After his move to Nashville from Fort Valley, Georgia, in 2010, Stephen Rose felt homesick. Homesick for peaches, that is. But not just any peaches—he longed for the sweet and juicy ones from his childhood that Georgia is famous for producing.
He spent two summers hunting for good, fresh peaches in Nashville, but nothing could satisfy his taste buds (as the quote from Franco-British novelist George du Maurier that ends each of their campaigns says, “An apple is an excellent thing—until you have tried a peach”).
So in 2012, Stephen and his wife founded The Peach Truck. Partnering with Stephen’s hometown peach farm, they load a crop of peaches onto the back of a truck and tour Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, and Pennsylvania to sell them every summer.
“It’s a logistical nightmare what we do, but it’s worth it,” says Stephen.
Have a natural and authentic marketing strategy
While Stephen keeps in touch with customers during their off-season, they only have a product to sell online and at various tour stops for 12 weeks each year. And even that is outside their control.
“This year, peach season might be about 8 weeks because the warm winter has affected the crop,” Stephen says, explaining that peaches need cold winters for the trees to rest and hot summers for the fruit to produce its sugar.
The ups and downs of growing peaches is something Stephen likes to share with customers in the occasional campaigns he sends throughout the year. Updates on the weather and size of the crop help make customers feel invested, and these campaigns—sent to their full list—boast open rates between 37% and 46%.
