What was the initial spark or idea that led you to start your business?
It started from interest in sustainability and healthy food. My co-founder and I were working in software and finance remotely during Covid, and we decided to grow some organic veggies in an allotment. Despite our best efforts, one variable felt out of control – the weather. The summer we started there was an unprecedented draught. A farmer with a field nearby was pumping water for weeks non-stop to keep their crops alive. Most of it, though, seemed to be evaporating in the heat, wasting this scarce resource. We witnessed first-hand how climate change is a threat to food security and is pushing farmers towards unsustainable practices. We couldn’t help but brainstorm potential solutions.
Can you describe the moment when you realised this idea could become a reality?
Through research we stumbled upon controlled environment agriculture and hydroponics. These methods enable growing all year round with up to 95% less water – this sounds truly future-proof! Intrigued by it’s potential, we put our engineering hats on and prototyped an indoor farming system. Our crops grew miraculously fast, without needing to fight pests or being at the mercy of the weather.
What problem did you see that your business could solve?
Our greens were grown year-round without any pesticides. With the rising trend of organic produce, we figured that there would be a customer willing to pay for it.
Did you have a “eureka” moment when everything just clicked?
We set up a stand at Pollen Market and brought growing greens – demonstrating how we grow. Each time was a sell out and we got great feedback on the quality, freshness and flavour of our crops. This served as validation to keep growing and approach Sheffield’s independent grocers with our product.
What advice would you give to others seeking their own ‘lightbulb moment’?
Find the potential customer and make your first sales fast. There’s no point ruminating over an idea or developing an ideal product until you have signs it’s worth your time. Furthermore, getting out there and starting to sell brings to light so many things you may not think of. So, the sooner you start speaking to your customers and understand what they value, the better.
What does the future hold?
The vertical farming space has been turbulent the past few years due to fluctuating energy costs which led to a lot of bigger and smaller projects closing down. At Future Greens we’ve had our fair share of challenges, like having to close down our initial pilot and pivoting into generating renewable electricity for our new farm. We’ve just started operating our new farm in Attercliffe and will soon be opening it up to the community. In the meantime, we recently launched our Future Greens kitchen serving healthy lunch on Deliveroo with our freshly harvested greens.
VERTICAL FARMING EXPLAINED
Vertical farming is an innovative approach to agriculture that has the potential to transform food production, particularly in urban areas where space is limited. It promotes the growing of crops in stacked layers, maximising space, reducing water use and minimising pesticides in the process.
For more information on Future Greens’ vision for next-level farming, head to www.futuregreens.uk.
