Today we’d like to introduce you to Natalie & Jason Biggs
Hi Natalie & Jason , it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
We’ve always loved gardening and cooking, but in 2022 our backyard homesteading hobby turned into an accidental business. We thought joining our local farmers market with our spicy jams, pickles and pepper jelly might be fun. So in June 2022, we got a booth at the Old Pearland Farmer’s Market. We loved it and immediately signed up for a few more thinking this could be a little extra spending money for our summer.
Things quickly escalated and Jason was the first to realize that we really had something. By September of that year, this little accidental business was paying our mortgage (and every month since then). We joined several other markets and expanded our offerings. Our best selling jams include Peach Habanero, Yetta’s Blueberry Bourbon and Carrot Cake.
The following Spring we expanded our growing space to keep up with the business. We grow around 50 varieties including peppers, tomatoes, herbs, corn, pumpkins and more all in our regular backyard. We call ourselves backyard farmers because we use every available space to grow food.
If we don’t grow it ourselves, we try to get it from large family farms in Texas. Two of our favorite partners are Froberg’s in Alvin and Cooper Farms in Fairfield.
As we started sharing about our backyard farm, we realized that we really enjoy helping other people get started. We really believe there’s no such thing as a green thumb and anyone can grow food with the right support. We started posting tips every week on our socials. That lead to garden workshops, consults and our Getting Started Guide ebook.
This year our socials really took off and that opened the door for more ways to connect with people and share our passion for growing, cooking and preserving food.
We’re currently working on taking the next steps to continue to grow our business. We just received our manufacturing license and secured a commercial kitchen. This will give us the opportunity to take our business online for the first time! We are so excited to see what’s next!
The best part about this whole thing is that we get to do it together as a family. We all have a part in making this happen and that’s truly special. We called it Biggs Farm because all our friends referred to our house that way because the garden was so large. Who knew we’d really end up with a backyard farm!
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Starting a family business comes with many challenges, but we’ve worked together to navigate this road. Sometimes it’s just the learning curve of doing something completely new.
When you’re growing things for a business, the unpredictable Houston weather can be the biggest challenge. We’ve invested in shade cloth, added a green house and even had to use frost cloth once. Ha!
Being an entrepreneur can be all consuming, we’ve learned a lot the past few years and I’m really proud of how we’re operating now. Boundaries prevent burnout. I think I might need that on a tee shirt.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
We specialize in jams and jellies. All our jams are made by us, GF, DF and vegan. We don’t use any added colors or corn syrup.
We’re known for unique flavors like Strawberry Serrano Jam, Apple Pie Jam and more. We’re always testing new recipes and adding in new flavor combinations.
One thing that sets us apart is that our products are majority local grown. That means we rotate flavors seasonally because we believe the closer you are to your food, the better. If we don’t grow it, we look for large farms in Texas that do. All of our jams and jellies are GF, DF and vegan, with no added colors or corn syrup.
When we say family business, we mean family business. We all work together, including our boys- Collin (21) and Madden (15). From the garden to the market, everyone is involved.
My previous retail experience has been such an advantage while building this business. I’m the planner, confectioner and content creator.
Collin is everyone’s favorite farmhand. He runs markets almost every weekend and has been critical to our success.
Last year Madden introduced spicy salts and they were a huge hit. Now we have Italian seasoning, dairy free ranch, tomato basil bread dipper and more all home grown and preserved.
And no one, I mean no one, works harder than Jason. He does everything from farming the yard to making his famous Apple Butter. He’s been going along with all my crazy ideas for 25 year. Ha! It’s so much fun building this together.
What do you like best about our city? What do you like least?
We have lived in Houston for 13 years now and we absolutely love living in such a cultured and diverse city. The food is second to none because you can find everything here! It’s truly a melting pot.
While I hate to be negative, the traffic is the worst. You definitely have to be thoughtful before you hit the road.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://biggs-farm-6236.myshopify.com/?_ab=0&_fd=0&_sc=1
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/biggs.farm?igsh=ajl2OGo3OWNlOW1w&utm_source=qr
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thebiggsfarm?mibextid=LQQJ4d
