With the drawl of the central Idaho farmboy that he is, MAiZE founder Brett Herbst says, “If I’d known how big this corn maze thing was going to get, it would have scared me to death.”
This corn maze thing is big.
Forty-five states big. Two million maze-goers big. World’s largest corn maze company big. Largest corn maze convention big. Guinness Book of World Records big.
The MAiZE is no small potatoes.
FIELD OF DREAMS
After finishing his agribusiness degree at BYU in 1995, Brett worked for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on a farm west of Utah Lake. In 1996, he started envisioning a business crop of his own. With each passing day, he became more sure he could create, market and run his own fall activity all within a field of dreams-esque corn field.
“I just didn’t see how it wasn’t a perfect fit all the way around,” Brett says. “The college students here don’t go party but they do want fun activities, so I was certain the corn maze would work. I also knew families here want something fun to do together — although my friends thought I was crazy.”
Brett’s hunch turned out to be a bumper crop with 18,000 people visiting his maze during its three-week run the first year.
Based on the success of the first maze, the next year he operated three mazes, with help from friends and family. In 2001 the MAiZE, the world’s largest corn maze company, will operate 103 mazes around the United States and Canada.
Even though Brett knew his first maze wasn’t a risky venture financially, he has been blown over by the growth in his company.
“I had no idea that a few years later, we’d be hosting the world’s largest corn maze convention here in Provo and designing mazes around the country,” Brett says.
As the maze idea grew in popularity, Brett’s phone started ringing. The Associated Press wanted to do stories and take pictures. Farmers wanted to know how to start their own corn maze. Family and friends — who originally weren’t sure the idea was more than a joke — wanted to take part, also.
CORNY THRILLS
Brett’s work blends in with his life because of the love he has for what he does. He gets a thrill off seeing the aerial shot of a Canadian corn maze cut in the shape of a moose. He loves hearing schoolchildren giggle as they visit a farm for the first time.
“I love what I do,” Brett says.
Brett is involved with every aspect of the MAiZE, from designing each labyrinth to cutting it out. But he’s hesitant to share his technique for creating the maze.
“That’s part of the secret,” Brett says, sounding more like Colonel Sanders than founder of an agriculture-based business.
The real secret is that he’s a hard worker. The first year, he cut the maze out with a weedwhacker. Through the years he has refined his techniques.
“The hardest part is getting it laid out right so that it portrays the image we created on the computer,” Brett says.
Brett’s most famous creation to date is his world-record setting corn maze in 1999 in Lindon, which remains the current record holder, according to the Guinness Book of World Records.
“It’s really cool, actually,” Brett says with a smirk. “It’s one of those things that is really cool to say you’ve done.”
Since setting the record, Brett’s mazes have actually gotten slightly smaller.
“We can get our mazes to a certain size, and then they start to get too big,” Brett says.
COPY CORNS
Since Brett cut his first maze, others have followed. Handmade signs dot dozens of Utah County rural intersections with “corn maze next right.” Brett isn’t worried about the competition — it’s a form of flattery, he says — but he does feel that his mazes offer more intricacy than many of his competitors.
“I think having a really good maze that’s challenging and intricate is crucial,” Brett says. “Incorporating other agritainment is also vital.”
Brett says “agritainment” like it’s an everyday word, which to him, it is. But to the rest of us, it translates into pumpkin patches, hayrides, farm markets and petting zoos.
AGRICULTURE IN THE BLOOD
Although Brett’s revolution of the corn farm has brought exciting travel, money and fame, the real gratification for him is seeing thousands of people in the farm atmosphere.
“My mother always says you can take the boy out of the farm, but you can’t take the farm out of the boy,” Brett says. “And the farm is in me and always will be.”
Farmer Brett has put down roots in Springville now, but his Idaho blood still brings him to help family members run mazes back home.
“This is my passion, really,” Brett says. “I count myself pretty fortunate to still be in an agricultural situation where I’m involved with farmers and also the general public.”
Brett is saddened by the loss of the family farms across America, and he loves working with families who own land and want an additional route to make some money.
“Agriculture is the heart of America, and it’s what made America the land of plenty and promise,” Brett says with conviction. “Yet the farming industry is struggling everywhere. The family farms are disappearing — they just can’t compete.”
Farmers have adopted his path to success by becoming part of The MAiZE family and using their land for one of Brett’s creations.
SECRET OF HIS SUCCESS
Although there is mystique surrounding the design of each new maze, there’s nothing secretive about Brett’s success.
“I was in the right place at the right time, and I was ready to take advantage of the opportunity,” Brett says.
He also credits hiring the right people to help him with his passion.
One of Brett’s key employees is Kamille Coombs, marketing director.
“Brett is one of the hardest workers I know, and he won’t ever give up until he believes he’s given 110 percent,” Kamille says. “He loves agriculture, he loves people and he loves anything that brings the two together. When you add that passion to his natural entrepreneurial spirit, you’re bound to see success.”
Brett’s entrepreneurial spirit has also led him to open several Cold Stone Creameries along the Wasatch Front.
“I’d been to Cold Stone in Arizona, and I knew it would work here,” Brett says.
FUTURE OF MAZES
Brett often gets asked if corn mazes are simply a trend. With the honesty of an Idaho farmer, he says, “I really don’t know.” The only evidence he has is that mazes have been around for centuries.
“We believe corn mazes have the potential to become a tradition — just like haunted houses and country fairs.”
The MAiZE has a tradition of holding conventions to centralize the training for the franchisees of The MAiZE.
“What I’ve found in my life is that the minute you think you know it all is the minute you find out you’re wrong,” Brett says. “We like to get the maze owners together to share perspectives.”
Activities during the corn maze conventions include panel discussions with the media, advertising techniques, and safety issues. “Farmers aren’t marketing specialists,” Brett says, “and they need to be educated on that.”
“It stimulates thoughts and ideas,” Brett says. “The farmers will say, ‘Now that I’ve seen how this person does it, I’m going to do mine a bit differently.’”
Brett is glad he did something different with his agribusiness degree — and so are the 2 million maze-goers who’ve gotten lost in his creations.