Vegbed

This interview details Vegbed, a leading indoor farming services company developing biodegradable growing media. The interview is with Albert Lin, Founder and CEO at Vegbed.

‍

‍

What is the origin story of Vegbed?

I got into hydroponics a few years ago as a hobby. After seeing a friend's home setup, my curiosity drove me to read up and experiment with this type of growing as much as I could. I was wondering why we weren’t doing more indoor hydroponic farming.

‍

Most people, when they first begin learning about indoor hydroponic growing, end up getting exposed to rockwool and peat. Since you can't use soil in a hydroponic system, these substrates tend to be the most popular, although not sustainable.

I used them initially as well but thought we could do better. I saw issues in the substrate market and decided to try and create something novel that could help the industry grow more sustainably.

To this day, most vertical and indoor farms still utilize rockwool or a peat-based substrate to grow their seeds in. However, many countries now ban the harvesting and purchasing of peat outright.

So Vegbed’s mission was to come up with a new and unique substrate that was somehow both made from something sustainable while also being biodegradable. The goal was to reduce a farm's downstream waste by making sure the substrate would naturally biodegrade if it happened to end up in a landfill.

Can you tell us more about the Vegbed features? What are the main pros when using it for microgreens?

Our core product is our bamboo grow mat for microgreens. What sets us apart from others is that we are an extremely clean substrate that is made from a sustainable material and is naturally biodegradable. It does not have to be taken to a commercial composting facility either.

We also help farms save time by being more efficient in their operations. Our grow mats help speed up seeding, harvesting, and cleaning. This becomes significant time savings (compared to loose substrates) as a farm scales up and has to grow thousands of trays per week.

‍

‍

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

Some of the biggest challenges currently and in the future

1. Supply chain - making sure there are no disruptions/delays in production. Minimizing times when we don’t have any items in stock.
   
2. B2B sales cycle - especially long process for my product as it takes a lot of time for trials. At least 2-3 weeks for one and some farms run multiple. Some end up being 6+ month sales cycles.
   
3. New product development - this is always a challenge. Having to consider the sustainability/biodegradability aspect of all new products. Machinery capability and end pricing are also important.
   

‍

‍

What is unique about Vegbed compared to competitors?

‍

Our grow mat is the cleanest substrate to use. While others have a variety of glue, binding agents, or additives in the mat, we have none. The mat is also completely and quickly biodegradable. It can also be composted without the need to be brought to a commercial facility.

‍

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

I’ve been measuring the impact of Vegbed based on our revenue, partnerships (B2B, solution providers, distribution, and retail), and diversity of customer locations (30 countries and counting).

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

Learning when to say no - In the beginning, you’ll want to jump through hoops for any potential clients. I ended up spending hundreds of dollars on samples and prototypes for one potential client. After months of working with them, they eventually just decided they weren’t going to move forward with their project.

It’s important to know where to set that boundary of wanting to be helpful to people and solve their problems, but at the same time not at too much of an expense of your time and money. They can try and sell you a grand vision of their plans and how much business they will give you WHEN they eventually break ground. However things always change and you can’t rely on hope, let alone someone else’s hope.

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

They can email me at albert@vegbed.com

Instagram - @vegbed

Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/company/vegbed

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/vegbed

‍