Introducing Copia

A new growth platform for modern CSA farms

Copia is a CSA management platform built for small to medium-sized farms, powered by Shopify. It’s packed with features that serve the complex realities of running a CSA farm.

CSA farms around the world are increasingly interested in using Shopify for their websites and online stores, but realize that there are a few missing pieces that are critical to selling vegetable boxes online. Those missing features include the ability to manage memberships, holds, & swaps, run subscriptions, bill all customers at once, plan harvests, and create delivery routes. Copia was created to fill in those gaps, making Shopify a premier platform for farms of all sizes.

“Shopify is genuinely the best e-commerce platform out there, but it wasn’t built with CSA farms in mind.” said Trevor English, Copia’s Founder. “I kept hearing stories of farmers scraping by with spreadsheets or overpaying for a frustrating management app just to get through a season. I wanted to build the layer that makes Shopify actually work for a CSA, without farms having to figure that out themselves.”

By letting Shopify handle the core e-commerce infrastructure, the Copia team can focus entirely on the CSA-specific problems (batch billing, harvest math, delivery logistics) rather than rebuilding things Shopify already does well. The result is software that’s simpler than what competitors have built, and a team that can spend more time on support and less time on maintaining a bloated platform.

The software part of Copia is a Shopify app designed to fully integrate CSA memberships into Shopify. Farm members belong to a unique Shopify customer record. This allows CSA memberships to seamlessly integrate with customer and sales reports in Shopify. When a member purchases a CSA share, Copia automatically keeps your produce distribution inventory levels up-to-date. Discounts for CSA members can be created and applied to purchases of merchandise or other products directly from your website. Behind the scenes it’s complex, but the Copia app has been designed to make managing your CSA and members easy.

In addition to the Copia app, Shopify’s app store offers thousands of other apps which can extend the features and functionality of a farm’s online store. From integrations with email marketing tools like Mailchimp to connecting orders to accounting systems, you can find an app for it.

“No two CSAs run exactly the same way.” says Trevor. “One farm might need a fully customizable share builder where members pick exactly what’s in their box. Another just wants a simple sign-up form and a weekly charge. I built Copia to handle both, and where it can’t, Shopify’s ecosystem usually can.”

If you need a Point of Sale system for your farmstand, the Shopify POS can be downloaded, configured, and ready-to-use in under five minutes. Its beautifully simple interface allows your farmhands to sell produce to visitors, give discounts to CSA members, and provides access to CSA membership sign-ups without needing to use a separate application.

Copia is launching with a Founding Farm program: $29/month locked forever, with a 60-day free trial and no credit card required.

Copia is a growth platform for modern CSA farms. Based in San Diego, CA, they specialize in all things direct-to-consumer for small and mid-sized farms. Copia is not only software, but a suite of services for farms, including website design and development, digital marketing strategy, and more. For inquiries, contact [email protected].