GreenHouse Growers Revolutionizing Horticulture.pdf

Rocket
Farms
Advancing the Hor culture
Sector Through Innova on
Top 10 Green House Growers Revolu onizing Hor culture Sector
Nature Therapy
5 Surprising Health
Beneﬁts of Gardening
and Plan ng
High-tech Greenhouse
How High-tech Greenhouses
are Quickly Becoming
the Future of Agriculture
March
Issue: 18
2022

hen I say 'cucumber', what do you see?
WThin green slices put on eyelids on a long
day broiling on a beach? Or slices mixed
up with other veggies in order to prepare a salad?
Well, if you thought on the similar lines then we
belong to the same league, and here is something
interesting to know about cucumbers.
The cucumber, native to India has been grown as a
food source for over 3000 years. But its popularity
was so widespread that it did not face geographical
limitations restricted to its native land.
The Indian staple food had been the favorite of the
royalty- the Roman Emperor Tiberius demanded to eat
cucumber every day. Even though cucumbers ripened
in summers, the gardeners made sure to keep them
moving on a wheel burrow in order to follow the sun.
Interestingly, during the cold months, the gardeners
covered the beds using sheets of mica which is a
Heavenly Road to the Roots!

transparent stone. This transparent sheet resembles today's
sheet glasses which are used in industrial size buildings in
the plantation industry.
The use of the mica technique is similar to that of today's
Greenhouse glass sheets which allows light to be
transmitted from the sun to the plants within the structure
that helps the plant to grow properly.
And yes! That's how Green House Gardening works. It is
not just a today's concept but a well-practiced ancient
technique.
But however, with advancing technologies and climate
change, the process of growing crops and vegetables has
become very popular in greenhouse settings, worldwide.
Combined with the pandemic lessons in the global market,
the industry is witnessing a blossom like never before.
In today's world, when it comes to plants, it is often
believed that the greenhouse is a catalyst. It has given space
to the gardeners to experiment, manage, and improvise
while also nurturing the most wonderful plants in the
garden.
With an intent to bring greenhouse growers to the spotlight,
who are thriving to protect the environment we at Insights
Success, present you Top 10 Green House Growers
Revolutionizing Horticulture Sector.
The featured organizations in the magazine are committed
to customer satisfaction and success, while also dwelling to
practicing horticulture alchemy and mindful activities.
To reap the fruits of motivation, do delve into the inspiring
stories of Greenhouse growers, also, make sure to ﬂip
through the articles written by our in-house editorial team
and CXO standpoints from the leading industry experts to
have a brief taste of the sector.
Happy reading!
- Shrutika Khedekar

Articles
08
22
36
Cover Story
Nature Therapy
5 Surprising Health Benets
of Gardening and Planting
How High-tech Greenhouses are
Quickly Becoming the Future of
Agriculture
ROCKET FARMS
Advancing the Horticulture Sector
Through Innovation

Contents
Contents
16
32
44
26
40
CxO
Consentio
At the Forefront of the Agriculture
Revolution
An Emerging Horticulture
Technology Application
Pixofarm
Speedling
Incorporated
Providing High-Quality
Transplants Since 1968
Stefanie Rollins
Tunas Farm
The Future Farm Facilitating
Affordable Premium Vegetables

sales@insightssuccess.com
March, 2022
Circulation Manager Tanaji Fartade
Research Analyst Eric Smith
Editor-in-Chief Pooja Bansal
Anish Miller
Senior Editor
Kelly, David
Business Development Executives
Managing Editor
Sherin Rodricks
Business Development Manager
Abhishaj Sajeev
Art & Design Head
Art & Design Assistant
Visualiser David King
Co-designer
Rohil Shinganapurkar
Mrunalinee Deshmukh
Marketing Manager Joseph D'souza
Technical Consultants Pratiksha, Aditya, David
Technical Head Jacob Smile
Assistant Technical Head
SME-SMO Executives Gemson
Digital Marketing Manager Alina Sege
Assistant Digital Marketing Manager Renuka Kulkarni
Copyright © 2022 Insights Success Media and Technology Pvt. Ltd., All rights reserved. The content and images used in this magazine should not
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Paul Belin

Featuring Brief
Company Name
Matthew Karlson
Managing Director
Metrolina Greenhouses
metrolinagreenhouses.com
Pixofarm
pixofarm.com
Black Tulip Group
btfgroup.com
Consentio
consentio.co
Color Star Growers
ssgca.com
Black Tulip Group is a “family-owned and operated” group of
companies with the core activity as Wholesaler, Retailer, Importer,
Exporter, Grower & bespoke floral Designer of Fresh Cut Flowers
and also Imports, Wholesale, Retail, and maintenance of Indoor
Plants.
Color Star Growers of Colorado, Inc. (“Color Star” or the
“Company”) is a leading grower and wholesaler of flowers and
nursery stock in the United States.
Consentio is a digital platform for B2B fresh produce
commerce. From farm to fork; we streamline communication,
data flows and payment for a seamless buying & selling
experience.
Metrolina Greenhouses is a family-owned, wholesale plant and
services company that was founded in April 1972. It is the
largest single-site heated greenhouse in the United States at 200
acres under glass.
Pixofarm is a mobile application that helps fruit producers
optimize their harvest by measuring and forecasting fruit size
and providing reliable data.
Mohan Choudhery
CEO
Vincent Rosso
Co-founder and
Managing Director
Ivan Tchakarov
Chief Horticulture
Officer
Farid Edrisian and
Dr. Hamed Bastani
CEO and CTO
Charles Kosmont
Founder and CEO”
Speedling Inc.
speedling.com
Sun Gro Horticulture
sungro.com
SnapFulfil
snapfulfil.com
Rocket Farms
rocketfarms.com
Rocket Farms is a one of a kind of agile company of growers,
entrepreneurs, and innovators who create value-added living
plants and agricultural services that enhance health, happiness,
and the quality of life.
SnapFulfil delivers class-leading warehouse management
solutions to customers in a range of industries including B2C
and B2B retail, third-party logistics, manufacturing, food and
beverage and electronics and electrical.
Speedling is motivated by its customers’ success. It understands
that the vegetables in its greenhouses are the same veggies at
home on its table. The organization takes pride in knowing the
flowers it grows will be seen in stores across the country.
SunGro Horticulture is North America’s largest producer of
horticultural-grade peat and the largest distributor of peat moss
and peat and bark-based growing mixes.
Stefanie Rollins
Chief Operating Officer
Greg Davis
President and CEO
Mitch Weaver
CEO
Tunas Farm
tunasfarm.id
Tunas Farm is an agritech startup and its main focus is on urban
farming to create sustainable food production in urban areas by
leveraging idle assets and turning them into food production
using IoT and precision farming methods.
Widya Surya Prayoga
Co-Founder

R ket
Far s
Advancing the Hor culture Sector
Through Innova on
Top 10 Green House Growers Revolu onizing Hor culture Sector

Rocket Farms is
extremely proud
of growing
beautiful ﬂowers
and nutrient-rich
edible herbs in a
controlled
environment in
the greenhouses.
,
,

