StadtFarm

Idea

Introduction

StadtFarm produces fish and vegetables in a closed water cycle, saving water, land and GHG emissions compared to conventional agriculture. Our farms are built in urban settings, with a capacity of 50 tons of fish and 30 tons of green produce per year each. Production, processing and sales are local. Currently, we operate one commercial farm in Berlin and are now planning and building more – the next one also in Berlin, but already scouting locations in cities all over Germany and negotiating with partners and investors from different countries around the world.

Our first farm had positive gross profit 16 months after opening*. Our main customers are restaurants, but sales through our in-farm store, our own farmers market, and online shop are roughly 25%, so not to be ignored.

We believe food produced in a sustainable, clean and local way is a vital contribution to our personal health and our planet’s future.

Intended impact

To our founders, the cascading of resources in eco-systems is a major source of inspiration. Today’s linear agriculture results in up to 40% of food wasted, in depleted soils and empty oceans. By 2050, a global population of 9.8 billion will increase protein supply needs by 72% from 2013. Animal protein production is highly resource-intensive, causing a devastating 18% of global GHG emissions, 32% of deforestation and 33% of all global freshwater usage. On top of that, we transport food around the globe, be it lamb from New Zealand and pineapples from Hawai’i.

We felt challenged to find a better solution. /We have a proprietary technology that balances nutrients between fish and plants, creating a stable, healthy ecosystem. StadtFarm answers a growing demand for clean, planet-friendly products that excel in taste – feeding our neighbourhood.

Substantial accomplishments to date

- We began with a pilot-project in 2011 on the roof-top balcony of an office. Six months later, our Christmas dinner was composed of 90% own-grown vegetables and fish (only the apples for desert were from a store).

- We then found a greenhouse at a gardening school where we established a laboratory setting and experimented with all sorts of plants on 100 m², developed our special soils and brought the system to its final state, continuously operating over more than three years.

- 2015 we established the company in it’s current form, ready to go commercial, and began scouting for locations.

- 2016 we were a finalist of the German Federal Ecodesign Award.

- That same year, we found the perfect place for our first commercial farm and began production in the summer of 2017.

- 2017 also saw us at the International Horticultural Exhibition (IGA) with a booth presenting our technology and products.

- To finish off the year, we raised 700,000 EUR in a crowdlending campaign.

- Regional and national media have covered our story, ranging from TV (e.g. Mouse TV) through radio and press (incl. Huffington Post!). We’ve been on Ukranian and Singapore news and were part of international TV-project airing documentaries on a variety of projects contributing to a sustainable future.

- By the end of 2018, we had a positive gross profit*

*Based on unaudited management accounts.

Monetisation strategy

We produce 50 tons of fish (70% of sales) and 30 tons of vegetables per year.We process everything in our own kitchen, creating a vast range of products. Our extremely popular fish balls, BBQ sausages and skewers, smoked and cured fillet, are all manufactured next to our greenhouses. We avoid price wars over tomatoes in summer by creating sugar-free ketchup, soups and sauces, but also delicious pestos from our herbs and smoothies from our lettuce.

Restaurants make up roughly 75% of our sales, with weekly orders from some and irregular orders from others. Our drivers deliver directly every Thursday and Friday, within a range of roughly 15 km. Our own little store is open Monday through Saturday, where customers can purchase the entire range of our products. Saturdays we host farmers markets along with other local and sustainable partners.

We also receive many visitors both for our public guided tours (in German, French, English and other languages) as well as from groups who specifically book us.

Use of proceeds

Our entry goal of 350,000 EUR will be used as equity to build our next farm on Vattenfall premises in Berlin. We intend to also seek a loan for 700,000 EUR after this round. If we do not receive this loan, we plan to instead build a 24/7 store into our existing farm, get pet food on the market and increase automation in our kitchen processes.

If we reach the next level of 700,000 EUR we will implement a 24/7 automated (pickup) store at both farms and get our newest product, pet food from the fish remains, market-ready.

If we reach 1,000,000 EUR investment, we will have sufficient funds to enter the retail market, partially automating our processing (especially the packaging/weighing/labeling section). We would also increase our marketing efforts to support that new sales channel.