The Sisters Market: Making Citrus Chic
The Sisters Market is making citrus chic, offering curated gift boxes featuring produce from their family farm paired with other locally grown and produced delights. We met with Jenna, Elise and Bea to learn more about how they’re breathing new life into their family’s farming operation.
On the eastern edge of Tulare County, where the Central Valley meets the rolling foothills and citrus trees stretch towards the horizon, you’ll find the small town of Exeter. Here, twins Elise and Emily, along with their cousin Jenna, grew up on the family’s fourth-generation citrus farm surrounded by people who understood exactly where their food came from and how it was grown.
Back to (the family) business: Teaching others where food comes from
After college, the three found themselves scattered across California, and quickly realized that the knowledge they’d grown up with was far from common outside agricultural communities. Elise explains, “People think that their groceries come from the back of the store. I remember my sister was in college, and my dad brought her some oranges. One of the oranges still had a little stem and leaf. And my sister’s friend was like, ‘That’s so cute. How did you get the leaf on the orange?’ And my dad said, ‘Well, it came from the tree that it grew from.’” She smiles at the memory and states, “People should know where food comes from.”
In 2019, Jenna, Elise and Emily launched The Sisters Market, shipping boxes of their family’s citrus to customers throughout the United States. Their mission was twofold: to share their farm’s harvest and to help others learn more about where their food really comes from.
Jenna states, “I think really that one of our biggest reasons to start this was to educate people. A lot of people go to a grocery store and don’t think twice about what it took to grow a piece of fruit. It’s very apparent when you see people who follow us on Instagram and when we get reviews on our products – people love seeing the face of the farmer on the backside. And that’s because it’s making that connection; this person actually took the time, grew this fruit, did it well, and it tastes amazing.
The Central Valley is responsible for 90% of the fresh citrus grown in the United States, with Tulare County leading the way.
Three sisters, citrus fruit, and a celebrity chef
The Sisters Market prides itself on offering the freshest, most flavorful citrus available. And while the fruit does speak for itself, they had a little help along the way. During their first holiday season, Ina Garten gave the fledgling company a shoutout on Instagram – and with only 12 days left until Christmas, the sales (and followers) flooded in. Jenna laughs and notes, “It was the best kind of chaos; we lovingly refer to it as ‘InaGeddon’. She has just been one of our biggest role models and assets to our company to get the story out of what we were doing.”
Partnering with local growers, producers, + makers
Over the last six years, The Sisters Market has shared their citrus – and their story – with customers from all across the United States. What started as a simple shipment of fresh citrus has evolved into carefully curated gift boxes showcasing the best of the Central Valley. The Sisters Market still offers seasonal shipments of their family’s citrus, but they also partner with local farmers, producers and makers on themed boxes. Jenna elaborates, “We sell things like a Citrus Tea Box where you can get a glass tea mug, local honey, along with some really cute locally procured gifts.”
The Sisters Market’s most popular offering is their Holiday Box. In addition to citrus, it includes Cinnamon Glazed Walnuts from Valley Grown produce, candies from both Dewars and Stafford’s (two iconic Central Valley confectioneries), along with treats from up-and-coming local makers.”
The Sister Market is known for its citrus, but it also offers the family’s persimmons and pomegranates seasonally, as well as fresh produce from some of their favorite local farms. Jenna explains, “We work with a lot of local farmers in the area to bulk up our boxes during the summer and winter months and highlight the kind of produce we grow in this area.” She continues, “We partner with a peach farmer during the summer months…we just actually launched corn this last summer, which was great.” Elise flashes Jenna a conspiratorial grin and admits, “We are trying to get everybody who we know locally involved in our company”.
Is citrus better from a box?
The Sisters Market has a loyal following, with customers who not only spread the word but keep coming back for more. So, what makes their citrus different from what you might find at your local grocer? First and foremost, The Sisters Market picks, packs, and ships its citrus same day, ensuring that customers receive the freshest, most flavorful produce.
Jenna notes, “A lot of our customers are on the East Coast, and I think we attribute that to how fresh our fruit actually tastes in a box. They didn’t actually know how citrus should taste because once they tried a piece of our fruit, they’re like, “Oh my gosh, this is what it should taste like?” Bea laughs and adds, “And it’s like, ‘Yeah, this is what it should taste like.” It’s so different from what they’re getting in a grocery store.” She pauses, shaking her head, and declares, “So different. There’s a variety of oranges, whereas people think an orange is an orange. You get a Cara, you get a Navel, you get a Valencia. We’re trying to educate on that, and I think people love that.”
“What it takes to grow just one piece of fruit”
The Sisters Market boasts an impressive following on social media. They use their channels not only to advertise their products but also as a tool to educate their followers.
Jenna states, “A lot of our educational posts are online. Bea just did a great shot of our cousin Zach, showing what it takes to grow just one piece of fruit – and it takes a lot. So, if we can educate at least one person, then I feel like we’ve succeeded with our business.”
Elise nods in agreement, adding, “I think that’s my favorite part of all of it; the social media and educating everybody and kind of getting to show them everything and seeing people interact with it.“ Bea, who runs the social media, agrees, concluding, “I think we really just kind of want to show people what we’ve seen in our community and just kind of give them a part of our lives.”
Article and photography by Hilary Rance.