T
The domestication of plants by humans is a pivotal
moment in the history of agriculture. Instead of
relying on natural development, it was discovered
that planting seeds or cuttings allowed the desired plants to
be propagated. The significant discovery of greenhouse
productions, hence, came as a result of the necessity to
safeguard domesticated plants from biotic and abiotic
stressors.
Protected agriculture originated as a technique to shield
crops from bad weather, allowing year-round production
and the use of an integrated crop production and pest
management approach for better pest and disease control.
Improved transportation and with the light being one of the
most important factors in production, the greenhouses are
considered to be the best atmosphere for crops.
With the level of sophistication and advanced technology,
greenhouses are becoming a more common reality around
the world, depending on the socioeconomic context and
local climatic circumstances. Looking at this, Rocket
Farms, a certified Minority Business Enterprise, started to
grow and distribute unique, high-quality designer indoor
potted plants. Based in Half Moon Bay, Rocket Farms is the
nation's leading wholesale grower of plotted floral, foliage,
edibles, and culinary herbs.
Extending Quality Solutions
A minority-owned and operated business, Rocket Farms is
one of the largest growers of indoor potted plants, fresh-cut
herbs, and potted edibles in the country. Constantly striving
for innovation in its practices, Rocket Farms is on a mission
to find ways to reduce the carbon footprint. With this
perspective, almost all their products are grown in natural
sunlight greenhouses.
These greenhouses are equipped with heat curtains that
work to save energy and a unique irrigation system, which
is made up of a state-of-the-art filtration system that ensures
the PH and sodium levels are balanced and best for the
plants. At Rocket Farms, water conservation, filtration, and
cleanliness are critical to producing safe, quality food, and
it is something that the company has placed a focus on their
plants.
Nurturing Healthy Indoor Plants
Rocket Farms is extremely proud of growing beautiful
flowers and nutrient-rich edible herbs in a controlled
environment in the greenhouses. Rocket Farms is unique as
it grows many edible herbs specifically for indoor purposes.
The company's herbs such as potted basil are specifically
bred, designed, and grown to flourish in an indoor
environment. Growing herbs that are designed to thrive
indoors really separates the company from many other
indoor or potted plants that are active in the market.
Product offerings:
Herbs- Basil, Mint, Sage, Thyme, Chives, Rosemary,
Cilantro, Oregano, Parsley
Plants- Orchids, Roses, Poinsettias, Venus FlyTraps, Sun
Star, Holiday Trees
Edibles- Tomatoes, Peppers
Foliage- Peperomia Caperata Rosso, Emerald Ripple, Red
Ripple, etc.
Succulents - Haworthia, Gasteria, Echeveria, Kalanchoe
and Calandiva (flowering succulents), Aloe, etc.
The Dynamic Duo
Charles Kosmont, the Founder and CEO of Rocket
Farms, has spent his entire adult life in the food and
agriculture business and the last 25 years as the owner and
CEO of Rocket Farms. His decades of experience as a
horticulturist span over the areas of plants, herbs, edible
herbs, and the food industry overall.
The unique thing
about ours is we
capture all
runoff and reuse
the water from
our greenhouses
as well.
,
,

Charles Kosmont
Founder and CEO
Nick Bavaro
President

At Rocket Farms,
we think some of
the technology
we have used is
unique to the
industry.
,
,

Nick Bavaro is the President of Rocket Farms and has an
extensive background and over 40 years of experience in
owning, operating, or managing companies in the
agricultural sector. The pair work together to align on
initiatives and the vision that they have when it comes to
agriculture. Both believe that Rocket Farms has an
opportunity to bring healthy, nutrient-dense products to
consumers in a safe and sustainable way.
Technology Driving the Wheels of Agriculture Sector
In agriculture, technologies and practices have improved.
Farmers see the importance of using water more efficiently,
and throughout the sector they have employed a range of
technology-based solutions such as drip irrigation and flood
tables. Rocket Farms specifically utilizes flood tables which
results in 35% of all water used being absorbed into the
plant material. The company then is able to recover up to
65% of the remaining water used, and with cleaning and
purifying is able to store it for future use.
Nick said, "By leaning into technology, we are proud to
reduce our water usage and significantly increase our
efficiency with this valued resource."
People at Rocket Farms not only capture and reuse the
water within the greenhouses but also recapture and reuse
all runoff water. It is run through a state-of-the-art filtration
and storage capacity system and then through an RO system
and purified to its purest form. Further, it is treated to the
stage where the PH levels and sodium levels are balanced,
and it's best for the plant.
Charles further said, "At Rocket Farms, we think some of
the technology we have used is unique to the industry, but
the unique thing about ours is we capture all runoff and
reuse the water from our greenhouses as well."
Battling with the Pandemic
Concerning the pandemic condition, Rocket Farms made
the tough decision to reduce overhead, preserve positions,
and increase operational efficiency. These changes allowed
Rocket Farms to continue to produce a premium and
consistent product. Lastly, it put forth an easier transition
for social distancing and space for offices to be safely apart.
The management has instilled a mask policy and even held
vaccination sites at its facilities.

The Changing Landscapes of Agriculture Sector
There is now tremendous interest in the field where food
comes from. The young generation is now thinking about
the food supply and saying where does the food come from
and how they can be a part of it, which is exciting.
The myth of the past – "don't take over a farm, go work in
the city and go take over a technology business" is now
changing dramatically. Agriculture is a technological
business. It is a business that is moving significantly and is
being transformed by all these great technologies that are
out there. It is an exciting time for people coming out of
school to get involved with it.
Towards New Horizons
Charles and Nick are dedicated to the work at Rocket
Farms. The two are the first to say that they love what they
do and are committed to helping the company continue to
grow and flourish in the future. They see Rocket Farms
continuing the trajectory that they have already set of
providing Americans with gorgeous flowers and great-
tasting foods that are all grown in their greenhouses.
The pair believes that with consumers, particularly Gen Z's,
starting to take more of a vested interest in food and where
the food they are eating comes from, Rocket Farms is at the
forefront for them having the advantage of being locally
grown, sustainable, and transparent with its consumers.
Therefore, the duo is positioning them to be even more
successful in the future when the consumer base becomes
more invested in food, agriculture, and the environment.

Consentio
At the Forefront of the Agriculture Revolution
Artificial Intelligence and
Supply Chain Industry, when
combined, have proven to
give industries and their intricate
processes a certain sophistication and
empowerment. Implementing AI
innovations in the agriculture
sector—although at a nascent
stage—gives us glimpses of a
promising future.
As the cliché goes, ‘Necessity is the
mother of invention’, let’s change it a
bit and call ‘Necessity, the mother of
innovation as well.’ With such an
innovative idea born out of necessity
and curiosity, Consentio entered the
global market in 2019.
Consentio has striven to address the
problem of food wastage in the world,
along with the cause that leads to it.
But what is more innovative than the
problem, is the solution that Consentio
conceived, revolutionizing the
industry. With the inclusion of AI, it
enhanced the fruits and vegetable
industry along with the supply chain
industry.
In the following conversation with
Vincent Rosso, the Co-Founder and
Managing Director of Consentio, he
uncovered how Consentio solves the
problem with a perfect blend of
traditional market and modern
technology.
Please brief our audience about your
company, its USPs, and how it is
positioned as a leading name in the
horticulture sector.
Consentio addresses multiple
inefficiencies within the fruits and
vegetable industry. We transform every
commercial conversation into
structured data sets, reducing a
significant amount of time spent doing
manual data processing, time that can
be dedicated to improving customer
relationships and increasing sales at the
same time.
Consentio transforms thousands of
daily e-mails, excels, pdfs, faxes,
phone calls (that are all too common in
the fruits and vegetable sector) into a
streamlined all-in-one order
management platform.
With a direct plug-in into the
company’s core IT legacy system,
Consentio sends all the key data there
in seconds, eliminating the pain of
manual data entry (which is highly
prone to mistakes). In this way, we are
reducing ordering errors, resulting in a
reduction of food loss and an increase
in profit – a desirable combination for
our customers.
Being an experienced leader, share
with us your opinion on what impact
has the adoption of AI and machine
learning technologies had on the
horticulture sector and what more
could be expected in the future?
The primary impact that AI and
machine learning technologies have
had on the horticulture sector is the
reduction in resource-use inefficiencies
and disease prevention to make
production more sustainable.
Consentio is largely implicated in the
impacts of these technologies because
of its strategic positioning at every
stage of the farm-to-fork supply chain.
According to the UN, approximately
40% of all fruits and vegetables
produced are never eaten, where
Consentio is
largely implicated in
the impacts of these
technologies because of
its strategic positioning
at every stage of the
farm-to-fork supply
chain.
Top 10 GreenHouse Growers Revolutionizing Horticulture Sector
| March | 2022 www.insightssuccess.com
16

