NEW CASTLE — Poultry equipment retailer Hatching Time has found a place to roost: a 27,000 square foot distribution center and showroom in the Boulden Interchange Park.
Inside the new facility is a 3,000 square foot show room that gives customers a chance to see Hatching Time’s best-selling products up close, such as egg incubators, chick brooders, chicken coops, stackable breeding systems and more. Hatching Time founders and co-CEOs Yağız Aksu and Ryan Flanagan signed a five-year lease at 11 Boulden Circle which the duo hope to tap into key distribution routes along Interstate 95 and Delaware Route 1.
Until October, the start-up was solely e-commerce and tapped into the niche market of homesteaders through offering online sales for those interested in raising chickens in their own backyard. Hatching Time’s sales soared during the first years of the COVID-19 pandemic when families were at home and found new ways to expand their backyards. Between 2019 and 2022, sales grew 3,274% and landed at $4.1 million two years ago.
“Clients are constantly asking us to see the equipment, and where our last facility was, it wasn’t up to snuff to show the equipment in a nice way,” Flanagan told the Delaware Business Times. “This place in New Castle really checks all our boxes, and gives people an experimental view of the product and see how it works. You can also talk with our sales reps and build out your whole package.”
“It all comes back to my roots, because I grew up here. We started right out of my parent’s garage where the first shipping container, 22 pallets of products, got packed in every crevice of my parent’s house. They were big supporters,” Flanagan said. “When it came to the time we needed more space, we had already built out the team and we weren’t going to lay them off and move to a different state. That’s why we had to stay in the area, no matter the cost.”
Hatching Time is still growing — to date it has 20 employees and now sits at No.1,161 on the Inc 5,000 list with a solid foothold in the market to include vendors and retailers. The next chapter for the company could be building on that brand presence to offer franchise options to have a station in key retail stores, though Flanagan said that is in the early stages.
Hatching Time is also expanding into apiary equipment, as many homesteaders are getting more interested in helping the honeybees and bumblebees population while also making honey and candle wax along the way.
“We have an incubator that can incubate queen bees so that you can start your own hive. We really want to offer everything for someone who’s looking to live a more holistic lifestyle,” Flanagan said.