Freight Farms sees right climate for growth
Taryn Plumb, Special to the Journal
W. Marc Bernsau
If Boston-based Freight Farms has its way, shipping containers could
be the preferred vehicle of the future for fresh food production. The
startup, founded in 2010, has repurposed standard shipping containers
into hydroponic laboratories that can be installed anywhere.
As CEO and co-founder Brad McNamara explained, the five-employee company is starting small, but has much loftier goals.
“We want to take local food global,” he said, “and shift from a broken global food system to a sustainable solution.”
Making use of LED lighting and digital controls, the units grow food vertically, floor-to-ceiling, by the cubic foot, and require only eight hours a week of maintenance, McNamara said.
But this work can grow an acre’s worth of food. “It’s an enormous level of plant density in there,” McNamara said.
The company now has one unit on the market, a “leafy green machine,” that grows anything from lettuce, to mint, to arugula. In the forthcoming months, it will release a “vine veggie factory,” and a “fresh fungi factory.” It also offers solar modification packages, and plans to work with partners to make renewable options more accessible.
McNamara and co-founder Jonathan Friedman struck upon the idea while consulting on hydroponic rooftop design in 2009. Although McNamara had been growing hydroponically on his own, he and Friedman soon realized that rooftop greenhouses weren’t going to be scalable enough to even begin to address wider-reaching food-production needs.
But shipping containers, on the other hand, are not only prevalent around the world, McNamara said, but highly transportable, sealed, insulated, and designed to be stacked.
“It’s the perfect growing condition in any climate — you just put it down, plug it in, add water,” he said.
A participant in the 2013 spring session of TechStars Boston, Freight Farms was initially supported by a $31,000 Kickstarter campaign in December 2011. The startup is currently raising an estimated $1.2 million seed round that it hopes to close this summer, McNamara said.
The company has also closed on about $450,000 in sales over the past three months, he said. Customers buy the containers outright, at a cost of about $60,000 apiece. Then, for a monthly subscription, Freight Farms provides them with everything they need for production.
The startup has six units now in use, McNamara said, with commitments by buyers for another dozen or so. The eventual goal is to bring the farming systems to developed countries and other areas facing various food-production issues.
Ted Katsiroubas, co-owner of Boston-based fruit and produce supplier Katsiroubas Bros., is among Freight Farms’ customers. His company makes use of two stacked units: The bottom serves as a storage and packing area, while the top grows basil — a staple item that it ships regularly.
Being a Boston company, “we could never have the opportunity to have a ton of land (or) a field of products,” he said. But this “allows anybody to grow in an urban setting,” and, in the case of a sensitive item like basil, increases shelf-life, he said.
“What I’m excited about is the opportunity to work with other growers,” Katsiroubas said. “I’m just one piece of what’s going to turn into a big cluster, or hive, of units in New England.”
Original story link.
As CEO and co-founder Brad McNamara explained, the five-employee company is starting small, but has much loftier goals.
“We want to take local food global,” he said, “and shift from a broken global food system to a sustainable solution.”
Making use of LED lighting and digital controls, the units grow food vertically, floor-to-ceiling, by the cubic foot, and require only eight hours a week of maintenance, McNamara said.
But this work can grow an acre’s worth of food. “It’s an enormous level of plant density in there,” McNamara said.
The company now has one unit on the market, a “leafy green machine,” that grows anything from lettuce, to mint, to arugula. In the forthcoming months, it will release a “vine veggie factory,” and a “fresh fungi factory.” It also offers solar modification packages, and plans to work with partners to make renewable options more accessible.
McNamara and co-founder Jonathan Friedman struck upon the idea while consulting on hydroponic rooftop design in 2009. Although McNamara had been growing hydroponically on his own, he and Friedman soon realized that rooftop greenhouses weren’t going to be scalable enough to even begin to address wider-reaching food-production needs.
But shipping containers, on the other hand, are not only prevalent around the world, McNamara said, but highly transportable, sealed, insulated, and designed to be stacked.
“It’s the perfect growing condition in any climate — you just put it down, plug it in, add water,” he said.
A participant in the 2013 spring session of TechStars Boston, Freight Farms was initially supported by a $31,000 Kickstarter campaign in December 2011. The startup is currently raising an estimated $1.2 million seed round that it hopes to close this summer, McNamara said.
The company has also closed on about $450,000 in sales over the past three months, he said. Customers buy the containers outright, at a cost of about $60,000 apiece. Then, for a monthly subscription, Freight Farms provides them with everything they need for production.
The startup has six units now in use, McNamara said, with commitments by buyers for another dozen or so. The eventual goal is to bring the farming systems to developed countries and other areas facing various food-production issues.
Ted Katsiroubas, co-owner of Boston-based fruit and produce supplier Katsiroubas Bros., is among Freight Farms’ customers. His company makes use of two stacked units: The bottom serves as a storage and packing area, while the top grows basil — a staple item that it ships regularly.
Being a Boston company, “we could never have the opportunity to have a ton of land (or) a field of products,” he said. But this “allows anybody to grow in an urban setting,” and, in the case of a sensitive item like basil, increases shelf-life, he said.
“What I’m excited about is the opportunity to work with other growers,” Katsiroubas said. “I’m just one piece of what’s going to turn into a big cluster, or hive, of units in New England.”
Original story link.
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