Profarms. Ulrich and Patrick:

On a hot summer day in August, we are welcomed by profarms founders Patrick and Ulrich in St. Pauls. True to the spirit of a start-up company, they immediately take us to the garage where their microgreens are grown.
Their mission? To cultivate and market sustainably produced microgreens using an innovative vertical farming system, with regionality at the heart of everything they do.
But what exactly is vertical farming? And what are microgreens?
“Microgreens are young vegetable and herb varieties that are delivered to restaurants fresh and still rooted in their growing medium. We cultivate a wide range of varieties on eight shelving units with five levels each, including nasturtium, rocket, pea shoots, broccoli, amaranth and mustard greens, to name just a few,” explains Ulrich Kager, one of the two profarms founders.
Microgreens are nutrient-rich, packed with flavour and visually appealing, making them highly valued in modern gastronomy.
“Vertical farming allows us to precisely control all the parameters essential for plant growth, such as humidity, light and temperature. This enables us to consistently achieve high quality 365 days a year,” adds co-founder Patrick Sanin.
The entire system is managed via computer and app. Patrick, who studied Industrial and Mechanical Engineering, developed the hardware and software for the control system himself.
“Vertical farming also enables us to grow our crops without the use of plant protection products. In addition, we use 90% less water than conventional outdoor cultivation because irrigation takes place in a controlled recycling system where the water can be reused. Sustainability is equally important when it comes to packaging, which is why we use cardboard packaging. The growing substrate we use is partly made from the wool of South Tyrolean sheep,” explains Sanin.
Through its innovative approach, profarms demonstrates how technology and sustainability can work hand in hand to create a resource-efficient model for local food production.
“For us, Ethical Banking means that savers can decide for themselves where their money is invested and which sustainable regional and zero-kilometre projects they want to support,” concludes the enterprising young entrepreneur Ulrich Kager.

The funded project

The Ethical Banking loan enabled us to cover a range of start-up investments during the early stages of the business, as well as the costs associated with developing our software platform.