These days, Farmshelf basically is only helping grow basil in the back rooms of some of America’s best restaurants. But Founder and CEO Andrew Shearer is pursuing a vision of using manufacturing scale to bring down the cost of his hydroponic horticultural systems to transform his Brooklyn-based startup into a primary engine of the global food system.
And already Farmshelf has experienced the backing of another manufacturer based an ocean away and in an entirely different industry: Mini, the BMW-owned car brand, took Farmshelf under its wings as part of its Urban-X startup-incubator program and then invested in the company, along with angel investors including a handful of Fortune 500 CEOs and celebrity chefs.
Farmshelf sells internet-connected hydroponic systems that come complete with everything needed to grow herbs and vegetables indoors. For $8,250 apiece, customers can purchase Farmshelf’s bookshelf-sized units – there are more than 75 in the market already – and grow food in a “cost-effective, sustainable and easy way,” as Shearer tells Chief Executive.