Inside North American Farms: How A Family Keeps Control While Handing Over the Reins

Behind every giant in the houseplant industry is a family story. At Costa Farms, the Smiths are turning the typical succession playbook on its head while keeping the company on a growth track.

Most family businesses that reach significant scale face the same dilemma: hand over control to the next generation or risk stagnation, but lose the family oversight that built the company. The statistics are brutal – only 30% of family businesses survive to the second generation, 12% to the third, and a mere 3% make it to the fourth generation or beyond.

Costa Farms, now generating roughly $550 million in annual revenue and distributing to over 20,000 retail locations across North America, is bucking those odds. This July, the Miami-based plant nursery announced a leadership transition that keeps the founding family firmly in control while creating room for operational growth.

The Hand-Off Method

Joche Smith Sr., who has led Costa Farms as CEO and President for three decades, promoted his son Jose (Joche) Smith Jr. to President while remaining as Chief Executive Officer. Rather than the traditional step-aside approach, Smith Sr. carved out specific responsibilities: he retains legal and human resources functions, while his son takes over day-to-day operations across domestic and international business units.

‘Joche Jr. has an innate understanding of our customers and our mission to bring plants to every home. He’s ready to lead us forward with clarity and purpose,’ said Smith Sr.

The split follows a growing trend among large family businesses using role separation to maintain governance oversight while enabling operational autonomy. Smith Jr., representing the fourth generation of the family business founded in 1961, brings over a decade of experience expanding the company’s national retail presence across major accounts including Lowe’s, Home Depot, Walmart and Costco.

Building Scale Without Losing Family Authority

The CEO-President split addresses a fundamental challenge for family businesses at Costa Farms’ scale. With operations spanning 5,200 acres outdoor and 605 acres greenhouse operations, plus international supply chains, the company needs operational expertise that can move quickly without bottlenecking major decisions through a single family member.

Smith Jr.’s background in sales and team-building positions him well for this operational focus. As Senior Vice President of Sales & Commercial Operations, he led planning, product placement and customer engagement initiatives that helped Costa’s plants reach millions of consumers nationwide. His experience working across supply chain, production and marketing teams to streamline operations aligns with the hands-on operational role he’s now taking.

The approach differs markedly from family businesses that either maintain founder control too long or hand over complete authority to the next generation. By keeping oversight and key functions like legal and HR under the founding generation while delegating operational execution, Costa Farms maintains family governance without limiting growth potential.

Building an Operational Bench

Alongside the family succession, Costa Farms promoted Juan Rodriguez from Director of Sales for Lowe’s to Senior Vice President of Sales and Commercial Operations. Rodriguez will lead customer-facing approaches and support cross-functional alignment across major retail accounts, while heading the commercial teams of Category Management, Demand Planning and Marketing.

This promotion signals Costa Farms’ recognition that scaling requires building operational leadership outside the family structure. Rather than centralising all key roles within the family, the company is developing a management bench that can support its massive retail distribution network while keeping commercial direction under direct family influence.

The timing aligns with significant growth in the houseplant sector. The global indoor plants market is projected to grow from $20.68 billion in 2024 to $30.25 billion by 2032, driven by consumer interest in home decor, wellness and air purification benefits. Costa Farms, which produces more than 1,500 varieties and distributes roughly 150 million plants annually, is positioned to capture this growth through its retail partnerships.

The Smith family’s approach contrasts with other family businesses at similar scale that often face pressure to either professionalise management completely or sell to larger entities. Companies like those that survive beyond 30 years typically focus on governance structures, long-term value creation and careful succession planning.

Costa Farms’ model allows institutional growth while maintaining private family control. Smith Sr.’s retention of CEO duties and key functions like legal and HR ensures family values and long-term thinking remain central to major decisions. Meanwhile, Smith Jr.’s operational focus enables the company to respond quickly to retail trends and consumer demands in the fast-moving houseplant market.

The governance structure also reflects broader changes in family business management, where successful multi-generational companies increasingly separate oversight from operational execution. This approach can extend business longevity by professionalising operations while maintaining family stewardship.

What Comes Next

The generational transition at Costa Farms represents more than internal succession – it’s a test of whether family businesses can maintain competitive advantage while adapting to changing retail and consumer preferences. The houseplant industry’s growth trajectory, combined with evolving retail partnerships and consumer preferences, creates both opportunities and challenges for established players.

Smith Jr.’s focus on operational excellence and customer relationships will be crucial as the company navigates an increasingly competitive market. His background in expanding retail presence and understanding merchandising programs positions him well for the operational demands of maintaining and growing Costa Farms’ massive distribution network.

The success of this transition model could influence how other large family businesses approach succession planning. Rather than choosing between family control and professional management, the Costa Farms approach suggests family businesses can maintain oversight while building operational capacity for growth.

For the Smith family, the restructuring keeps Costa Farms on track to beat the odds facing most family businesses. With fourth-generation leadership now in operational control and founding-generation oversight, the company is positioned to maintain its family foundation while competing in a rapidly evolving market.