Happy Holidays from Sunnyland
As we near the end of our 70th Holiday Season at Sunnyland Farms we would like to take a moment to thank all of our customers, old and new, for trusting us with their orders. This season has been both challenging and rewarding and we truly appreciate all of your patience as we recovered from Hurricane Michael, the most devastating storm to hit southwest Georgia in generations. We appreciated receiving your kind emails and hearing your words of encouragement.
Hurricane Michael damaged our plant severely on October 10, 2018. Our on-site cold storage was, and still is, completely incapacitated which complicated our shipping process. Our shelling plant was crippled early making it hard to shell pecans at the beginning of the season. Our orchards were ravaged with 15-25% of our trees being destroyed. Two months later we are still counting downed trees and do not have an exact assessment of the damage. Despite these challenges we were able to function and service our customers and for that we cannot be prouder of our employees.
Each Sunnyland employee gave everything he or she had. Eighty-hour weeks were routine in November and December for many but there were no complaints about the hours or the additional challenges. We are humbled each day to work alongside such passionate, dedicated people. This business does not function without every one of our employees and words cannot adequately express our thanks.
Sunnyland Farms was founded with one simple motto, "Only the Best." Our goal is to provide the highest quality in terms of products and service and we know in some regards this season we fell short and have already started remedying those problems. We must improve our phone systems to handle seasonal demand. We must refine our logistics to handle catastrophic events. We must enhance our IT to better our customer experience both online and on the phone. We are already taking steps to address these issues and others to make the Sunnyland experience truly top notch.
Despite all of the challenges we had major positives this season as well. Our newest Sampler products have been overwhelmingly successful. We thought we had a good product but did not anticipate such demand. Our Light Fruitcake was featured in Food Network Magazine's Holiday edition which proves that some fruitcakes, (ours!), are delicious. Our Rum Cakes continue to explode in growth and with rave reviews. We overhauled our website and added new payment methods like PayPal and Apple Pay.
Our 70th season has definitely been one for the ages. We are all looking forward to some rest, relaxation and time with family over the holidays. We wish all of you a very Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and Happy New Year!
With Thanks,
The Sunnyland Farms Family