Uncle Bob’s Popcorn was founded in 1985 by Tanner Townsend’s grandfather, Bob Townsend, marking the beginning of a family legacy. Over the years, the business has been handed down from generation to generation. Today, Uncle Bob’s is the largest popcorn grower in Canada and the only one to produce specialty white hull-less popcorn. “It’s a very hands-on business,” affirms Townsend. “We’re the ones [who handle everything from] planting the seed all the way until product is shipped out the door.” With a heavy lift required on the production side of the business, marketing had always taken a back seat. However, Townsend hoped to alter this trend.
Over the past 15 years, Uncle Bob’s Popcorn has grown its popcorn farming operations from 10 to 15 acres annually to almost 400 acres per year. Along with the desire to boost production, the Townsends are also passionate about serving other Ontario businesses through wholesale partnerships and local distributors. “Looking at a food security perspective, it’s really important to have companies within your own country or province that are able to provide these goods and services,” says Townsend. While wholesale business was booming for Uncle Bob’s, the business’s direct-to-consumer arm struggled to gain traction.
As he looked for opportunities to help expand Uncle Bob’s online business, Townsend came across Digital Main Street’s Digital Transformation Grant (DTG) program which provides small businesses with a digital assessment, online training, and a $2,500 grant to implement their Digital Transformation Plan (DTP). After successfully applying for the DTG, Townsend understood that allocating the grant funds to implement a digital marketing plan would help transition his family’s business to the next level. “We’d never invested in any kind of real social media marketing before that point […] so it was nice to get that opportunity to kind of play around,” notes Townsend who decided to use his grant funds to deploy a multi-prong marketing strategy. “I think the best part of it for us [was] actually seeing just what was really effective and where we could allocate future funds,” he adds.
A portion of the DTG was used to test the effectiveness of Google ads and Facebook ads. With the remaining funds, he hired an e-commerce specialist discovered on Fiverr to help optimize Uncle Bob’s website for conversions. The consultant updated the business to a faster Shopify theme and streamlined the overall user experience. Additionally, a free shipping option was set up for customers with cart values over $120.
The results of this digital transformation have now helped guide future digital marketing plans for the company. While Facebook ads generated far more website traffic than Google ads, Google ads were more likely to convert visits to checkouts. Most importantly, Townsend cites his biggest success was a result of the work he completed with the Fiverr consultant who helped boost Uncle Bob’s conversion rate by nearly 40%.
While some of the marketing strategies Townsend deployed worked better than others, he sees the entire experience as a win because of the learnings he has garnered through the process. Given the positive impact of the website upgrade, he is now turning his attention to search engine optimization (SEO). “[It’s] more of that long-term play,” he explains “SEO gives you those top rankings when those words are simply searched without having to [pay to] put an ad out.” Townsend is continuing to work on incorporating more technology into this long-standing family business and he encourages other business owners to do the same. “Get your feet wet,” he advises “It’s a great opportunity! Don’t miss it.”