Vincent Rosso is the co-founder of
Blablacar Spain, a car ride-sharing
company that has raised $450 million from
investors such as Accel, Index Ventures
and Insight Partners. He is also a board
member of ONTRUCK and others.
The founding team has decades of
experience in the tech industry, either
founding themselves or playing a pivotal
role in some of Europe’s biggest success
stories. Shortly after inception, Consentio
hired experts within the fruits & vegetable
industry bridging that knowledge gap and
bringing in a team with complementary
skills.
overproduction and disease are
important drivers of this ineﬃciency.
By applying AI and machine learning
technologies to players like Consentio,
who are advantaged by their strategic
positioning, the horticulture sector
could limit overproduction and disease
by:
1. Predicting consumer demand for
fruits and vegetables to
1) help farmers and wholesalers or
retailers draft contracts that are
more representative of their output
and consumer demand and
2) allocate excess production of fresh
produce to markets that are in
demand.
2. Tracking where disease spreads to
and originates-from to
1) improve the consumer’s end-product
by supplying the market with disease-
free produce and
2) helping farmers and governments
take preventive measures to reduce and
learn about disease spread.
These applications of AI and machine
learning to precision farming and
disease tracking are already in the
market, nevertheless, they could be
enhanced by the unique data that
Consentio collects along the entire
farm-to-fork supply chain.
About the leader
Vincent Rosso,
Co-Founder and
Managing Director
17

Exhibiting Excellence
Below are testimonials from three clients that highlight
Consentio’s position in the market.
Jorge Vasquez, the president of Latin Specialties LLC,
a wholesaler from Houston, Texas with annual
revenues of $25 Million, highlights the value-add and
unique characteristics of Consentio’s solution for his
business in the following testimonial:
“Traditional ERP systems have a weakness, as the sales
order entry does not reflect the variable and dynamic
nature of our business trading.
We have hundreds of customers, retailers,
wholesalers, food service companies, all of whom
communicate and trade with us using a variety of
channels including phone, fax, SMS, email, WhatsApp,
etc.
Coordinating and consolidating this demand is a great
challenge. Once received, these orders must be
manually entered into our ERP system creating a
considerable additional workload.
And then I found Consentio, and I realized there was a
proven, ready platform that did all that we needed,
and would link back to the ERP system. So, ensuring
we only need to enter data once.
With Consentio we save money, sell more and deliver
improved customer service.”
The Chief Operating Officer of Alsum, a client
from Friesland, Wisconsin, Wendy Dykstra,
said in an interview: “Consentio will link
directly to our Microsoft Dynamics ERP system
removing the need to manually enter orders and
significantly reducing our workload.”
Altogether, these testimonials highlight that
Consentio’s product is differentiated from
traditional ERP systems and offers a dynamic
sales process that eliminates the bulk of manual
data entry, increasing sales revenue, enhancing
customer experience, and benefiting internal
processes. This positions Consentio as a
disruptor of fresh produce trading by being
complementary to traditional ERP systems.
The Greenery, a client based in
the Netherlands with annual
revenues over $1B, claims that
using Consentio increased their
sales revenue by 15% while
improving collaboration within
their sales teams, and fully
streamlining their ordering
system.
Testimonial 1 Testimonial 2
Testimonial 3
18

Considering the current pandemic,
what initial challenges did you face
and how did you drive your
company to sustain operations while
ensuring the safety of your
employees at the same time?
Consentio’s management team ended
the lease of office spaces in Barcelona
whole-market because of the foreseen
duration of the lockdown and
pandemic. We invested resources into
cloud infrastructure to help our
company and our clients transition
their operations to fully remote. This
made remote work more productive,
giving employees resources to connect
and work more efficiently with clients,
colleagues, and other stakeholders.
The situation also reflected an
opportunity for Consentio, which saw
an 800% increase in active users and a
nearly 400% increase in GMV over 12
months beginning in April 2020. Many
buyers and suppliers depend on the
platform to access new markets and
have improved their internal operations
while being highly competitive at the
same time.
What would be your advice to
budding entrepreneurs who aspire to
venture into the horticulture space?
I would tell the entrepreneurs that the
horticulture sector is ripe for digital
disruption. Supporting the livelihoods
of approximately 25% of the world
population and making up a
recommended 50% of your diet by
volume, fruits and vegetables are
essential for everyone’s health.
Nevertheless, farmers, wholesalers,
and retailers are limited in terms of
data collection, an important driver of
the sector’s inefficiencies because “we
cannot improve what we do not
measure.”
However, this is bound to change, as
we’ve seen in other industries that have
been transformed by big data, such as
finance, banking, communications,
entertainment, and education. Hence,
for entrepreneurs that want to make an
impact and play an active role in the
renaissance of a vital yet traditional
industry, now is the time to act!
How do you envision scaling your
company’s operations and offerings
in 2022 and beyond?
For the foreseeable future, we will
scale our operations and offerings by
achieving the following:
1. Collaborating with talented,
creative, and passionate
individuals, whether they are part
of our internal or external
operations. We realized that these
are vital ingredients for disruption
and success, hence it is essential to
invest in individuals that have these
qualities if we want to participate in
the renaissance of the horticulture
sector.
For example, our team is composed
of diverse backgrounds from 10+
different countries spanning Europe,
North and Central America. This
diversity contributes to our creative
disruption, helping us to connect
with and understand stakeholders in
a global industry.
2. Building a community of
Consentians who share a common
vision to bring circularity to the
linear food supply chain, thereby
improving the traceability,
transparency, and accountability of
all actors from farm-to-fork.
In this way, we foresee a fresh
produce sector that is not
responsible for a quarter of
greenhouse gas emissions, millions
of tons of water waste and food
waste that accounts for half of all
food produced.
Consentio will provide the
foundations for this community by
bringing together producers,
wholesalers, retailers, social media
influencers, and government actors
to understand and address the needs
of all stakeholders in the fresh
produce industry.
3. Developing a product that
addresses the specific needs of the
fresh produce sector. This is
achieved by maintaining an agile
approach to software development,
whereby our marketing, sales and
engineering teams work
dynamically with our users to
address their specific needs and
respond to the industry’s future
challenges.
19

