S11E154 Jessica Fong/Common Farms - Microgreens and Mega Dreams: Common Farms' Inspiring Journey

Vertical Farming Podcast

Ever wondered how to start a vertical farm in a city with limited space and resources? Jessica Naomi Fong's journey with Common Farms in Hong Kong is a masterclass in resilience, innovation, and customer-focused growth.

Jessica Naomi Fong, Founder and CEO of Common Farms, shares her inspiring story of launching a vertical farming business in Hong Kong just before the COVID-19 pandemic hit. With a background in the restaurant industry and manufacturing, Jessica leveraged her unique perspective to create a thriving microgreens and specialty greens business in one of the world's most densely populated cities.

In this episode, Jessica delves into the challenges of starting a vertical farm from scratch, including educating customers, building relationships with chefs, and adapting to market demands. She discusses the importance of keeping systems simple, focusing on customer needs, and continuously improving product quality and diversity.

Jessica also touches on the future of Common Farms, including their focus on functional foods and the nutritional benefits of microgreens. She shares insights on growing as a CEO, the importance of building a strong team, and the value of collaboration within the indoor farming industry.

If you're interested in the intersection of urban agriculture, culinary innovation, and entrepreneurship, this episode offers a wealth of practical insights and inspiration. Tune in to learn how Jessica turned challenges into opportunities and built a successful vertical farming business in an unlikely environment.

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Key Takeaways

5:07 Starting a business during COVID

10:22 Origin story of Common Farms

15:05 Building relationships with chefs

26:20 Customizing produce for chefs

32:31 Focusing on functional food

43:10 Tough questions for entrepreneurs

46:42 Collaboration in indoor farming

Tweetable Quotes

"We were very methodical about that. But then again, we had to test the market. Do people want microgreens? What microgreens do they want? How do they want them? What's the crop diversity? How much diversity do we need? What's the price point?"

"I created this scenario and this character and that future of the business. And that was the mission. That was the goal for me."

"We can't do this alone. We really welcome anyone that's developing anything to reach out to us. We're constantly in the experimental stage, which means we're always incrementally making improvements and we can't figure all of this out on our own."

Resources Mentioned

Website - https://commonfarms.com/

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessica-naomi-fong/

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Mentioned in this episode:

CEA Summit East 2024

CEA Summit East 2024

Indoor AgCon 2025

Indoor AgCon 2025