Idaho seed company launches retail system to help families grow their own food

RIGBY, Idaho — As grocery prices continue to rise and public attention to food-borne illness outbreaks grows, Survival Garden Seeds in Rigby, a major supplier for garden seed customers nationwide, is launching what it calls the first Self-Reliance Gardening retail system.

It was unveiled this week at the Mid-States Rendezvous trade event in Phoenix, Arizona.

Unlike traditional seed companies that ask shoppers to navigate hundreds of individual seed packets and overwhelming product choices, Survival Garden Seeds has created a new approach centered on making gardening easy enough for every family to succeed.

The retail merchandising system introduces shoppers to four curated Garden in a Bag collections that organize gardening around outcomes instead of individual seed varieties. Customers choose the type of garden they want to grow, then supplement it with individual packets displayed alongside the collections.

Every seed packet also includes seed-saving instructions, allowing families to harvest, save, and replant their gardens year after year.

"The seed industry has spent decades selling seed packets," company CEO Jason Spahr says in a news release. "We believe families don't need more seed choices. They need a simpler path to food security. That's why we're introducing the category of Self-Reliance Gardening. Our goal isn't simply to sell seeds. It's to help families grow, save, and sustain their own food with confidence."

The new retail display is built around a three-step shopping experience:

• Choose Your Garden. Select one of four curated Garden in a Bag collections.
• Expand Your Garden. Add individual seed packets that fit your family's preferences.
• Grow, Harvest & Save. Follow practical education and seed-saving instructions to build lasting food security.

For retailers, the system is designed to address one of the seed aisle's biggest challenges: shopper confusion. Instead of overwhelming customers with hundreds of varieties, the display is meant to guide first-time gardeners through a more intuitive shopping experience.

The launch comes amid a broader trend of households growing more of their own food, driven in part by grocery inflation and continued public attention to produce-related recalls and foodborne illness outbreaks, including recurring seasonal cyclospora cases linked to fresh produce.

Survival Garden Seeds buys and packages more than 400 different varieties of seeds, which it gets from seed warehouses and Idaho farmers. The company caught Walmart's attention after becoming a No. 1 seller online. As of December 2025, its product became available in more than 3,600 Walmart locations. Today, Walmart and Amazon are its two biggest revenue streams.

Its success and growth amid economic challenges prompted the Small Business Development Center to organize a tour of the Rigby business in October. During the tour, Spahr showed the crowd how seeds are received, sorted and packaged.

In February, U.S. Sen. Jim Risch, a member and former chairman of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, recognized Survival Garden Seeds as Idaho Small Business of the Month.

Spahr launched Survival Garden Seeds during the COVID-19 pandemic. He founded Idaho Mattress Outlet in 2008 and was ready for a change.

Spahr's interest in gardening stems back to his childhood in Malad. His dad taught school in the area and "gardening was just a way of life" during the summer months.

"It's in my blood," Spahr says.

Forming a garden seed company was a natural fit.

Spahr says the Self-Reliance Gardening retail system is a movement focused on helping ordinary families become less dependent on the grocery store through practical gardening education, curated seed systems, and long-term seed stewardship.

The merchandising program will be available to independent retailers in spring 2027. Retailers interested in carrying the display can submit a retailer interest request online.

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