Morinville’s newest greenhouse grower was honoured for her social media savvy last week.
Debbie Foisy, owner of Deb’s Greenhouse, was named Top 10 Under 40 by Greenhouse Canada, a national business magazine focusing on commercial greenhouse growers, on Oct. 5.
The magazine’s Top 10 Under 40 honours young industry leaders who represent the future of greenhouse horticulture in Canada.
Although Foisy, who currently serves as president of the Alberta Greenhouse Growers Association, has been in the business for under a decade, she has already left her mark on the industry.
Through her use of social media, she turned her small Yellowhead County greenhouse into a destination garden centre, with customers travelling from as far as Whitecourt, Hinton, Red Deer and Sherwood Park.
She is also behind the widely circulated Greenhouse Marketing Forum, an online resource for growers and retailers to share ideas and ask questions.
Foisy started the forum after speaking with small business consultant Bill McCurry, a 2012 speaker at the Alberta Green Industry Show. She was hesitant at first – until 40 conference attendees came up to her with cards saying they would like to be a part of the group.
“There was a need for growers to connect,” she said.
The forum has since grown to include members from across North America.
In 2013, Foisy won the Grower Of The Year award from the Alberta Greenhouse Growers Association for her marketing skills and entrepreneurial spirit.
This summer Foisy and her husband Cody purchased the greenhouse that housed Fred’s Flowers. They are planning to expand the site to include a section dedicated to filling custom orders.
Debs Greenhouse is one of the only greenhouses in the province that has an online store. Planters and hanging baskets are pre-sold throughout the fall and winter and available for pickup in the spring.
Foisy says technology is the way of the future for growers. She has personally seen the effects a successful social media campaign can have on a business. Her DIY YouTube videos are very popular; and her Instagram page has attracted a new generation of clients.
But technology is also important for the industry as a whole.
“We’re looking at social media, but we’re looking at the way you run your business behind the scenes with computer technology and automation in the greenhouses as well,” said Foisy.
Debs Greenhouse will partially open this fall with classes.
