We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Robyn Ukegawa a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Robyn, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love for you to start by sharing your thoughts about the pros and cons of family businesses.

My family owns the Carlsbad Strawberry Company. My grandfather first moved down to Carlsbad after World War 2 and started farming tomatoes and strawberries in Carlsbad, CA since 1952. We would mostly focus on wholesaling produce. After my father graduated college in 1982, he came back to help my grandpa run the family farm. Due to high costs of water and labor, it was very difficult to remain sustainable and retain revenue. We stopped growing tomatoes and focused solely on the strawberries. My father introduced the idea of the U-pick strawberry fields in 2000 after realizing our business could not remain sustainable and compete with Mexico by just commercially selling our produce. Our business model changed more toward agriculture tourism where we prioritize educating the public on how and where their produce is coming from. They also get a hands-on and unique experience. After the Covid-19 pandemic impacted the world, our family’s farm was one of the only businesses allowed to remain open safely because we were serving produce to our community. I was a recent college graduate at the time and decided to help run the family business alongside my dad. We implemented lots of hands-on experiences during this time so our customers could enjoy activities safely. We added more attractions such as a sunflower maze, marigold field, animal petting areas, a corn maze, and more. Growing up, I always knew I wanted to come back home and help the family farm. I grew up learning how to drive a forklift, pack produce, and sell strawberries. I used my business education and experience to enhance our family’s business as my dad did with my grandpa. Now that I have a son, it makes it more special knowing the legacy my family has built in Carlsbad. Being the only coastal farm in California from Mexico to Oxnard, makes me realize how hard my family (especially my dad) has worked to keep our farm sustainable. The importance of continuing to enhance a business and staying loyal to the family is something many people do not acknowledge or recognize nowadays.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

Our family has been in business since 1952. The importance of continuing our family’s business is something I knew I always wanted to continue and be a part of. The legacy my grandfather has built for us and the hard work that was put in to remain sustainable in a very difficult industry, is my driving factor for continuing to work alongside my father. My family started as commercial farmers and would wholesale the produce we grew. After this was not a sustainable business model, we developed and enhanced the agriculture-tourism aspect of our business after 2000. We started out selling from our main strawberry stand and opening to the public for them to pick their own strawberries. We sell by the bucket and allow customers to walk through the fields and capture fun family memories. My favorite part about our business now, is seeing generations of families enjoying spending time at our fields. Strawberry season is from February through June, depending on weather and how the plants keep. After 2014, my family started a pumpkin patch season during our off-time from strawberries to help pay for strawberry plants. From September-November we invite the public to see giant “Charlie Brown” pumpkins, a mile long corn maze customer find their way through, and a special Haunted Corn Maze during the weekends of October. All these new ideas help bring new customers and retain the ones we have to return and enjoy new attractions every visit. We also have tractor rides, sunflowers, marigolds, and lavender seasonally. As a family, we are very grateful for the community continuing to support our family’s farm. Every year, we give back by donating tons of other produce to veterans, senior citizens, and our local boys and girls club. During the pandemic we partnered with Hollandia Dairy Farm and donated over 20 tons of produce and milk to those in need. We also partner with local businesses by allowing them to do. business on our property. Local food trucks and artisans come during our Pumpkin Patch season to accomodate our customers and enhance the experience.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

We’ve always had to adapt and find ways to utilize our resources and land in order to keep up the ever growing demand of produce and agritourism. Some ways we’ve had to change include the U-pick, changing the layout of the pumpkin patch and growing seasonal flowers for everyone to enjoy when they come and visit us.

Where do you think you get most of your clients from?

Social media has been the biggest source of new clients for us. We’ve had families visit all the way from Arizona, Nevada, The central coast on California just because they saw us on TikTok or Instagram.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.carlsbadstrawberrycompany.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/carlsbadstrawberrycompany/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Carlsbadstrawberrycompany/
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/carlsbad-strawberry-company-carlsbad

Image Credits
Robyn Ukegawa