Strategy session with the Doudlah Farms team (Mark Doudlah, Lucy Doudlah, Jason Doudlah) and Asymmetric (Mark Hope, Karly Oykhman) covering three interlocking crises: an Amazon inventory management system that has been outpaced by rapid sales growth, a conflicting bulk black bean order from BeanVIVO's new contract packer Valley Foods, and a near-term infrastructure gap while a new building is delayed until June. The session produced a clear channel priority decision (Amazon over retail) and an immediate action plan centered on Edgerton warehouse space.
Attendees: Mark Hope, Karly Oykhman (Asymmetric); Mark Doudlah, Lucy Doudlah, Jason Doudlah (Doudlah Farms)
Prioritize Amazon over bulk/retail sales. Amazon yields ~35% profit margin vs. 4–5% at retail (e.g., Woodman's) and near break-even on bulk ($1.10/lb to Valley Foods). Inventory will be allocated to Amazon first.
Reject AWD (Amazon Warehousing & Distribution). Past issues — inventory delays, incorrect expiration flags, holiday capacity lockouts — make AWD too unreliable. Continue splitting shipments into 10+ smaller orders to save on inbound shipping costs (~$4k vs. ~$8k for consolidated shipments).
Shift from pack-to-ship → pack-for-inventory. Goal is a 2–3 month packed inventory buffer so orders can be fulfilled immediately without reactive packing sprints.
Edgerton warehouse is Priority 1 for space. Jason to contact Eric at Edgerton to arrange a Friday walkthrough. Target: 40–60 pallet positions with dock access for a dedicated packing area.
Valley Foods order: proceed cautiously, 50% upfront. Mark Hope to handle the initial Valley Foods relationship. Terms: 50% payment upfront, remainder net 30. Only 29k lbs available after Amazon holdbacks — limit exposure accordingly.
KAHI/Wild Oats opportunity: evaluate on margin. Meeting set for Feb 19. If the deal cannot meet margin targets, pass. Retail volume alone is not a sufficient reason to engage.
Consider dropping 25lb bags from Amazon. Low margin, slow-moving, operationally burdensome. Focus on 1lb and 5lb SKUs.
Sales hit $136k in January, with a single-day high of ~$6,100. At current trajectory, annualized run rate approaches $2.25M. The operation has outgrown its infrastructure:
Stockout risk is severe. When black beans went out of stock, ranking fell from #1 → #30 on organic black beans. Yellow cornmeal took a similar hit. Rankings do not recover immediately when stock is restored — it requires sustained effort to climb back.
| Category | Lbs |
|---|---|
| Total inventory | 202,400 |
| Amazon holdback | 77,000 |
| DFO website holdback | 11,000 |
| Seed holdback | 4,400 |
| Available to sell | ~29,000 |
| Valley Foods request (immediate) | 40,000 |
| Valley Foods request (follow-on) | up to 80,000 |
The Valley Foods order cannot be fully filled without raiding Amazon holdbacks. The 77k Amazon holdback figure is a projection based on sales trends — Mark Doudlah flagged it should be re-verified.
2026 supply constraint: Planting acres reduced ~30% (1,350 → <1,000 acres) due to loss of Brooklyn farm (ROC-certified) and potential loss of Burke farm. Future production capacity is materially lower than 2025.
| Channel | Approx. margin |
|---|---|
| Amazon (1lb/5lb bags) | ~35% |
| Retail (e.g., Woodman's) | 4–5% |
| Valley Foods bulk ($1.10/lb) | Near break-even |
Doudlah Farms is priced 30–100% above competitors on Amazon (37¢/oz vs. Whole Foods 365 at 16¢/oz, Clear Creek at 31¢/oz). This premium is holding — organic sales are growing and repeat buyers are increasing. No sign of growth tapering.
On the cost of stockouts:
"When we ran out of black beans, we went to number 30. And now we're, I think we're back up to number five or something. So we went, you know, and we're still not back where we were." — Mark Hope
On pack-for-inventory vs. pack-to-ship:
"We shouldn't be packing to ship. We should be packing for inventory, which means somebody ought to be packing every day, you know, five days, seven days a week. And that stuff should be packed and put into inventory, and then when Karly puts in an order, we just take it out of inventory and off it goes." — Mark Hope
On Amazon vs. retail margin:
"Even now at 35%, you're making two bucks a bag in profit at Amazon, right? And you're not going to make that at retail... everybody always talks about Amazon and all the money they take and everything, but it's less than they take at retail." — Mark Hope
On the Valley Foods inventory conflict:
"If we ship 80,000 to Valley Foods, we'll only have $29,000 left for any other both quarters." — Mark Doudlah
On the KAHI/Wild Oats opportunity:
"They have 30,000 stores, but if the profit margin isn't there and we're going to get beat up, then absolutely not. I can't see why we would do that." — Lucy Doudlah
On Valley Foods payment terms:
"Seeing that we haven't done business, food is money, half up front, and the other, the remainder, net 30... everybody else should put some skin in the game like we do." — Mark Doudlah