Hey guys so I will be starting a microgreens company here in the EU. I have very little competition in my area, and/but the populace here might not know enough about microgreens. I also have concerns regarding the up coming financial downturn. I believe it was said thats theres 70% chance the U.S stock market will crash in the next two years. Can you advise me on how I can start a robust microgreens company that can thrive during these recessionary times and also survive an economic crash?
I will have to take a loan to start this company. I believe I can start it with 50k euros. There’s two companies I know of that can provide me this loan, with one there will be 10% interest on the loan each year, up to 20 years repayment time, and I would need to start paying back immediately. And the other I believe its 2.5% with 2 years space before repayments have to start. With the last one my business idea has to be innovative to apply for it.
With the 50k I will buy the equipment and materials I need, rent the space I need for 1 year+, and be able to cover the loan repayment for 1+ year.
My main concern is how do I find clients and maintain them during this recessionary period till the possibly soon economic crash? I will focus on providing microgreens both to restaurants and direct to consumers.
You must log in or register to comment.
Have you grown microgreens before? I know why they’re attractive to you as an offering as I’m basically the marketing person for a local farm in the US that’s about to release its own brand.
I’d recommend get the farm going with whatever resource you can muster together and not take a loan. I’m assuming the loan is for hydroponic equipment or some other growing resource, which is fine, but if you’re unsure of the market in your location it’s a gamble. Grow your audience with what you can produce, then when revenue comes in use that to fund the venture.
When you have product available for sale, obviously you’ll want to have a website with ordering available and the logistics of getting it to your customers worked out (delivery or pickup). I’d also suggest local places like independent grocers or markets where people who are health conscious shop. Let them educate their customers and they’ll buy finished product from you. I’d advise your strategy include both revenue streams. You’ll make more with direct retail, but it is also nice when someone consistently buys larger amounts.
Hi thank you for your advice! I haven’t grown microgreens before but I do have a degree in life sciences. I’ve been leaning towards getting the loan because I currently don’t have the space or the funds to start the business myself.
You’re right regarding me being unsure of the market in my location. Do you have any tips regarding best ways to do market research? I dont want to contact restaurants without having anything to sell them.
I’m currently deciding between either starting a microgreens or a gourmet mushroom business. I’ll make sure to do proper market research on both to decide which I will start.
Also could I stay in touch with you incase I have more questions?
Sure, you can DM me with any questions you have.
As for market research, you can always ask questions at grocery stores or restaurants. You know what types of dishes or salads the greens you want to grow are good with or in, so maybe play dumb and act like what you’re “looking for” isn’t available and if they know where you can find it. Instead of a direct response like “I’d love to buy your product”, look for more subtlety like “we’d love to offer it, but just can’t it get here fresh locally”.
One of my prospective clients does mushroom growing like lions mane and a couple of others and gave me a tour of his grow room. It’s probably 1x2 meters or so. Hydroponic greens take a little more space though, but can be done vertically. Maybe start with one vertical unit where the lights are in the center and the plants grow around the edge.
Good luck!
You can’t predict the future and absolutely nobody knows if or when a market crash will happen. If you’re selling a superior/luxury product, then yeah, you will have exposure if a recession hits.
During a recession people cut back on what they view as unnecessary expenses. If you believe a recession is on the horizon, ask yourself how needed to microgreens? If people cut back on dining, restaurants will cut back on costs. I think microgreens has to be one thing that could go pretty quick. Much faster than say their beef supplier for example. Good luck.
Yeah that is fair. Microgreens is more like a luxury good. Since they tend to be a bit more/quite more expensive it might be the first things to be cut. Unless the consumers are very health focused, then they might hold unto the microgreens for longer? Since microgreens are known to have health benefits to them?
I suppose if I find the right niche I might be able to weather the storm.
I looked into this a few years ago in the states, and unless you have a pristine low cost water source and very low electricity costs, it’s difficult to produce at a scale that makes entry and competition viable, let alone recession proof.
There are other expensive issues too— scaling your harvest processing capacity and packaging, pest control and waste handling, organic certification or hydroponic system maintenance… ultimately even with automation or going back to basics I couldn’t make it make sense as a standalone business. It needed to be part of a larger enterprise that had similar input and uses for the unsold or byproduct outputs. I determined there were better margins in selling preparedness kits and aerogarden style micro greens setups.