’s time, Bunker volunteers as president of the Wyoming Food Coalition and Wesnitzer has partnered regularly with Rooted in Wyoming and local educators.
In 2020, Bunker and Wesnitzer also advocated for the Food Freedom Act before the Wyoming Legislature. The legislation allows customers to buy homemade, homegrown products directly from producers. The change opened new possibilities for local food producers in the state, but Bunker said more can be done to increase access and help producers.
Bunker will have a chance to make the case to the IMPACT 307 Start-Up Challenge judges next month during Pitch Night, set for Oct. 28.
At Pitch Night, the top three judge-selected entrepreneur plans will each receive a $5,000 award and access to additional working capital from a $100,000 seed fund. All finalists will receive incubator space, ongoing counseling and access to some professional services to aid in their business.
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