Are there any crops most popular with your systems? And why do you think this could be?
Basil is a popular one. Fresh basil is tough to find fresh in Spain, as an example, even though it’s quite an agriculturally abundant country. It’s quite a popular choice. It’s aromatic and it’s quite diverse in what you can do with it. We’ve done a lot of different varieties with basil, from little bruschetta toasts to even garnishing pizzas. It’s definitely a popular one. Kale as well. Not a lot of people, at least, if we look at Spain, have connection with kale, even though it’s probably one of the best superfoods. There’s not a big connection to that veggie variety here, but kale smoothies are a real popular harvesting activity um again yeah not a lot of people have tried it.
So when you tell them about a green smoothie, this typically isn’t something people have tried before here, so that’s definitely a popular choice as well. There are quite a variety of what you can grow – we’ve got a menu of around 20 seed varieties that we carry. It’s completely customisable based on what our customer wants. It could be as unique or as standard as they’d like. From lettuce and arugula, to the kales and the basils that you don’t typically see fresh in a grocery store.
How would you tailor your services to fit different locations, sizes or areas – would there be any differences between implementing these in each?
We carry two different models. Both incorporate hydroponic technology and both are capable of doing the full growth cycle of a seedling in the same time period. But, one can grow up to 288 plants and the other can grow up to 24. So it depends on what the customer is looking for. One takes a bit of a smaller footprint than the other. It’s completely modular. If you’ve got the space, and quantity is what you’re going after, then we’ve got an option for you. If you’re looking for something a little bit more slim and you’re looking for kind of an aesthetic addition to any space with a bit of a smaller footprint, we also have that option for you.
The importance for us was to find and provide modular technology. because we don’t want to interrupt or interfere with the existing infrastructure of our customers.
What role does technology play in monitoring and maintaining your farming as a service?
Right now, it’s a hands-on operation, which means every week we go to our customers’ locations across the country – we’ve got teams across Spain. We check on the water, which is a life source of a hydroponic system. We check on the nutrient level and we check on the pH level. This we do on a week-by-week basis, until the veggies are ready. We coordinate the harvesting, replant the seedlings, adjust the water, repeat.
Moving forward, we’re in the process of developing our own IP, which will be an IoT powered system, with sensors, that will monitor the growth cycle. And, depending on the data recorded by those sensors, we’re creating a modular extension to the modular devices that will automate the growth cycle process. So based on the data recorded by the sensors, we will have a system that will balance the water accordingly. So that will allow us to scale and push our service to more locations, by improving our own operational efficiency.
We’re we’re really close with our customers because they see us once a week. We just hop in, and check the water and hop out – it’s not super intensive in terms of time. But, you get more locations and you start growing across the country, so it becomes tougher to manage. So that’s why this system will be really beneficial for us.
How do you ensure the quality and safety of your produce grown?
While now we have a physical eye on it once a week, soon we’ll digitally have an eye on it moving forward. What we’ve learned is hydroponics in a controlled environment is quite resilient. As long as the space has a consistent climate, which most commercial spaces do in terms of modern day heating and cooling systems, we’re in fairly good hands. Obviously in high traffic areas with people coming and going there is the chance of pests or some kind of insects flowing around, but luckily that hasn’t been a huge problem for us. When you propose this farming as a service idea, that was our initial concern and worry. But we realised that in most controlled environments, even if people are working around it, it’s a very resilient system because it’s pretty self-contained. The water and the lighting are integrated within the device, so they’re in safe hands for the most part.
How would you deal with any potential pests, or what would you recommend to avoid them?
We’ve got natural solutions to remedy this. There is an amazing product called neem oil, which is a tree extract, and it’s a deterrent for insects. It’s a natural organic product that can be used in situations like this. We try to keep it as natural as possible.
The whole point of our service was to make it as hassle-free as possible for our customers, and give them the opportunity to be as hands-on or as hands-off as they want to be. Right now, we have our service in the places where people work, learn and live. We have three sales verticals running congruently. On the learning side, for example schools, they love the hands-on component. It’s an educational tool. So, our service takes a step back.
We do the onboarding, the training, and we give students and staff the resources to run the system. And we’re there in the background if they need us. And it’s the same for other verticals like a co-working space, an office building, a hotel or a rental community, a senior housing community or a co-living community. In those cases, we can, again, be as hands-on or as hands-off as our customers want us to be.
Could you provide some details on any operational improvements, energy saving, cost saving or anything like that, that people have experienced after implementing your farming as a service model?
Our customers haven’t tended to have fresh food production in their location, so you couldn’t really compare because we’re installing in spaces that typically don’t have much connection to natural green life or have never explored natural plant growth within their space.
But, what I can say, is the technology that we use is 40% more efficient than traditional hydroponic technology, and it’s also made by ocean bound plastic. So in that regards, there is efficiency and sustainability within the technology that’s used. And, in terms of the actual consumption of the technology (in terms of electricity), it barely registers on a building or a location’s use. It’s honestly compared to having several light bulbs on. So, it’s difficult to compare, as many of our customers traditionally have not explored a solution like this.
It’s more efficient in terms of transportation, or introducing something completely new if they don’t typically have access to it. It makes it easier. This is zero kilometres in terms of growth you’re producing on site. So, the zero kilometre stamp is completely valid in this case. You do hear about a lot of people investing in gardens and outdoor facilities to enhance their outdoor space. But, that takes a lot of effort, and it’s completely dependent on your external factors and external conditions. So weather dependent, and an incredible amount of resources to upkeep in terms of soil and outdoor elements. Whereas, bringing the technology indoors, creating a controlled environment, you are the one in control of that environment. Our customers are able to enjoy a consistent cycle year round, without having to worry about any of the factors that are outside.
