Herbivore Farms Philippines

This interview details Herbivore Philippines, an indoor farming company based in Philippines. The interview is with Robin Kwee, Head of Operations / Consultant of Herbivore Philippines.

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What is the origin story of Herbivore Philippines?

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The idea started when Kristine, one of the founders was introduced to the idea of better farming. At that point, there was no traceability of how our produce was grown.

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There were 3 things we wanted to do better:

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• Grow a consistent, high-quality vegetable, that doesn’t get affected by torrential rain or heat waves.

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• Knowing exactly what inputs are going into our produce. From the water quality, to plant nutrition without using harmful pesticides.

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• Maximize freshness by growing closer to the end consumer, and delivering our produce right after harvesting.

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

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One of the challenges in the near term is high electricity costs, for our market, we spend more than half our OPEX on electricity. Although we do believe that this will trend down in the future. We are also considering renewable energy sources such as solar to aid in this.

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What is unique about Herbivore compared to competitors?

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• One of our unique traits is that we strive for excellence. 

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• We are always trying to improve the quality of our plants.

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• We continuously test new varieties, recipes or growing methods.

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

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In terms of impact, we can provide a better quality vegetable, with more consistency to our end consumers.

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We also try to continuously develop our team by training them on plant expertise as well as leadership.

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

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We’re dealing with a living system, ensure you have the right procedures in place, and plan ahead.

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Plant cycles for us are around 7 weeks, and making mistakes is costly. Do a lot of tests, learn from mistakes quickly.

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Collaborate with different stakeholders, work with your customers, work with your suppliers and others in the same industry.

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The farming industry is very collaborative, we all want to grow this sector and provide better quality, healthier food, with less waste.

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How can people connect with you or learn more about Herbivore Farms?

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Visit our website https://herbivore.com.ph to learn more about the farms and products.

Connect with us through email or Instagram:

Email: Herbivoreph@gmail.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/herbivore_ph

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