FibreDust

This interview details FibreDust, a company based in the United States. The interview is with Andrew D Pidgeon, Director of Marketing at FibreDust. 

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What is the origin story of FibreDust?

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Founded in 2002, Fibredust is a US based company with company-owned factories in India, Sri Lanka, and Mexico. Through ownership, we can deliver a consistent quality product to our customers.

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Annually Fibredust ships 2000-3000 containers of high-quality coco coir to companies like Scotts, Sungro, BVB, Hawthorne, Fafard, Lambert, Berger, Pindstrup, and many more. In addition to owned factories, Fibredust has built a network of factories that provide products exclusively for Fibredust. The product is delivered in various sizes and packaging based on client needs. Additionally, Fibredust provides custom mixes of coir based on crop requirements for increased aeration, lower bulk density, and enhanced water retention. 

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Fibredust is a company always working to enhance our products. This has led to the development of buffered coir, organically buffered coir, coir with wood fiber, coir blended with amendments such as perlite, vermiculite, NPK, and more. In addition to manufacturing coir and related products, Fibredust is also a grower.

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Through our sister company FD Berries, we grow blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries from 9 farms located in Jalisco Mexico. These farms grow in Fibredust coir with great success. During peak production, FD Berries exports one truck per day of premium berries to the US.

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What are some of the biggest challenges facing FibreDust in the future? 

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As the substrate market continues to evolve, and new pressure is applied to substrate through increased demand, environmental concerns, and growers looking for alternatives to peat-based solutions, our challenge will be to meet these demands with new solutions and adaptations of existing products.

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The market is becoming saturated with new companies it seems daily who provide coir. We have a tagline that goes like this “For Coir you can Trust…Choose Fibredust”. Barbara Langford came up with that some time ago and it rings true. The growers need a provider they can trust. Without trust what do you have? Nothing. Many times I have been called by a grower who says “The container I got in January from provider X was great, but the next one was garbage!”. Quality control is paramount when you are providing a growing medium. Bad medium means your crop could be lost. Lost crops can spell the end of your business!

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So our biggest challenge will be differentiation in a crowded market. My 2 cents.

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What is unique about FibreDust compared to competitors? 

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Not only is Fibredust a producer of top-quality coir, we are also growers. We are confident in our product and use it extensively at our sister company FD Berries in Mexico. FD Berries grows premium berries in Fibredust substrate. The unique properties of coir make it an ideal medium for berries and many other crops. Through our QC process, we are able to provide a consistent product to FD Berries and growers globally.

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Any predictions for the future of your part of the indoor farming industry? 

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Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) is expected to grow from 74 billion to over 370 billion by 2032. With this growth comes new challenges and opportunities. What substrate will growers use? How does the substrate need to change to meet this demand? What are the alternatives as we strive to limit our environmental impact? How can we increase yield? These are just a few of the questions we all need to answer if we are going to supply for this expected growth. 

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What does that mean for Fibredust? To meet these demands, Fibredust needs to be more than just a provider of substrate. We need to be different. How are we doing that now? We are expanding our substrate to encompass new blends like coir with wood fiber, organically buffered coir, blends specific to certain crops. New packaging to meet grower's needs (for example: grow bags with breathable mesh bags, biodegradable bags, etc).

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How can people connect with you or learn more about FibreDust?

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With a warehouse in the US, Fibredust has the ability to quickly provide products to the US market. Our website is Fibredust.com

Feel free to contact us directly at 860-597-3844

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