As one of the first startups featured during Republic’s launch in 2016, we have achieved significant milestones since our first campaign!  With the support of our investors, we successfully deployed our 2.0 beta AND our 3.0 model, and launched internationally. We are ready for commercial expansion!

Deal highlights

• Proven turnkey solution for local food production
• Cost effective and self-sustaining 2-acre farm kit
• Grows any crop- for consumption or cash
• 3.0 system ready for commercialization
• Working with United Nations World Food Programme Innovation Accelerator
• Partnered with industry-leaders: Netafim, Grundfos, Trojan and Cisco

Demand for organic and local foods are growing faster than supply and available agriculture infrastructure.

Local-based community farms have given way to large-scale industrial agriculture. But that focus on intensified production of a single crop has come at a significant price: it has degraded our soil, strained our natural resources, and decreased the nutritional value of our food.

Consumer demand for locally produced organic food has risen sharply over growing concerns of the environmental and health risks associated with chemically intensive industrialized agriculture. But our current infrastructure can’t keep up with the growing demand. 

It is time to shift the focus from mass production to production by the masses.

Farm from a Box is a scalable, cost efficient, and community driven infrastructure for modern food production. 

Farm from a Box provides a scalable agricultural infrastructure to modernize community driven farming in a cost effective and sustainable way. It is the easiest and most efficient way to start and maintain a 2-acre planted farm. 

This complete turnkey system marries the classic community farm with modern clean technologies to make it more efficient, less wasteful and more productive, all with a low carbon footprint.  Our ability to modularize the entire system, allows for easy construction, deployment and maintenance.

The "Swiss Army Knife" of sustainable farming

Modularization

The interchangeable components allow us to tailor the unit to different climates. Designed to conserve water, save energy, and help build a healthy soil, Farm from a Box enhances agricultural productivity with clean technology  in a regenerative farming system.  More production with less waste means more profit. 

By participating in Autodesk's pro bono consulting, we are optimizing our product for improved manufacturing processes with designs that can be scaled in a rapid and cost-effective way. 

Multiple applications

By providing the tools and technology to grow a complete farm outside, our system supports any kind of crop- creating greater options for the user. If nutrition is the goal it can support fruits, vegetables, and plant based proteins. If income generation is the goal it can support whatever high-value crops suit the local market.

User Case: IRC farm "Karma" 

Building community, self-sufficiency, and local economies

Working with the International Rescue Committee (IRC), we launched an urban farm unit, named “Karma,” to help recently resettled refugees from Nepal and Bhutan nourish themselves and their neighbors through community farming and small-business training. Rather than having a vacant piece of land in the middle of an urban subdivision, the surrounding community sees a beautiful farm, where they can buy fresh grown produce and get to know their new neighbors. Local restaurants love it because they can buy food farm-to-fork, and get to incorporate different of flavors in their menus.

United Nations World Food Programme Innovation Accelerator

Recently, the WFP has embraced a “Silicon Valley approach” to solving hunger across its global operations by launching bold new technologies and approaches to drive lasting change, and Farm from a Box is one of them!

Named with the World’s Most Innovative Companies, the World Food Programme’s Innovation Accelerator piloted the first Farm from a Box unit in Tanzania to increase the availability of nutritious crops and boost the income levels for both refugees and the surrounding host communities. 

Partnerships

We've gone to great lengths to design, manufacture, and source only the highest quality components for Farm from a Box.  We have developed partnerships with industry leaders in sustainability; combining “best-in-class” technology from globally recognized companies that ensure quality, longevity, and support. These global partners allow us to quickly, efficiently scale our product within multiple markets through their existing distribution channels. 

Competition

Farm from a Box ‘s unique selling point as a complete IoT enabled farm solution separates us from the main leaders in the market. While our competition, Freight Farms and CropBox, focuses on niche solutions which help the growth of primarily leafy greens hydroponically inside of the container with LED lighting, Farm from a Box’s ability to collect and measure data with clean, efficient technologies allows farmers and communities to improve operational efficiency, optimize water and energy use, and drive production and profits.