Surprising
Hea h Bene ts
ofGardening
andPlanting
Nature does not hurry, yet everything is
accomplished. —Lao Tzu . Nowadays, individuals
are inclined toward achieving quick results with
little or no effort. It adds stress to their lives. To find
comfort in this, people use their digital devices excessively,
leading to disorientation from feeling like a human.
Spending some part of your daily life in the company of
nature could help you rediscover the bond of being one with
nature. The modern lifestyle has been fast-paced and
digitally demanding. In such a scenario, finding time to go
to nature can feel like a "not-so-interesting" activity
compared to scrolling on social media platforms.
How to Get Closer to Nature?
If your lifestyle does not provide you with options to be
closer to trees, farms, or parks, then you could try exploring
the options to bring nature to you. Gardening and planting
are some of the most effective ways nature can be at your
service and vice versa. Gardening and planting are being
done in today's modern society's apartments, flats, and
bungalows as a mindfulness activity. These small measures
add value to the overall pleasantness of the home, to your
mood, and the surroundings.
There are a vast number of benefits from gardening and
planting for you and your family's health. Among these, we
have listed the top five most surprising health benefits that
may inspire you to start gardening and planting right away.
“ “
22

23
Nature Therapy

Boosts the Mood
Every now and then, people like to take a break from their
daily routine and do something else which is entertaining
and relaxing that boosts their mood. Gardening or planting
can help you achieve all these benefits. Moreover,
gardening could prove to be therapeutic for you. It is an
effective way to release serotonin and endorphins, the
hormones that are responsible for making people happy and
content with the work they have performed.
Being close to nature's elements would always make you
feel pleased. The mood-lifting effect of gardening can give
you a new zeal towards accomplishing your day's goals
with a fresh mindset.
Lowers Blood Pressure Naturally
Hypertension, or high blood pressure, is an escalating
concern around the world. According to the statistics of the
World Health Organization (WHO), 1.28 billion adults aged
between 30 and 79 years have a high blood pressure
problem. To avoid the risk of high blood pressure issues in
your life naturally, gardening could be explored. It
introduces you to the open-air environment or space. It
essentially improves your heart's health by making you feel
fresh and breathing out the day's accumulated stress and
worries. The sense of company and comfort that can be felt
around the plants can help you forget your worries, leading
to normalizing blood pressure.
Improves the Quality of Daily Life
Gardening is engaging work. It demands intense and
concentrated effort. The exercise of gardening may prove to
be beneficial for you in working your overall body in an
open-air environment. It could make you feel like you have
just come out of the gym.
The hard work of the day can improve your sleep and your
overall bone strength, which can assist in maintaining a
healthy weight without going to the gym. In essence, it
enhances the general quality of your daily life.
Can Improve your Memory
Although gardening and planting are age-old practices, they
have now been adapted as a modern profession, too, due to
the demand they place on physical and mental memory.
One needs to remember minor to major activities, such as
watering, fertilizing, eliminating weeds, trimming excessive
grass, and so on, all the time.
When you take responsibility for doing these activities by
yourself, you develop the habit of remembering all these
tasks in your daily, monthly, and yearly schedules. You
involuntarily work on your memory too, which may prove
to be a great capability the older and wiser you become in
the process.
Fresh and Healthy Food
Growing vegetables and fruits is a laborious task, and at
first, you may feel only farmers can do it. When you give it
a try in whatever space is available around your house to
grow your fresh vegetables, it may surprise you how
satisfying the experience can be.
You can begin by planting one or two vegetables in your
house's backyard, and within a few weeks, you will be able
to taste the fruits of your labor. You and your family will be
able to enjoy a delicious farm-to-table experience.
Conclusion
The closer you are to nature, the more you will feel like you
are yourself. It is necessary for every individual in this
expanding digital age, filled with the urge to stay connected
to their devices 24/7, to rediscover the feel of nature.
Giving 30-40 minutes each day to gardening and planting
activities can make you realize the essence of being
grounded and yet prospering, which is what nature does all
day, all the time.
- Vishal Golekar
24

An Emerging Horticulture Technology Application
Pixofarm
Farid Edrisian
Co-Founder and CEO
Hamed Bastani
Co-Founder and CTO
26

With the help of technology, nearly every sector
is improving its productivity. The agriculture
sector also has, over the years, included various
technologies from planting to harvesting processes to
optimize harvest. In horticulture, however, there were not
any concurrent technology solutions to monitor fruit
growth, count fruits, measure the overall fruit produce, and
estimate essential details like weather and soil conditions.
What if you could do all the planning and measurement of
your orchard with the help of your smartphone? Wouldn't it
be super convenient? The good news is that now it has been
made possible by the digital and AI-based horticulture
solution company, Pixofarm. With the help of photos of
fruits and trees submitted by fruit growers, the AI tools of
the application can perform various analyses on them.
Pixofarm helps in optimizing the harvest, using resources
efficiently, and getting the most out of the orchards by
providing reliable yield monitoring and forecast data.
Pixofarm, which was launched in 2019, has already been in
high demand across the globe. It has clients in 20-plus
nations.
In an interview with Insights Success, the Co-founders of
Pixofarm, Farid Edrisian, CEO, and Dr. Hamed Bastani
– CTO, spoke about how their digital solution for
horticulture is helping fruit growers optimize operations in
orchards.
Please brief our audience about your company, its USPs,
and how it is positioned as a leading name in the
Pixofarm is a digital and AI-based solution that empowers
fruit producers worldwide to optimize their harvest, use
resources efficiently, and get the most out of their orchards
by providing reliable yield monitoring and forecast data.
The prerequisite is smartphone photos of fruits as well as
fruit trees. Precise data about one's own orchard also serves
as a basis. Based on the orchard's location, Pixofarm
includes weather and satellite data in its calculations in
order to provide accurate results. This allows users to make
informed decisions and optimize processes such as
logistics, packaging, and distribution with Zero-Hardware
investment.
By having this information weeks in advance, producers
can improve their yield, choose the right market and
negotiate better prices for their production. The advantage
of the technology and possibilities that Pixofarm brings is
best reflected in the fact that we have customers in 20+
countries across the world.
We have won several international awards like the
Interpoma Startup Award in 2020, the Global Startup
Awards for Best Newcomer 2020 in CEE as well as the
Best Practical Solution for the Agrifood Sector in 2020 at
the Startup Europe Smart Agrifood Summit.
As of today, Pixofarm can be used on apples, pears, and
citrus varieties. There are many already existing solutions
for extensive agriculture and farming, but not that much for
horticulture. This is the gap Pixofarm is filling.
Being experienced leaders, share with us your opinion
on what impact has the adoption of AI and machine
learning technologies had on the horticulture sector and
what more could be expected in the future?
AI and machine learning support fruit growers in their
decision-making process. Experience and expertise are two
very important elements in agriculture. Fruit growers need
to know their orchards in order to react properly to the
needs of their crops and soil.
In addition, climate change and more demanding market
requirements make it more difficult to lean on experiences
from the past and having optimized processes and fruit
quality becomes crucial to be successful in the market.
In this context, precision agriculture tools like Pixofarm
help us not only in keeping an eye on each aspect of a
The advantage of the technology
and possibilities that Pixofarm
brings is best re lected in the fact
that we have customers in 20+
countries across the world.
,
,
,
,
27

farm's management and potential outcomes but also in
improving the agronomic impact of farmers on their crops,
better identifying each crucial requirement.
Considering the current pandemic, what initial
challenges did you face, and how did you drive your
company to sustain operations while ensuring the safety
of your employees at the same time?
As our service is a digital solution that does not require
human contact, we were spared the constraints of the
pandemic in this sense. However, there were other
challenges that came our way.
Since fruit growing is based on a lot of experience and in-
depth knowledge, building trust with customers is very
important. Before the pandemic, these customer meetings
were often held in person. As that was no longer possible,
other doors have opened.
In addition to digital meetings, we now have a monthly
webinar where we present the latest trends in horticulture
and our solutions. Nevertheless, we are very much looking
forward to being able to devote more time to direct personal
contact at trade fairs and meetings again.
Besides the impact on our daily business, there were also
changes in the way we work as a team. Since Pixofarm was
still very young when the pandemic ﬁrst hit, we were able
to adapt fast to the rapid changes that occurred. The
employees can work remotely when the situation demands
it or when they feel more comfortable during this
challenging period.
28

The idea was born in 2019 when Pixofarm Co-Founders Farid Edrisian and Hamed
Bastani recognized the need for digitalization in Horticulture, which moved them to
lay the foundation for the development of a smart solution for fruit growing.
Elaborating on how they came up with the idea of Pixofarm, Mr. Farid Edrisian said
that "Speci ically, we became aware of the great importance of harvest monitoring in
the value chain of fruit production. We realized that this process is currently mainly
manual, and alternative solutions are either not precise enough or very expensive.
During the research, our mission quickly became clear: we want to enable fruit
growers around the world to optimize their harvest results, work resource-
ef iciently and get the most out of their farmland."
"The development of the Pixofarm app progressed rapidly. The company was
founded in 2019 in Vienna/Austria, and already in the irst year, numerous pilot
customers were acquired all around the globe. Additionally, working directly with
fruit producers and associations has helped us a lot. We get valuable insights from
them and bene it from decades of experience, which allows us to tailor our product
to their individual needs. We are very happy that fruit growers around the world are
ready for innovation on their farms and hope to accompany many more of them on
their journey," Dr. Hamed Bastani added.
The Prime Movers
Additionally, new approaches and channels to digital
communication have been found to ensure effective digital
communication and to keep the team spirit high. Through
our agile and flexible way of working, we have improved
many aspects of the work over the last two years and will
continue to do so in the future.
What would be your advice to budding entrepreneurs
who aspire to venture into the horticulture space?
Think out of the box with your ideas and talk to growers
personally to get a better perspective on the actual
challenges they face on a day-to-day basis. You have to be
market-driven in order to survive and should focus on a
customer-centric strategy.
How do you envision scaling your company's operations
and offerings in 2022 and beyond?
Our goal is to eventually be the world's #1 fruit yield
estimation tool. We want to become an enabling platform
and expand our offerings across the fruit production value
chain. For example, we are now launching a post-harvest
solution to measure fruits in harvest bins through the sole
use of a phone.
We are also continuously working on expanding your fruit
portfolio. In addition to apple, pears, and citrus, other fruits
are planned for 2022. And of course, we want to expand to
many more countries. As a 100% digital solution, any
grower can just download the app and start getting the
benefits.
29

Speedling
Speedling
Incorporated
Providing High-Quality Transplants Since 1968

Agood food grower knows that a healthy seed will
sprout a healthy seedling. And a healthy seedling
will grow into the healthiest tree, with utmost care
and the most proper nourishment. Growing a healthy tree,
which will produce food in abundance, is a slow process
but the best food growers in the world know a technique
that will speed up the process while also enhancing the
quality of the seedling and the ultimate plant. In it, the
inverted pyramid cell planter flats are used to grow the
world's healthiest transplants.
And that is exactly what Speedling Incorporated is doing
at their eight food-growing nurseries across America. The
Speedling cell design allows for the production of
consistently high-quality transplants that could be mass-
produced for seeded vegetables, ornamentals, and
propagated vegetative products.
In an interview to Insights Success, for its latest edition of
Top 10 GreenHouse Growers Revolutionizing Horticulture
Sector, the company's President and CEO, Greg Davis,
said, "In the inverted pyramid technology, the shape of the
trays reduces production costs for farmers, by improving
survivability and speed to harvest."
He added, "The open bottom design allows for air pruning
of the taproot, creating strong secondary roots. The overall
structure of the roots permits greater capacity to forage for
nutrients and easy extractions, with limited damage during
transfer."
The interview (given along with Jennifer Bozicevich, West
Coast Division Manager, and Brandon Palmer, National
Sales and Logistics Manager) in detail is produced below.
Please brief our audience about Speedling Inc., its USPs,
and how it is positioned as a leading name in the
Feeding the world and making it a more beautiful place
since 1968, Speedling helps local farmers grow the world's
food and flowers. Primarily a young plant producer,
Speedling invented the young plant industry and helping
growers start Speedling Strong remains our purpose. With
locations in FL, GA, TX, and CA, Speedling is a national
leader in the largest plant markets in the world.
Speedling measures its success by the success of its
customers. We are farmers serving farmers, turning seed
and cuttings into strong young plants ready for their next
home, be that a south Florida Watermelon field, a Central
Valley California Tomato field, a state-of-the-art Geranium
greenhouse, or your local independent garden center. We
partner with the largest growers in the world and the
smallest in your community, no matter your size; we
measure our success by yours.
Being an experienced leader, share with us your opinion
on what impact has the adoption of AI and machine
learning technologies had on the horticulture sector and
what more could be expected in the future?
Growing billions of young plants for over 50 years,
Speedling has developed recipes and techniques to produce
almost every plant the Good Lord created. Like people, a
plant is most vulnerable in its youngest 'seedling' state, and
our job is to nurture your plants during the riskiest time of
its life when the margin of error is smallest.
To do this well, we must utilize every possible tool and all
available information. At this stage, anticipation, and
foresight are critical, and while a computer can't replace the
passion of a person, it can track massive amounts of data
without forgetting the smallest detail.
We track every input and each outcome, and with this data
bank, we continually dial in our processes to reduce risk,
increase quality, and manage costs. With a living, evolving
product, we know, our processes must remain living and
evolving, and data helps us anticipate the possibility of
different outcomes under different conditions.
By converting data into information, we generate
knowledge that helps us continually improve the probability
of the desired outcome. Plants aren't widgets, they can't be
made by a machine, but machines can certainly help our
people make better plants.
Primarily a young
plant producer,
Speedling invented
the young plant
industry.
Top 10 GreenHouse Growers Revolutionizing Horticulture Sector
33

In our quest
for every plant to
be an exact copy of the
one before and after it, we utilize
multiple technologies; however, the only way to navigate
real-world variables with new diseases and old challenges is
with a professional team of people who absolutely don't
accept failure.
The best plants demand the best people, and the Speedling
team is the best in the world. We understand the challenge,
we've made the investments, and we are committed to
continuous research methods and materials to provide better
solutions to tomorrow's needs.
Considering the current pandemic, what initial
challenges did you face, and how did you drive
Speedling Inc. to sustain operations while ensuring the
safety of your employees at the same time?
Even with a mix of ﬁfty-year-old proven processes and
cutting-edge technology, it is the people that make
Speedling great, so keeping our team safe is paramount.
Safety and security work in tandem, it is impossible to
avoid all risks and remain secure, so our approach was and
is to reduce total risk. That means weighing options and
making the best possible choices; after considerable
research, we decided that shutting down was worse than
COVID-19.
Our teams, at each farm, daily make the decisions and do
the work that our customers depend on. So, staying home
meant shutting down, which meant dead plants, which
would threaten the livelihood of our customers and our
families, and that was simply not acceptable.
We didn't need a declaration; we knew our jobs and our
customers were essential, and we would not shut down. We
were already hyper-focused on sanitation, and we already
ran lean, so, for the most part, we continued to do what we
did.
We did reduce in-person meetings, we wore masks inside,
and we had a zero-tolerance policy for coming to work sick.
Despite all the public fearmongering, I was very proud that
our teams didn't panic; they made the best decision for the
team and for our communities.
What would be your advice to budding entrepreneurs
who aspire to venture into the horticulture space?
All business is basic, people, process, and product with a
good measure of sales, logistics, and purpose. Horticulture
is simply great people producing essential products.
Horticulture is
simply great people
producing essential
products.
Greg-Davis
CEO-President
Greg-Davis
CEO-President
Jennifer Bozicevich
West Coast Division
Manager
Jennifer Bozicevich,
West Coast Division
Manager
34

'Mother Nature' and a living product keep it interesting. Our
team is equally artist, scientist, and efficiency fanatics
supported by finance and HR, so, no matter your specific
strength, almost certainly, you can apply it in horticulture.
How do you envision scaling Speedling's operations and
offerings in 2022 and beyond?
Speedling has been around a long time. We started small;
we grew big. For many years, we focused on semi-loads
and have long avoided retail. However, the shutdowns have
shown us the importance of delivering individual plants to
individuals. While we remain wholesale growers, we have
been reminded of the joy of new gardeners growing a few
plants for fun.
We know better than to try to be everything to everyone,
and we know that we can accomplish anything with the
right partners who have complementary strengths. Brandon
found us two up-and-coming internet marketing companies,
one focused on Vegetables and one on Ornamentals. These
two organizations have grown far more quickly because of
COVID-19, and in only two years, both have become
significant new partnerships.
At the same time, we saw the supply/demand imbalance in
foliage and, this time, partnered with more established
companies who were great at marketing to box stores to
quickly become a significant supplier of quality foliage.
We are excited by B2C and foliage and are expanding the
production of these lines into Texas and California in 2022.
The Speedling team will continue to mix national strategies
with local strengths, to meet the needs of our diverse
customer base and overcome every challenge.
The Thoughtful Trio
Greg Davis has led Speedling as President and CEO since
2008. Like Speedling, he was born on a Florida farm and
has spent his career helping farmers throughout the US.
He started in vegetable seed sales, later in production and
brokerage of bonsai and foliage.
His focus at Speedling has been on driving what was
historically a cottage industry to be more professional and
predictable, implementing multiple improvements utilizing
cutting-edge technology. His joy comes from seeing good
people become great, as they accomplish more than they
realize they were capable of.
Jennifer Bozicevich has spent 25 years in greenhouse and
nursery production, leading teams at multiple CA Nurseries
to implement the latest technology. Like Speedling, she
recognizes the value of building the best production model
then using those tools across all product lines.
She has spent many years in all the major sectors of the
industry (vegetable transplants, ornamental plugs,
vegetative lines, finished floral for fresh market, etc.)
Jennifer has been able to develop business in cross-over
product lines such as Organic Herb Bowls. Each sector has
its own strengths; the beauty of Speedling is its ability to
bring all these practices to bear for field growers, for
greenhouse growers, and even for big box stores.
Brandon Palmer started at Speedling dispatching
deliveries, his can-do attitude and focus on progress,
although any obstacle has led to his current position
overseeing all sales and customer service. Brandon
manages such a wide range of products and customers by
staying rooted in the knowledge that the tools and
techniques are only as good as the team making it happen.
He has developed plant lovers from outside the industry
into excellent sales and customer service teammates by
keeping their focus on the customers. He has driven
Speedling's foray into B2B and foliage by proving that
excellent quality, service, and logistics make happy
customers regardless of the size of the crop.

How
High-tech
are
Quickly Becoming
the Future of
Greenhouse
Agriculture
The population of the world is rising exponentially.
United Nations reports have estimated it to be
above 9.5 billion by 2050. Fulfilling the basic food
needs of this large population is the top priority for nations.
It is the greatest necessity that needs to be focused on to
maintain global harmony.
To meet the ever-rising food demand, naturally, the quality
and quantity of agricultural production need to be improved
on a vast scale worldwide. Continuing with traditional
farming methods, where we depend on limited natural
resources and weather conditions, could make it difficult to
achieve the scale of agricultural production.
Issues such as global warming, water scarcity, limited land
availability, and poor-quality produce are already gaining
ground in the agriculture sector, leading to price inflation in
the consumer markets. If these issues are not dealt with in
time, then it might lead to global unrest.
High-Tech Greenhouse Farming is the Solution
The solution to the above problem is high-tech greenhouse
farming. Greenhouse technology provides ideal
environmental conditions for plants or crops, along with
automation options. It can substantially increase the
agricultural production rate and quality.
The technology-backed greenhouse farming method can
create a controlled environment to grow the crops.
Numerous techniques in modern-day greenhouse farming
have proved their effectiveness in cultivating high-yield
crops in an artificial environment.
Many advanced technologies are being introduced into
greenhouse farming to maximize production with the use of
limited resources. Applying remote farming technology, the
greenhouse farms could be monitored from thousands of
miles away, from the planting stage to harvest. In addition,
technology allows for the intelligent and timely use of the
available resources.
The following are the benefits of high-tech greenhouse
farming that are effectively transforming today's
agriculture:
Smart Use of Limited Land
Due to rapid urbanization, the land area available for
agriculture is getting smaller and smaller every day.
Smartly utilizing the available land is crucial for today's
farming. Greenhouse farming can be applied to take
advantage of the limited land and gain maximum outcomes.
Greenhouse farming allows farmers to use land in the most
intelligent ways. Even though the land is limited, you can
get the most out of it by using various tried-and-tested
fertilizers and technologies.
Effective Water Utilization
The open-air agriculture irrigation method is a highly labor-
intensive and vague process that can cause suboptimal
36

37

- Vishal Golekar
yields or plant disease. Water availability is one of the
crucial factors in raising production quality and quantity.
The traditional agricultural irrigation method causes a lot of
wastage of water.
The greenhouse environment enables farmers to use
available water in intelligent ways. Using A.I. irrigation
techniques, you can automate the irrigation process. An A.I.
application can be applied to measure the water present in
the soil. It can detect small-scale deviations in soil moisture
and correct them instantly.
Active Pest and Disease Control
Open agricultural fields are susceptible to various pest and
plant disease attacks. It can cause lots of damage to the
crop. Though various pesticides can be used for prevention,
by the time the prevention measure starts, significant
damage might already have been done.
Using various methods, you can control the atmosphere
within the greenhouse, which allows you to keep the pest
from attacking the crop at a very early stage. Employing
technology to monitor and analyze the crop can alert you
quickly if there is a danger of pest damage, and according
to technology input, preventive steps can be taken to keep
them away.
Protection Against Extreme Weather Conditions
Due to global warming, weather conditions today
everywhere in the world are unpredictable. Extreme
temperatures, excessive rainfall, or wind can cause losses in
the traditional agriculture field, but in the greenhouse, using
temperature control technology, the ideal atmospheric
conditions for the desired crop production can be achieved.
Producing High Yield
Using today's advanced agriculture technologies, you can
cultivate a hundred acres' worth of crops within a few acres
of greenhouse farming. When compared to traditional
agricultural methods, it significantly facilitates the recovery
of your investment costs while also earning you multi-fold
profits.
Nutritionally Rich Crop Production
The world needs more nutritious food than ever before. The
crop produced in a greenhouse-maintained environment can
produce highly nutritious grains. The customized supply of
fertilizers and natural and artificial light can concentrate
nutrients for every plant, resulting in nutritionally rich crop
production.
Locally Produced Fresh Food
The greenhouse method can be applied everywhere
globally, through which the desired crop can be produced
regardless of the local weather conditions. It is a significant
way to meet the local demand for fresh produce, especially
vegetables and fruits.
Conclusion
By combining technology with modern agriculture in a
greenhouse farming environment, a high yield of fresh
harvest can be achieved. The greenhouse is already proving
to be a meaningful solution to the demands of the present
and future populations. Farmers who are technologically
enabled can better use their lands to increase profits while
also meeting nutritional food requirements locally and
globally.
38

Managing change to
Smoothen Technology Transition
By Stefanie Rollins: Chief Operating Ofcer for Synergy
Logistics - provider of the award-winning, cloud-based SnapFull
warehouse management system (WMS) suite
Stefanie Rollins
COO
40

massive shift to digital solutions is now well
Aunderway in supply chain and logistics. But, as
more companies make the move from manual to
automated processes, do we risk leaving our employees
behind?
Bosses need to prepare their staff accordingly to embrace
new technology as an opportunity, rather than perceive it as
a threat. It takes both clear communication and a
willingness to learn – and especially around the cultural
shift to slick, best-of-breed WMS from an onerous and
manual paper-based system.
At SnapFulfil, we've supported many clients in the journey
away from paper-based warehouse management.
Implementing the operational improvements is often the
most straightforward element of the transition to a WMS,
but bringing people along with you is more nuanced.
Warehouse operatives will be used to a certain way of
working and will need to truly understand the benefit of
change and feel fully supported throughout the journey.
Staff fed up with manual tasks can quickly get excited about
the time and labour-saving efficiencies of digital, but then
fearful about the associated training and learning of new
skills. But this is a pattern that is present in every aspect of
life. People need time to process things, internalise matters
and come to accept them.
One of our clients summed up the challenge perfectly,
suggesting that introducing a warehouse operative to a tier
1 WMS without the proper support is: "like putting people
used to driving a Ford Fiesta into an F1 car and expecting
them to figure it out!" So it pays to plan ahead and create
internal comms and strategies to win the hearts and minds
of managers and operators who cling to the old and
established (but highly inefficient) ways and resist change.
Any change management plan worth its salt must identify
and communicate the obvious benefits in a meaningful way,
so for me, the following five established fundamentals go a
long way toward achieving buy-in from your employees:
Formalise what's about to happen – Start by developing a
list of actions you have to take before implementing the
WMS, including all the digital advancements, new
dashboards and other systematic procedures you'll need to
learn.
Talk to your teams and all of them - Customer Service,
Warehouse, Finance, IT, etc. They will all have their own
ideas where the existing problems are – are your employees
empowered to be confident to raise their hand if something
isn't working?
Then define the change itself for all levels of staff to build a
clear picture of the training and pre-emptive support
required to get everyone on the same page.
Determine what to measure and how - state your goals
clearly and also break them down relative to change
management. How quickly do you want teams to start using
the new system? What measurements are required after you
implement a phase of the project? How can you ascertain if
someone is using the software correctly?
Narrowing each big goal into a small measurable piece for
each position helps you ensure that you've thought about
the WMS holistically and are ready for the knock-on effects
it may have. For example, more efficient workers mean
inventory and accuracy both improve, with less time
required to fix miss-picks and address performance issues,
creating more opportunities to explore further cost-saving
improvements.
Stefanie Rollins is COO for WMS technology innovator,
SnapFulfil, and has a remit for North America, as well as UK
& Europe. She has held that posi on since January 2019,
having previously been VP/Head of Support Services.
Her passions are mentoring, coaching, plus problem-
solving and Stefanie is currently moulding the future of
Opera ons for SnapFulfil and its clients - focusing on
con nuous improvement for all. In her 20+ years at
SnapFulfil, Stefanie has also headed up the company's
Support Services, Quality Assurance and Customer Success
teams, with extra responsibility for developing the
Implementa ons offering in keeping with a leading supply
chain execu on solu ons specialist. Stefanie has
addi onally a ained Level 5 in the ILM Award for
Leadership and Management.
About the author
41

Prioritise help and support - this is a big one for me.
Some of your team may never have used a computer before,
so the task could be daunting for them. They will still have
experience though - make sure they know that is just as
important. Bring your team along the journey with you;
they will have valid concerns and questions along the way,
so providing a feedback tool is essential. You'll also need to
communicate that feedback to everyone involved. For
example, consider setting up a series of online
informational sessions, or lunch and learns – to build an
open line of communication between management and your
pick, pack and ship teams.
Consider the skills that your current employees have –
they might not be where you expect. For example, gamers
are amongst some of the brightest warehouse staff I know,
they tend to have a natural aptitude for problem-solving,
testing, thinking outside of the box and having the ability to
concentrate on many things for long periods of time. Also
think about generational differences as each one has
something unique to add to the process, whether it be
considered thinking, experience, confidence, multi-tasking,
extended focus time. There is a good chance each one of
these skills can help you bring together the whole you need
to make your WMS change easier.
Promote training and professional development – help
employees develop new skill sets to manage these more
advanced WMS solutions. Providing training sessions is a
great way to show you're investing in people as well as
technology and will help increase employee satisfaction and
performance, as well as preparing them for their new roles.
In short, make it easy for your staff to ask for help and
you've got the best chance of getting ahead of any
implementation and adoption issues. This along with proper
planning, communication and investment will help speed
your warehouse operations – and your employees – into this
here-to-stay and rewarding age of digital fulfilment.
What the client says
This view is echoed by a leading global distribution group
providing customised solutions to B2B customers across
30 + countries. They needed a more systematic and time-
/cost-effective WMS approach for the business - and
quickly found SnapFulfil provides visibility of information,
ease of integration and user-friendliness, plus tried and
tested processes that facilitate structured change.
Their Operations Director said: "There's always resistance
to any transition and in my experience, a feeling of 'teach
and preach' and I'll forget, but involve me and I'll learn – so
42
before go live it was essential to familiarise and acclimatise
our staff.
With SnapFulfil's help, we created a mini-warehouse
scenario (5,000 sq. ft) with goods-in, put away, despatch,
location and replenishment elements, so that all operatives
were able to practice and repeat based on real orders rather
than any classroom approach.
Culturally it was very important, because with 15 years on
average in the job, there was certainly fear, trepidation and
the 'if it isn't broke don't fix it' attitude. But it was
ineffective and very admin heavy, so we also actioned three
separate sessions per worker to cross-train and multi-skill
them and provide extra resilience to the workforce.
"It worked very well and the buy-in was complete because
they all felt part of the journey and in tandem with
SnapFulfil's approach to the partnership it bred a culture of
continuous improvement. We're now developing a
productivity tracker for use in other parts of the company
and preparing to roll out the cloud-based software solution
across other sites.”
So, digital transformation is clearly not just an IT decision
and it pays to involve and consult your staff every step of
the way. Dealing in real-time data is also about facts, rather
than tribal knowledge, and a properly utilised WMS brings
discipline, consistency and uniform processes to your
business.
Only then will you know where the true costs lie and the
best improvement levers to push.

