What a Successful Microgreens Farm Business Looks Like
I can answer this question for you in one short paragraph:
A successful commercial microgreens farm is one that does these 3 things:
✔️ Produces consistently excellent quality microgreens for customers;
✔️ Whilst generating enough profit to provide you with the income you want;
✔️ And takes the amount of time and energy you want to spend on it.
That’s it in my opinion and is regardless of size.
It doesn’t always come easy to reach this sweetspot though. It’s taken me just short of 6 years of me running, building, scaling up, scaling down, tweaking and trying all the things, for me to reach my ideal microgreens business design that enables the perfect balance in my life. But I’ve got here, because I’ve been continually working towards it.
I honestly believe that the reason to have a business is so your life improves. Not the other way round. It doesn’t make sense to sacrifice time, energy, health, relationships for the business to do well. Much easier said than done in so many cases but if you set your goals from day one, then you’re much more likely to actively work towards achieving them.
Nell’s Urban Greens’ Grow House, December 2023
This balance can look very different for different people. For me, it’s a small efficient set up at home in my garden based Grow House with just me as the employee.
But there are lots of different microgreens business models and the reality is that sometimes you just need to try out several ones and see what fits for you and what aligns with your overall goals for your business.
I definitely see the attraction of massive commercial microgreens farms. They can rake in huge revenue numbers, they’re generally thought of more as ‘proper’ businesses, they look abundant on social media(!), ultimately they’re providing more food for people… there are lots of good (and no so good) reasons for having a larger scale microgreens farm (I’m talking 3+ full time employees kind of size, running out of a commercial unit).
I’ve done quite alot of one to one consultations this year with people at the start of their journey and we’re usually creating business plans together. A handful I’ve worked with want biggish farms - 500 trays a week+ size. Which is totally understandable when you realise how scalable this business is.
I’ve, however, been recommending that they set their sights much smaller to begin with (apologies for the number of bubbles I’ve burst this year!). Not because I don’t appreciate ambition, the excitement of a new microgreens business and thinking big but, instead, for these reasons:
Big farms can have much larger overheads. The top 3 being labour, rent and utilities. Keep these as low as possible for as long as possible.
If you’re new to the industry, it’s super important that you grow some microgreens first (see if you enjoy it) and know you’ll be able to sell them to your community. Definitely do this before buying a huge amount of kit and renting out a massive space.
Mircogreens businesses can be set up on a shoestring, so you should take advantage of that! Then start selling and continually keep reinvesting your profits. Start small, grow gradually.
In today’s current economic climate, going too big too soon is not likely to end well. I’ve seen a couple of our larger microgreens farms in the UK sadly have to close down this year. I’ve seen many over the years that took on too much to run the business sustainably in the longer term.
If you can get through these stages and your business is in profit, then start scaling it up, if that’s what you’ve set as your goal.
Ultimately, from day one , set your vision for your business and be crystal clear on why you’re setting it up in the first place.
This is so important. It’s what will guide and move you forward and keep you on track. It’s so easy when you’re in the bubble of it all to just keep going, even if you’re wildly deviating from your initial intentions and goals.
A microgreens farm business can be the best business in the world, as long as it’s organised properly and has a long term sustainability plan at the forefront of operations. You just need to find what that looks like for you.
Personally, I recommend:
1. Keeping your microgreens farm at home (or in a rent free space),
2. You being the only employee,
3. Sticking to low overheads as much as you can. This keeps your business simple too and a lean model is more likely to keep you going through the tougher economical times.
That’s what a successful microgreens farm business is to me :)
So it’s approaching the end of the year. If you’re all fired up and want to hit the ground running with your microgreens business in 2024, then this will definitely start the ball rolling in the right direction for you…..
Back in October, I launched my brand new online course for those of you who are at your planning, trial grows, market research and first sales stage of your new business.
The course is called Micro Steps and it enables you to properly test the waters to see if pursuing a successful microgreens business is for you.
It takes away all the guess-work of how to do this properly, and enables you to create a solid foundation for your business from which you can then build upon.
Through step-by-step tutorials, you’ll be able to grow your first crops to a commercial standard along with me. Then learn exactly how to sell these to paying customers.
It’s open now! Click below for the details:
