Vertical Farming Podcast

Episode Summary

Join Harry Duran, host of Vertical Farming Podcast, as he welcomes to the show, co-founder and Chief Marketing Officer at AeroFarms, Marc Oshima. AeroFarms is an award-winning indoor farming company that is on a bold mission to grow the best plants possible for the betterment of humanity. Today, Harry and Marc talk about Marc’s background in marketing and how it has impacted his work at AeroFarms. Marc provides his thoughts on the concept of ‘speed breeding,’ speaks to his passion for food and expounds on the concept of utilizing business as a force for good

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Key Takeaways

• 02:37 – Harry welcomes to the show Marc Oshima, who discusses the impact COVID-19 has had on his business, his background in marketing and the power of telling the story behind the food
• 08:23 – Marc talks about the value of AeroFarms being a Certified B Corporation
• 11:51 – Marc explains the concept of ‘speed breeding’ and how he got involved in marketing and food
• 17:22 – Marc reflects on the work he did at Toys R’ Us
• 20:54 – Marc expounds on the vision and mission of AeroFarms and the importance of food literacy
• 27:30 – Marc talks about the journey of AeroFarms and potential future expansions
• 29:06 – Marc speaks to the experience of AeroFarms going public
• 32:23 – Marketing trends Marc has noticed throughout his career and the impact of social media marketing
• 35:43 – Where Marc sees companies get it wrong in their approach to customer relations
• 37:48 – Marc speaks to some of the initiatives AeroFarms prioritizes
• 43:49 – A tough question Marc has had to ask himself recently
• 46:22 – Harry thanks Marc for joining the show and let’s listeners know where they can learn more about AeroFarms and connect with Marc

Tweetable Quotes

“This idea that business can be a force for good expands beyond just the world of agriculture. This is about other verticals and we’re hoping that we can be an inspiration and a catalyst for other companies as well.” (09:04) (Marc)

“Thinking about key genetic traits plus the rapid growing process, that’s really leading to this rapid cultivation, this speed breeding. This is what we think about as the next generation of the indoor farming opportunities that we continue to unlock.” (12:15) (Marc)

“For us, what we’re doing and have been doing in the category of leafy greens is we’re creating different flavor experiences.” (20:54) (Marc)

“We’ve been very specific about how to build our brand. And I think that’s a very important part of the equation today without question. And part of that is the journey with the consumer hand-in-hand and how do we collectively get them to be our brand advocates and brand ambassadors.” (33:30) (Marc)

Links Mentioned

Marc’s LinkedIn

AeroFarms Website

AeroFarms Twitter

AeroFarms Instagram

AeroFarms Facebook

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Episode Summary

Join Harry Duran, host of Vertical Farming Podcast, as he welcomes to the show Michael Sichenzia. Michael is the Managing Director at Go Global Advisors and today, he shares his passion for bringing food to communities and what led him to pursue work in the vertical farming industry.

Specifically, Michael speaks to the intricacies of developing container farms, everything from getting zoning approval from the local or city government to what he looks for when building a team. Michael is highly mission-focused and wants to leave a legacy of making the world a better place, or at the very least trying to. Michael touches on his involvement in the From Mary With Love project, his relationship with Freight Farms and his belief that education about the vertical farming industry comes through empowerment.

Thanks to Our Sponsors

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Indoor Ag-Con

Key Takeaways

03:41 – Harry welcomes to the show Michael Sichenzia who talks about his background in real estate and how he made the connection between public storage facilities and modular hydroponic space

08:46 – What Michael looks for when developing farms and when building a team

12:01 – From Mary With Love

15:09 – A budding relationship with Freight Farms

16:38 – Zoning and effectively communicating with your local government and community

19:39 – Empowerment through education

26:34 – Michael speaks to an exciting new project he’s working on in Buffalo

31:16 – Identifying the ideal investor

34:36 – Why Michael is so passionate about bringing food to the community

37:44 – Speculating on the future of vertical farming and why Marketing and PR are key

44:52 – Harry thanks Michael for joining the show and lets listeners know where they can connect with Michael

Tweetable Quotes

“Having owned and operated restaurants in my past, I saw that that was an area that I wanted to get back to. And I saw that my real estate experience would play into that because I knew how to put together deal structures. And I felt that farming, and urban farming in particular, had a tremendous opportunity with the right deal structure. And that’s how I got into it.” (05:51) (Michael)

“I looked at the hydroponics space and saw it’s really a play on storage. Public storage facilities and the way those deals are structured are ideally suited for modular, containerized, hydroponic space in an urban setting. And that was the connection for me.” (07:32) (Michael)

“Passion, sticktoitiveness, the idea that we’re gonna make this work no matter what the obstacle is, that’s very important in any entrepreneurial venture.” (13:32) (Michael)

“Attacking that and making sure that the city has a variance process, whatever that process is, get it started sooner rather than later. That issue will affect everything. The last thing that you want to do is take delivery of your farm and deploy it and not be able to grow. To me, you need to understand the zoning, communicate with the city, and really work that process effectively.” (17:45) (Michael)

“I’m a big believer in good PR and I’m a believer that you make things happen with good PR and good communications.” (22:28) (Michael)

“We have to remember that social enterprise is still an enterprise. The key word there is ‘enterprise.’ We tend to forget that. These [containers] need to be self-sustaining otherwise they will fail.” (33:37) (Michael)

“I’m not in this for the deal. I’m in this because I want to bring food to the community. And I think that there’s probably never been a better time to marry good deal structure with delivery and production of food. We need it now more than ever. It really is the time to own our own food again. I really believe that.” (34:36) (Michael)

“I’ve always tried to be a year ahead of The New York Times. My whole career has been focused on if I can be a year ahead of The New York Times, I’m gonna be doing something.” (40:51) (Michael)

“You have to self-promote. If you’re not gonna promote yourself, who is? So, you gotta get out there. You gotta talk about your things. You gotta fail. I fail all the time. There’s that saying, ‘If you want to succeed then double your failure rate.’ Well, I’ve probably quadrupled my failure rate, but that’s part of the process.” (44:20) (Michael)

Resources Mentioned

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