By providing the tools and technology to grow a complete farm outside, our system supports any kind of crop- creating greater options for the user. If nutrition is the goal it can support fruits, vegetables, and plant based proteins. If income generation is the goal it can support whatever high-value crops suit the local market.

Technology for Efficiency and Productivity

Strong Brand

We have been featured as an innovation in agriculture and food security in several publications and sites, with 7 Million views from the World Economic Forum.  

Market demand

Local, organic food has grown from niche market to a booming new economy. 

Nearly 82% of American households consume organic foods, but only 5% of total food production is organic. With 10% year-over-year growth for the past 5 years, the supply cannot currently keep pace with the demand. 

This is a $107 Billion Total Addressable Market. The opportunity to scale up a turnkey tech-enabled infrastructure for small scale farming is massive.

The road to new, profitable markets and to expansion beyond direct-to-consumer sales is paved with infrastructure.  Our initial focus will be on individual and commercial farmers within the U.S. as 85% of our buyer interest in coming from this customer base- a $9 Billion dollar market segment. 

Traction

Our inbound leads have grown average of 50% each quarter 

Since launching our initial prototype and 2.0 beta, customer outreach for our product has grown at a rapid rate. 10x the growth since our first 2016 Republic campaign! 

This inbound outreach has allowed us to quantify prospective customer interest and collect valuable data on what our customers are looking for, and what market segments they are coming from. Our 3.0 model has been fine-tuned to respond to those needs, in a cost- effective and scalable design. 

Business Model

Direct-to-consumer sales model allows us to reduce costly inventory, tailor-make units to order, and improve the consumer experience with a direct product-buyer relationship.

After a basic assessment, the product is made to order, shipped to the buyer's location, and deployed on site with a dedicated farm from a Box team.

Global Need

There are nearly 550 million smallholder farms in the world today and that is expected to reach roughly 750 million by 2030. Climate change, land degradation, population growth and other global changes means smallholder agriculture has to rapidly evolve and adopt climate-resilient technologies on a large scale.

With the enablement of modern technology, we can establish new innovative infrastructure that can leapfrog that of more developed countries, and strengthen global food security. 

Use of Funds

We are raising $535,000 to build our sales and marketing initiatives, streamline our manufacturing and deployment, and provide us with 12 months of runway for production and sales. 

Our path forward

Over this past year, we have collected valuable user feedback, advanced the product, and have secured significant strategic partnerships. With our technology proven and a robust sales pipeline, it is time to dive into commercialization and sales!

Our team will work to secure our first 20 sales within the domestic market at the start of 2018 by expanding our team, building our our marketing strategy and launching our 3.0 product commercially. 

Where business meets impact

Business can be a powerful agent for change. Let's shift how business impacts the world. We believe business can solve problems, increase efficiency, and foster vibrant healthy communities, while making a profit! Farm from a Box is working to do just that.

(Bonus) How it all began

The idea struck us back in 2009.

We were building a Youth Empowerment Center in Kenya, using modified shipping containers around a soccer field to provide basic resources in education, health, and sport. But accessing fresh, nutritious food was a problem. Then it occurred to us - what if we could use a shipping container to provide the tools to start a farm and grow food right there? An all-in-one kit ...  a "farm-in-a-box."  

We spoke with some of the best minds in agriculture, biodiversity, and sustainable energy,  farmers,  government officials, and some of the largest aid providers in the world trying to understand what was needed and what could be done better. Their answer? We want the infrastructure to support reliable crop growth and the training to do it better.  So that's what we built.

Join us

Together, we can build an industry-changing business that provides locally grown, healthy food to communities around the world.

Sometimes the best solutions are the most obvious – let’s give people the tools.

For people, planet and nutritious food for everyone!

Thank you!