TOWNSEND — A Townsend feed store uses their experience with ranching in Montana to better help its customers, something its big chain competitors might not have.
"We would go somewhere to buy feed, and we'd be like, 'Should we get this one or this one?' We'd pretty much get an 'I don't know,'" said Caroline Nelson, co-owner and founder of Little Creek Feed.
What started as a small lamb and cattle ranch has grown into a business at 310 S Front St. in Townsend.
That is the exact location where the store owners, Caroline and her husband, Justin Nelson, met when they were 18 years old.
Caroline said, "I was from the suburbs. I definitely never thought I'd be in agriculture, certainly not a feed store. I did think I was going to get married to Justin, which has come true."
"You get what you want," joked Justin.
The store opened around six months ago, three months after the Nelsons had their son Morgan.
Justin said, "It was work, and she did great. Caroline did amazing. I don't know how she did it."
"We were renovating the building and just passed him around. [Justin] very much took care of me postpartum [and] made sure I was good," Caroline continued.
The business has seen great success on social media, with over 13,000 followers across Instagram and Facebook.
It is one way the Nelson's say they got their name out with no marketing budget initially.
Caroline said, "In the beginning months, maybe half of our customers came in, and they said, 'We saw you on Instagram. We saw you on TikTok, and we had to come in. We love the store.'"
"It's really cool to see," Justin responded.
Caroline said, "Without it, I don't think we'd be okay right now."
Little Creek Feed sells a wide variety of items like pure tallow, premium re-generatively raised meats, reusable cotton rounds and party candles, and livestock and pet feed.
"We stock what we use ourselves as ranchers. Products that we think are really good and that people ask for. We have a variety here, but we're not the everything store. We think of ourselves as quality essentials that we know the locals need and want," said Caroline.
Over everything else, the customer experience is the most important thing to Nelson's.
Caroline said, "We wanted to bring back that feeling of our team will load your feed. Our term is 'Our team is happy to see you.' When you walk in the door, we know your name."
You can find more information about Little Creek Feed here.
