This week, let’s talk about vertical farming.
Before we talk more, I think you should watch these two videos:
Urban gardening as a concept has been around for a while now. The thesis is simple.
People like gardening – but they don’t have space. They also don’t have lights, and the plants don’t get to stay in their natural habitat.
Urban planning attacks those problems from different angles.
Let’s look at some data points first:
- With food prices on the rise, people want guaranteed access to fresh produce. Price is not the only problem; we have bad quality food that can be deadly. Putting colour on food is still a much common practice than you think. Everyone wants “healthy”
- The urban farming market is set to jump from $174.23 billion in 2025 to $233.61 billion by 2029 (7.6% CAGR).
- The vertical farming segment alone could grow from $9.6 billion in 2025 to $21.12 billion by 2029 (21.8% CAGR).
- Leafy greens lead the pack, but strawberries, herbs – everything is growing rapidly.
- Vertical farming uses less water, less land, and is a 100% winner that can attack this market.
Let’s look at a few examples:
- Plenty: They’re not a service business, but they’re a great example of a brand doing large-scale vertical farming.
- Ambius: Specializes in “living walls” and green spaces for offices and retail spaces.
- Click & Grow: Offers smart indoor garden kits that basically take care of themselves. I have a Click & Grow product. I used it for 1 year. They have a good FB group too if you want to join and see the vibe.
- Tower Garden: Provides aeroponic towers perfect for urban settings, along with setup and ongoing support.
Here are the business opportunities I see:
Design & installation of Indoor Gardens
- There’s a growing demand for services that set up small vertical farms at homes, restaurants, and corporate buildings. It is more of a B2B business than a B2C one.
- Offer subscriptions for maintenance and upgrades.
A Product Business
- No one is stopping you from importing those verticle gardens from China and selling them in Bangladesh. That’s an easy business.
I think it can also be an educational business – with gardening being an education / non-screen based entertainment option for kids. But I am not sure how to go about it yet.
Gardening as a category will keep growing. I don’t think it will ever stop. With urbanization coming in – we will need newer and newer angles and solutions, but people will always want to grow their own food.
The question is, how will you address that market?
Think about it this week.
Thanks
Naimul Islam Nayem