Vertical Farming Podcast

S12E159 Conner Tidd/Just Vertical - Democratizing Indoor Farming: Mission UnveiledHave you ever wondered how to grow fresh produce year-round, even in the harshest climates? I sat down with Conner Tidd, co-founder and CEO of Just Vertical, to discuss the innovative world of indoor farming and how it's changing the way we think about food production. Conner's journey into vertical farming began with a desire to make a tangible impact on food security and sustainability. With a background in environmental law and restaurant experience, he saw the potential for indoor farming to address issues of food waste and accessibility. Just Vertical started as an academic project and evolved into a company offering both consumer and commercial vertical farming solutions. We delved into the challenges of developing user-friendly indoor farming systems, from early prototypes built with Home Depot materials to sleek, furniture-like designs that fit seamlessly into homes. Conner emphasized the importance of making vertical farming technology accessible and easy to use, whether for home growers or large-scale commercial operations. The conversation also touched on Just Vertical's expansion into commercial projects, including partnerships with educational institutions and humanitarian efforts. Conner shared insights on the future of vertical farming, the need for innovation in seed development, and the importance of collaboration within the industry. If you're curious about the future of food production and how vertical farming could revolutionize agriculture, don't miss this enlightening conversation with Conner Tidd. Listen now to gain valuable insights into the world of indoor farming and its potential to address global food challenges. Thanks to Our Sponsors CEA Summit East - https://indoor.ag/cea-summit-east-2025/ Indoor AgCon - https://indoor.ag/ Key Takeaways 5:09 Conner’s restaurant experience and food waste 10:55 Origin story of Just Vertical 21:23 Variety of crops grown on living walls 25:01 Accessibility and ease of use focus 29:48 Global projects and ideal farming partners 33:56 Innovation in vertical farming seeds 36:18 Addressing AeroGarden closure and industry outlook Tweetable Quotes"We always say everything's fixable as long as we know about it. And that's, you know, we emphasize that with employees now. But even early days, like the first few indoor gardens we sold, like, watch the leak, they spilled onto people's floors. Like we short circuited stuff. The worst thing we could have done would have been to kind of shirk responsibility and try and hide from those customer calls.""Our big thing that we always push is accessibility and easy use in this technology. We view our role as understanding all the really cool science that goes into making great LED lights, great control systems, great nutrients and integrating that into a package that is easy for farmers to use and grow with.""We span the education sphere from kindergarten all the way through PhD research. With little kids it's often just about showing them where food comes from and it's not just from the grocery store and getting hands-on experience. So education is a great venue. It's something people are really interested in and we're happy to be part of it because it really drives the industry as well."Resources Mentioned Website - https://justvertical.com/ LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/connertidd/ Connect With Us VFP LinkedIn -

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S12E160 Oliver Rotko/Arctic Farming - Revolutionizing Restaurants: Herbie’s Innovative Indoor Farm SolutionEver wondered how to navigate the challenges of indoor farming and create successful products in this evolving industry? Oliver Rotko, CEO of Plant TUI and Arctic Farming, shares his journey and insights into the world of vertical farming. I sat down with Oliver to discuss his unique path from business student to indoor farming innovator. He revealed how his experiences in B2B sales, marketing, and even watchmaking contributed to his success in developing cutting-edge vertical farming solutions. Oliver's story is a testament to the power of patience, market research, and customer-centric product development. We delved into the development of Arctic Farming's flagship product, Herbie, a sleek and efficient indoor farming unit designed for the hospitality industry. Oliver explained the careful considerations behind its design, from the choice of materials to the user interface, all informed by extensive customer feedback and market testing. He also shared insights into the company's expansion into the consumer market with the acquisition of Plantui, a award-winning desktop hydroponic system. Throughout our conversation, Oliver emphasized the importance of taking a measured approach to growth in the vertical farming industry. He highlighted the need for patience, both from investors and entrepreneurs, and the value of learning from industry failures. We also touched on Arctic Farming's exciting ventures into space agriculture and the company's unique "Earth first, space second" strategy. If you're interested in the future of food production, sustainable agriculture, or entrepreneurship in emerging industries, you won't want to miss this insightful conversation with Oliver Rotko. Tune in to gain valuable lessons from a leader at the forefront of indoor farming innovation. Thanks to Our Sponsors CEA Summit East - https://indoor.ag/cea-summit-east-2025/ Indoor AgCon - https://indoor.ag/ Key Takeaways 5:53 Importance of video marketing for CEOs 13:30 AI tools revolutionizing content creation 16:19 Early days of Arctic Farming development 21:53 Herbie: Innovative restaurant-grade vertical farm 27:41 Switching from aeroponics to fogponics 34:53 Space ambitions and Earth-first strategy 37:52 Acquiring Plantui: Consumer-focused hydroponic system 43:18 Motivation behind pursuing indoor farming Tweetable Quotes"We've taken it incredibly slow, gathering feedback, meanwhile seeing all these bankruptcies, for example, from infarm, learning from them, interviewing the insiders, interviewing their ex investors, interviewing their customer suppliers and so on, and kind of feeding all of that information and learnings from the customers, from the industry, from experts like you back into the product.""Why do we do this? To be honest, I had a wonderful conversation with a colleague from the US where the standard greeting that we have is, how are you doing? Fine, thank you. And as well as you can do as an indoor farming startup or entrepreneur, it's. This is the most difficult industry that I can imagine getting into.""Just seeing the iterative progress with a product that you have designed from zero, literally scratch, is the most rewarding feeling that you can have."Resources Mentioned Website - https://www.arcticfarming.io/ LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/oliverrotko/ Connect With Us VFP LinkedIn -

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