the fish tank requires extra maintenance, Farah says. The goal was to make SproutsIO’s system as easy as possible to install and use. To that end, it can be set up in a matter of minutes, and the main device can be cleaned in the dishwasher, she says.
Blanchet says smaller indoor gardening systems from competitors like SproutsIO can “spur interest and are accessible enough to quickly introduce thousands of people to in-home gardening.” He adds that “a lot of our customers even started in-home gardening with these other products, and then chose to start growing with a Grove Ecosystem.”
In early tests with users, SproutsIO found that inexperienced growers wanted the system to automatically handle everything for them, Farah says. “You’d be surprised how many people are actually afraid of plants,” she says. “Then when they started growing with it, they started feeling more confident and comfortable.”
Restaurants could also be a fruitful target customer for SproutsIO. The company tested its system in the kitchens of No. 9 Park and Menton, two Boston eateries owned by renowned chef and restaurateur Barbara Lynch. The product was a hit with chefs, Farah says. It allows them to grow certain types of produce in-house even when out of season, and they avoid produce getting damaged en route to the restaurant.
“What’s great is we can grow those things that are delicate and finicky, and they can cut it fresh at the restaurant” and put it straight on the plate, Farah says. “They don’t even have to wash it,” she adds, because SproutsIO’s system doesn’t use any herbicides or pesticides.
Nevertheless, for now SproutsIO intends to focus mainly on selling directly to consumers, Farah says, where she sees the technology having the most impact.
“It’s a small-scale solution, but when you have millions of people hopefully growing in SproutsIO, then you can potentially change the way that our industrial food system works,” Farah says.
“I’m not saying everybody is going to grow all their produce on SproutsIO,” she continues. But for its customers, “because you’re participating in the process of growing, you actually care more about that produce and you understand more what it takes to grow the produce. I think that makes a more educated consumer.”