The Future Farm Facilitating
Affordable Premium Vegetables
Urban agriculture has been
proved in research and
practice over the last 20 years
to help mitigate the consequences of
climate change while also increasing
the urban quality of life.
Cities are once again becoming areas
for growing food since people
nowadays prefer to live in green and
sustainable city centers that can
provide fresh, locally produced food.
It's a new world and this new world
demands modern farming solutions.
Enter the Indonesia-based agritech
start-up – Tunas Farm.
With a goal to urbanize farming to
create sustainable food production in
cities, Tunas Farm leverages idle assets
and turns them into food production
using IoT and precision farming
methods. The company believes that
cities should be able to produce their
own food due to population problems,
urbanization, and other aspects such as
climate change and natural disasters
that can affect the food supply.
With such a magnificent vision, Tunas
Farm is on a mission to change
farming as we know it. We, at Insights
Success magazine, are honored to
present you with an interview that we
conducted with the CEO of Tunas
Farm - Widya Surya Prayoga.
Widya shared with us the journey of
this ambitious venture and how the
leadership team—which includes
Rudwiky Okta Putra (CTO),
Jeremia Michael (CCO), and Topaz
Kumoro (COO)—plan to scale the
agritech business in Indonesia and the
world.
Below is an excerpt of that interview:
Please brief our audience about your
company, its USPs, and how it is
positioned as a leading name in the
Tunas Farm is an urban-focused
agritech startup with our tagline "your
local future farm" meaning we are the
solution for not only food but also
healthy and hygienic food straight
from our farms to consumers'
doorsteps.
Our mission focuses on three main
issues, namely Production Cost,
Quality, and Selling Price. In
Indonesia, most of the low-priced
vegetables are of poor quality (grade
4), use soil, and sustain heavy damage.
Other vegetables entail hydroponic
vegetables (class 1), but their price is
high. The problem at large is that both
types of vegetables depend on the
weather. Both methods are
unsustainable and unpredictable.
That's where we come in. With low
production costs, premium quality, and
affordable prices, we aim at providing
affordable premium vegetables.
Tunas Farm is the first indoor vertical
farm in Indonesia and we have a
mission to present our indoor facilities
in all cities in Indonesia and have a
positive impact on the sustainability of
agriculture in Indonesia.
Not only that, but we also position
ourselves as a partner for universities
to train students to get directly
involved in the real work environment
in modern agriculture, because we
were very difficult to find indoor
farming experts when we first started
Tunas Farm. With this step, we hope to
become a leader in the modern
agricultural industry in Indonesia.
Please tell our readers about yourself
and the leadership team at Tunas
Farm. Also enlighten us about your
professional journeys, and how they
have contributed towards the
company's success.
I, Widya Surya Prayoga (CEO),
started my career with an advertising
agency as an IT professional, and in
2019, met Rudwiky Okta Putra
(CTO) who developed a tool to obtain
data in the field for land-use
01 | MM | 2022 www.insightssuccess.com

agriculture. Rudwiky specializes in
Human-Computer Interaction and
software engineering. He is very
proficient in IoT and automation. In
late 2019, we discovered a new method
of farming called the Indoor Vertical
Farming in the USA (Aero Farm).
So, we decided to build our prototype
house kit with the same methods and
devices (sensors, automation) we got
the first buyer for that house kit. Long
story short, there are VCs who are
interested in our idea and help us build
Tunas Farm. Now we have another Co-
founder, Jeremia Michael as our
CCO, an experienced founder as well
as a hustler in our team who will assist
us in business development and
commercial aspects.
In 2021, we managed to build two
other facilities in Malang city and
Pontianak city with the same concept
and each facility can produce around
2 2
10kg/m area a month with only 100m
facilities.
We hope that our facilities will have an
impact on the community to bring
solutions for sustainable agriculture.
For now, with our respective expertise,
we feel that we are complete enough as
a small team ready to open the market
and start a new leap. Of course, as our
company grows, we will always look
for the best talents in Indonesia to
jointly develop in terms of science for
planting plants and developing the
business itself.
Being an experienced leader, share
with us your opinion on what impact
has the adoption of AI and machine
learning technologies had on the
horticulture sector and what more
could be expected in the future?
In my opinion, AI and Machine
Learning can help process the data that
has been collected and then turn it into
With low production costs,
premium quality, and
affordable prices, we aim at
providing affordable premium
vegetables.
02 | MM | 2022
Top 10 Greenhouse Growers Revolutionizing Horticulture Sector

knowledge, so that we as industry
players, especially in agriculture, can
use that to make practical and strategic
decisions in our daily business. They
can do demand forecasting, weather
forecasting (if planting in the open), or
the data can increase productivity and
quality of agricultural products such as
AI which is used for irrigation systems.
The system can study a set of data that
is tested on a plant with a variety of
certain variables so that it can produce
good output in providing nutrition to
plants or at certain times of watering
and can even adjust the specifications
and harvest schedule of a plant.
In the future, agriculture may have to
join the Blockchain or crypto
ecosystem where agriculture becomes
a reliable use case and also a very
promising underlying. However, it all
needs to start from the current years,
preparing data from upstream to
downstream, supply-chain, and also
downstream level for distribution. So,
when the time comes, agriculture will
become a very sexy essential industry.
Considering the current pandemic,
what initial challenges did you face
and how did you drive your
company to sustain operations while
ensuring the safety of your
employees at the same time?
Back in July 2020, we were running
our company in the midst of the
pandemic, finished our first facility,
and start selling the products in early
2021. Consumers' behaviors have
changed in this period. They prefer
buying online via a website,
eCommerce, and WhatsApp.
During the pandemic, we found online
buying preferences rise increasing,
especially in ride-hailing services like
Grab and Gojek. We do partnerships
with Grab and Gojek, become their
merchant in the Mart platform to grab
that moment, and alongside we still
have in-house couriers to drop buyers'
orders directly.
As we use the automation system to
monitor, the head growers can work
remotely from home, non-essential
workers in production also work from
home. So, we only use a maximum of
two workers in our facility and we
check their health regularly. Their job
is to monitor the seedling and harvest
cycle and serve the orders for
customers.
What would be your advice to the
budding entrepreneurs who aspire to
venture into the horticulture space?
My advice for entrepreneurs in
agriculture is to find the pain point in
your area and tackle it with technology
to have scalability, so your business
model can easily be able to replicate.
Perhaps the problem in every country
is different, but there's always a gap.
Research the market, find the problems
because there's an opportunity behind
it.
Like for us, in Indonesia, the pain point
is at the upstream level. Thus, we
create sustainable farming because our
number of farmers is decreasing year
by year due to urbanization. This
impact on farmland decreases around
120.000 ha per year because there's no
next generation to continue farming
activity anymore.
Farmer is still one of the lowest-paid
laborers in Indonesia. So, with that
data, we try to solve food security on
an upstream level with technology. At
the downstream levels, Indonesia has
great players like SayurBox, Tanihub,
Astronauts, etc, so we help them grow
to solve the supply-chain problem. We
help them secure the supply with
sustainable farming.
How do you envision scaling your
company's operations and offerings
in 2022 and beyond?
We are targeting to establish 30
facilities in the next 3 years in various
cities throughout Indonesia to serve
and balance the demand for vegetables
and soft fruits. On the other hand, we
will also partner as much as possible
with companies in the field of fresh
supply-chain and logistics to reach
more customers who need fresh and
healthy vegetables.
Of course, we cannot stand alone with
our strength. We also invite investors
who are interested in the SDG program
to develop indoor agriculture in
Indonesia and grow together to become
part of the modern agricultural
ecosystem in Indonesia.
Give us a few testimonials of your
clients/customers that accurately
highlight your organization's
position in the market.
Our customers, especially the F&B
industry, are very satisfied with the
solutions we provide to them,
especially on the issue of vegetable
supply consistency and quality. In
matters of pricing, we may not be the
cheapest, but we provide added value
and guarantee to consumers from our
service level to be able to support their
businesses growth. For direct
customers such as households, our
products are considered to have
advantages because our vegetables
have very few leaves that are wasted
due to damage and pests, such as those
experienced by open farming or
greenhouses. So customers feel
benefited because there is almost no
waste.
03 | MM | 2022 www.insightssuccess.com

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