By Renée Hartleib |
It’s rare for a family-owned business to have a senior ownership team made up entirely of women, but such is the case at Halifax Seed. The 154-year-old company, which has been in the Tregunno family since 1925, is owned by Emily Tregunno (BSc’06), her sister Ali, and their mother Nancy.
Established in 1866, the first Halifax Seed location was located right on Water Street next to Halifax Harbour. After sustaining damage during the Halifax Explosion, the shop moved to Granville Street where the original doorstep reading “Seeds” still stands. In the 1960s, the company moved for the last time to its current location on Kane Street in Halifax’s North End.
Emily’s Dad Tim Tregunno took over the family business from his father in the early ‘80s. Tim, who was the third generation owner, passed away in 2012. “Many people still come in and tell me they knew both my father and my grandfather,” says Emily, who runs the Halifax location today. “There are multi-generations of families who we have worked with over the years.”
Growing up, though, Emily couldn’t envision a role for herself at Halifax Seed. “I never thought I would be part of the family business,” she says. “When we were kids, my parents did a really great job of allowing us to decide our own path. There was never shop talk around the dining room table and we were allowed to figure out what was best for us.”
Initially, Emily was drawn more to sciences and psychology. When she enrolled at SMU in 2002, she began working toward her Bachelor of Science with an Honours in Psychology. It was a busy four years, with extracurricular psychology projects and work as a TA, on top of her studies.
By her final year, Emily’s Dad had been diagnosed with terminal cancer and it felt natural to want to spend time with him and also help with the business. She went back to school for a graphic design certificate and stepped into a marketing role with the company. “I got to work at my Dad’s side for four years and learn more about his values and his work ethic. It was an amazing opportunity.”
Emily’s father believed in putting customers and employees first, forging strong relationships with suppliers, and participating in the broader community. Emily is proud to continue one of the programs that her father held dear: donating seeds to local community groups and also developing countries.
Over the last three decades, Halifax Seed has worked to stabilize food insecurity in communities such as the DR Congo, Jamaica, and Tanzania. “Receiving photos of plants growing and feeding people is such a great feeling for us,” says Emily. She adds that many of the communities they’ve worked with have gone on to save their own seeds and are now completely self-sufficient. Locally, the company supports Hope Blooms, a nationally recognized organization that supports youth in building urban organic food systems and disrupting the cycle of poverty.
In addition to its two retail locations in Halifax and Saint John, the company also has a large wholesale division, supplying products to golf courses, commercial growers, independent garden centres, and small farms.
Running a business without a business degree has its challenges, but Emily credits a strong management team made up of long-time Halifax Seed employees, plus the Industrial/Organizational Psychology courses she took at Saint Mary’s. “IO Psych is very beneficial in the running of a business,” she says. "If you don’t have good staff and you can’t motivate your staff, what do you have? Those IO courses have made a powerful difference in my work as a manager.”
The advent of Covid-19 may have shut their retail stores to the public and put a little crimp in the way the company normally does business, but it hasn’t slowed them down! Online orders are flowing in for the spring growing season and employees are working hard to fill them for customer pick up.
“Customers have been so supportive and positive about the changes we’ve needed to make to ensure the safety of employees and customers alike,” says Emily. “We are very appreciative of our loyal customer support, especially during a challenging time.”
Halifax Seed has faced down other challenges over the years, including increased competition from big box stores and garden centres in grocery store parking lots. But in the world of retail lawn and garden supplies, this Maritime institution has a massive advantage, a sort of secret weapon: it’s their knowledgeable people. Halifax Seed’s outstanding customer service is legendary; their employees know their stuff and love to provide customers with information, support, and education.
“You can get the same plant down the road that you can get here,” says Emily. “But the main difference is that at Halifax Seed, we’re also going to be able to tell you when and where to plant it outside, how often to water it, and which fertilizer to use. We’re here to teach people how to be successful in all of their gardening endeavours.”
