Foley, Alabama – April 24, 2023 – Alabama Small Business Week award winners and were honored by the city of Foley, the Baldwin County Commission and the South Baldwin Chamber of Commerce. National Small Business Week 2023 is celebrated April 30 - May 6.
Christina Woerner McInnis of SoilKit by AgriTech Corporation was awarded the Alabama Rural-Owned Small Business of the Year. She is a member of the Woerner family, which has been farming in Baldwin County for over 100 years and is one of the leading producers of turf grass in the country (you may have been to their stores in Mobile or Pensacola). After observing how many people were dissatisfied with their lawn or garden, she realized that not many people knew to get their soil tested to determine what products to use.
Then, in 2019, McInnis founded AgriTech Corp. and created SoilKit, a scientific soil testing kit for homeowners and landscapers that also provides guidance on what products to buy and how much. When asked what motivated her to start the company, she said it was the 123 million people dissatisfied with their lawns and the industry does $100 billion in revenue a year. Her solution? A soil test.
"Let science tell you how to grow healthy as the farmers do. But if you are not a farmer, the traditional soil test is difficult to understand and complicated," McInnis said. "SoilKit has created a simple and easy way to connect science to product solutions that provide an action plan all year-round. The right product, right rate, right reason at the right time."
Since its founding in 2019, the company is now partnered with Auburn University and the University of Florida, Lowe’s, and eight lawn and garden distributors. The company, headquartered in Foley, also weathered a global pandemic and Hurricane Sally in 2020.
When asked what advice she would give other individuals wanting to start a business she said to connect with your local Small Business Development Center which is a free resource and participate in available mentorship programs. For woman business owners she said to get Alabama Minority Certified.
McInnis said winning the Small Business Administration award was humbling.
"I am honored to have the nation, state and local SBA recognize how such a dynamic company and product was started in rural Alabama and now is disrupting the traditional lawn and garden experience nationwide," McInnis said.
Read the full article by Gulf Coast Media here!
Read the full article by Advance Local here!
Read the full article from Alabama Small Business Development Center here!
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