Two years ago, Fillmore grower Tony Dighera was on the brink of losing his business just when his obsession – growing pumpkins in the shape of a Frankenstein head – finally paid off. National media outlets put his product in the spotlight. Retailers including Whole Foods Market Inc. showered him with thousands of dollars for the ghoulish gourds he calls Pumpkinsteins, saving his business. Then last fall, excessive heat right before the pumpkin harvest wiped out Dighera’s high-cash crop. Once again, he found himself on the brink. This time, his other crops – organic leafy greens and vegetables – saved his business, but just barely. The grower has lived the boom-and-bust cycle common to entrepreneurs. Experts say many don’t survive because they can’t ramp up production quickly and sufficiently enough to meet demand once their products are finally discovered by consumers. But Dighera, faced with orders for 200,000 Pumpkinsteins this season compared to 40,000 last year, has adopted new strategies to meet the demand, and come up with new growing techniques to eliminate the weather impacts from last year. Read the full story in the Sept. 5 issue of the San Fernando Valley Business Journal.
