As of January 2026, Doudlah Farms' Amazon business has reached a growth inflection point that has outpaced existing operational capacity. January revenue tracked to ~$145k (up from $112k in December, which was itself suppressed by inventory issues), with daily net profit hitting $2,500 and organic unit sales at 100/day — up from ~60. The core challenge is preventing the operational bottlenecks and stockouts that caused a prior ranking drop (e.g., position #2 → #9) from recurring as volume continues to compound.
This article captures the operational model, inventory priorities, and infrastructure decisions made to support this growth phase.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Revenue (first 22 days) | $98,000 |
| Projected monthly revenue | ~$145,000 |
| Daily net profit | ~$2,500 |
| Organic units/day | ~100 (up from ~60) |
| Growth rate | 50–100% month-over-month |
Running out of stock on Amazon is not just a lost-sale event — it causes significant, slow-to-recover ranking damage. In Doudlah Farms' case, a stockout dropped a top product from position #2 to position #9, with recovery taking weeks. At $2,500/day net profit, even a short stockout is a material loss.
Root causes identified:
- Bagging and staging operations running out of a garage (~25×25 ft) — insufficient space and no climate control
- Bag inventory (sourced from EPAC) has a 4-week lead time with no forecast provided to the supplier
- No shared, real-time inventory tracking across raw product, cleaned product, and bagged product
- Production scheduling (milling, cleaning) not synchronized with Amazon replenishment cadence
- Jason (primary operations contact) capacity-constrained; no dedicated admin support
| Product | Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Yellow Popcorn (3 lb) | Critical — 2,200 lbs / ~1 pallet | New load scheduled for delivery Monday |
| White Popcorn (3 lb) | Moderate — 3 pallets | 400 × 25 lb bags being palletized |
| Yellow Cornmeal (5 lb) | OK — 5 pallets | — |
| Black Beans (5 lb) | OK — 211,000 lbs | — |
| Buckwheat | Low — raw only | Semi-load to miller; Jason coordinating schedule |
| Rye Flour | None on hand | Sourced from miller |
| Blue Haven Corn | ~120 units | First run sold out immediately; 400 units needed |
Monthly production targets:
- 1,000 units/month each: yellow popcorn, white popcorn, Doudlah popcorn, Old World popcorn, yellow cornmeal
- 500 units/month: black beans
- 400 units: Blue Haven corn (new product, high demand)
Amazon distributes inbound inventory across multiple fulfillment centers, so large single shipments get split into 4–5 separate loads regardless. The agreed approach:
This approach reduces storage pressure at the farm/staging location and keeps Amazon inventory levels more consistent, reducing stockout risk.
Current state: All bagging and staging happens in a ~25×25 ft garage. This is the primary bottleneck.
Proposed solution: Rent ~2,000 sq ft of space within the existing Edgerton storage facility (where bulk product is already stored) to create a dedicated bagging and staging operation.
Workflow vision:
1. Raw/cleaned product stored in Edgerton racks
2. Pull product → bag on-site → stage pallets
3. Amazon pickup directly from Edgerton
Action: Mark Doudlah to negotiate space and schedule a site visit. Edgerton is ~10 miles from the farm; fallback options include Milton (~30–40 min away, 2,500–70,000 sq ft available).
EPAC (bag supplier) requires 4 weeks lead time. No sales forecast has been provided to them historically, which means orders are reactive rather than planned.
Urgent bag orders needed (top priority):
- 5 lb yellow cornmeal bags
- 3 lb white popcorn bags
- 3 lb yellow popcorn bags
- 5 lb black bean bags
Action: Lucy to place expedited orders immediately and provide EPAC with a rolling sales forecast to reduce future lead times.
No shared, real-time inventory system currently exists. Bag inventory was last formally tracked in 2022. Product inventory is split across Edgerton, the farm, and Jason's location.
Proposed system (Mark Hope to build):
- Track three product states: raw → cleaned → bagged
- Track across all locations (Edgerton, farm, other)
- Include velocity data to project stockout dates
- Import current bag inventory from Jason as starting point
This system is a prerequisite for proactive replenishment planning.
As volume grows, the operational coordination burden (order entry, inventory updates, shipment planning, B2B order management) is exceeding what Lucy and Karly can absorb alongside their primary responsibilities.
Proposed hire: A part-time or shared administrator to:
- Enter orders (including B2B clients who won't use the self-service portal)
- Update inventory records
- Assist with shipment planning and label production
- Could work remotely ~90% of the time; periodic in-office collaboration possible
This is framed as a near-term necessity, not a future consideration, given current growth trajectory.
Mark Doudlah raised the question of whether simpler/cheaper packaging (e.g., plain plastic bags with heat seal + label, as used by Old World) could reduce the $0.40–$0.70/bag cost. Decision: deferred. Current packaging is working well, rankings are strong, and the team has no bandwidth to test alternatives right now. To revisit when operations stabilize.