Eden Green

This interview details Eden Green, an indoor farming company based in the United States. The interview is with Eddy Badrina, CEO of Eden Green. 

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What is the origin story of Eden Green?

The story of Eden Green begins with two brothers, Jacques and Eugene van Buuren, who were attending a community event in their home country of South Africa when they saw a little boy stuffing his pockets with food. When asked why, the boy explained that it wasn’t his day to eat and that he was bringing food to his younger sister. Heartbroken, the two brothers set about on a mission to improve access to nutritious food. Through years of trials and experimentation with controlled environment agriculture (CEA), they combined the benefits of vertical farming with greenhouse farming and Eden Green was born.

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However, one of the challenges in the CEA space continues to be the end price for shoppers. Despite our ability to significantly reduce overhead costs associated with energy through our use of sunlight, we still needed to tackle the issue of distribution costs. I joined Eden Green to solve the affordability problem for CEA-grown produce by greenhouses next to existing distribution centers. Operating within a mile or nearer of these centers, we can sell our produce white-label to distributors while maintaining great margins. This allows customers to then purchase local produce at an affordable price, and at the same time empowers our company to grow rapidly to meet an ever-increasing demand.  

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What are some of the biggest challenges facing Eden Green in the future? 

The biggest challenge we face today is scale and speed. Climate change and food waste are already having a gigantic impact on food, but the world also faces labor shortages, increased transportation costs and more. In order to combat these crises, we need to quickly expand our tech and train workers to use it because in doing so, we can transform our food supply chain. 

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What is unique about Eden Green compared to competitors? 

Eden Green sets itself apart in the wide-ranging world of CEA through both its patented technology and unique distribution model. 

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In the growth process, our system uses 90% less artificial light than standard vertical farms – that’s because we operate primarily on sunlight with a supplementary, proprietary mobile light system. This system complements the sunlight so when the sun moves past one part of the vertical greenhouse, the light bar steps in to continue the growing process. Pair this with our patented microclimate technology and we are able to reduce energy costs while improving the quality and consistency of our yield.

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We also have a unique model for distribution. We build our ultra-efficient, first-of-their-kind vertical greenhouses intentionally close to large distribution centers, which allows us to deliver produce to stores within 48 hours from the time it’s harvested. This enables greater accessibility to fresh, affordable, and reliable produce year-round. 

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Finally, our vertical greenhouses only take a year to build and deploy due to our rapid deployment system. In short, our mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems are all housed in one containerized unit, allowing for rapid deployment and scaling. Compare this with competitors who usually have to deal with a mess of pipes and wires running to become operational, and you end up with a construction process that’s easy, a plug and play, if you will.

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How do you measure the impact of Eden Green so far? (Revenue, Employees, Customer Quantity, Production Volume) etc? 

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We measure impact on multiple levels at Eden Green. We see tangible impact in the millions of pounds of fresh, affordable lettuce that we have already distributed to grocery stores across Texas and Oklahoma. We also donate up to 10% of each of our harvests to the local community, impacting a whole other portion of the population.

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We also measure it through our staff. Eden Green is a lively space full of bright people from diverse educational backgrounds and experiences. We have all learned a ton together and have seen our employees continue to gain responsibility. Each additional greenhouse we build will create about 80 skilled and unskilled jobs in a community. 

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At the end of the day, we remain focused on growing that impact. Our business model is focused on scaling and bringing our greenhouses to the areas that want and need reliable, nutritious greens. By building out our network, we are increasing access for consumers and improving surety for our customers and distributors. The wider we take our technology and mission, the more and more lives we will impact. 

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What have you learned that you wish you knew when you joined or started the company? 

Something I wish we (myself and competitors alike) knew ahead of joining the CEA space was the need for due diligence and slow but steady growth. Right now, the industry as a whole is undergoing a culling due to rapid expansion without consideration of viable business models and many are suffering the consequences as a result. 

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The bottom line is that while we are competing for our share, we all have a similar mission: to provide better access to nutritious food. That mission remains incredibly important and worthwhile to pursue. So while I wish we, as an industry, had been more careful when starting this journey, I am hopeful that we have since learned our lessons and are on a path now that will help us all see our mission realized.

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How can people connect with you or learn more about Eden Green?

Check out our work at edengreen.com. We’re also on YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, and LinkedIn. For press inquiries, email us at edengreen@launchsquad.com!

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