Food production will be revolutionised with a new farming method

Problem

Agriculture has operated in its current, resource-intensive format for a long time. Traditional farming requires a lot of water, among other things, and greenhouses typically consume a lot of energy. In addition, the current form of agriculture is dependent on subsidies and the subsidies do not necessarily direct sufficient resources to sustainable use. At the same time, the world’s population is increasing. Food production needs to be reformed to ensure enough nutritious food for everyone.

Solution: nutrition-dense food, energy-efficiently

Silmusalaatti produces salad sprouts. The nutrition density of buds and sprouts are better than in fully grown plants. In addition, the company’s growth method allows the salad sprouts to be delayed and the preservation of them extended. It is possible to germinate plants closer to customers using vertical urban farming. Farming can occur in a windowless space below ground, which provides much better energy efficiency than greenhouses. In addition, the farming method conserves a significant amount of water even without water recirculation, because the method consumes only one tenth of the amount of water used in traditional greenhouse farming. Silmusalaatti’s products are also organic.

Revenue logic and benefits to Silmusalaatti

Silmusalaatti’s revenue logic is based on sprout salad products, which are delivered to retail outlets through wholesalers. The revenue logic based on product sales allows operations to be funded based on profits. Product sales also enable direct access to customer feedback, which promotes the development of products.

Benefits to customers and end users

Silmusalaatti’s customers are retail wholesalers, which provides a comprehensive market coverage. The end user – the consumer – may decide to buy sprout salad for many different reasons: the motivation may be obtaining organic and locally produced food, the nutrition density of the salad, its taste, its shelf-life or using it to improve food presentation.