How Park Ridge Organics uses GrownBy Wholesale
- martina166
- 4 days ago
- 4 min read
An Introduction to Park Ridge Organics
Founded by Dan and Linda Calvey in 2003, Park Ridge Organics is a multi-generational, family-owned and operated organic produce farm located in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin. Joined by their daughter, Robyn Calvey, in 2005, Dan and Linda eventually sold the business and homestead to Robyn in 2013 as they built a new home for retirement on the adjoining property. Today, Park Ridge Organics sells over 40 varieties of produce seasonally, with about half of their revenue coming from CSA shares, 30% coming from their on-farm store, and 20% coming from wholesale customers.
Advancing the Business with GrownBy
What started with Dan selling heirloom tomatoes to a local grocery store has continued to evolve as Robyn finds new ways to innovate the business. Before GrownBy, Robyn used to communicate wholesale availability to customers manually; through texts, emails, and calls, eventually transitioning to Google Forms in an effort to simplify order fulfillment. And while she found that solution serviceable, the need for a more robust wholesale platform became apparent as time went on.
Park Ridge Organics joined GrownBy in 2024 and became one of the first farms to test GrownBy’s new wholesale platform in 2025, bringing the retail and wholesale sides of Park Ridge Organics’ business together in one place. Robyn described the change as both practical and refreshing. With GrownBy, she could finally see her retail and wholesale inventory side by side, something she had never been able to do before. “To be able to have it all together, so you know your pick list is truly everything you need to go pick—that’s pretty spectacular,” she said. She was also excited by how much easier updating inventory and managing products became through the app and website. “Backend inventory management on GrownBy is much cleaner,” Robyn explained. “We can see what items are available to wholesale buyers, what we need to adjust, and what we might need to hide. It’s all right there.”
A Fresh Look for Customers
While Park Ridge Organics originally joined GrownBy to make their daily operations easier, it’s also improved the shopping experience for their customers. In the past, wholesale buyers had to submit their orders via Google Forms each week- a process that has little more than a space for them to input what quantity they wanted. Now, they can browse through a visually appealing catalog of produce that plainly lists case prices with images, descriptions, and payment options.
“We can give better descriptions on what those things are than we ever used to be able to do… it feels better, it looks better,” Robyn said. She shared a story about a food truck owner who hadn’t ordered in a while because of distance, but decided to place an order after seeing the new website. “I know it sounds silly, but it matters,” Robyn laughed. “We’re able to convey more on [GrownBy].”
Learning and Growing Through Data
Beyond the visual improvements, GrownBy’s sales analytics have become a useful planning tool for Park Ridge Organics operations. At the end of each month or season, Robyn reviews the data to see which crops and case sizes sold best. “I can see exactly what we sold wholesale and how much of each item moved,” she said. “It’s simple but super helpful for deciding what to grow next year.”
Continuing the Family Legacy
For Robyn, technology like GrownBy is not about chasing trends. It’s about finding better ways to do what her family has always done: grow good food and share it with people who care. Whether through a CSA box, a farm stand visit, or a restaurant order, Park Ridge Organics continues to thrive on relationships—between the farmers, their customers, and the land itself.
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