Introduction to Mana Farms:

Mana Farms is a Leipzig-based Vertical Farming startup whose mission is to bring fresh Microgreens to the Gastro and Hospitality Industry.

Mana Farms’ ground-up product design focuses on the unique configuration of its semi-enclosed environment which creates a micro-ecosystem for the plants to grow and flourish. This is done via a constellation of carefully placed sensors which help to regulate variables like temperature, humidity, and light. The Mana Micro Farm is the first indoor vertical farming system specifically designed for the needs of the gastronomy and hospitality industry.

While vertical farming itself is not new, the uniqueness of the Mana Micro Farm is undoubtedly its individual design and user friendliness. The restaurant and hospitality industries are already sectors with very hectic and stressful environments. We kept this in mind and designed a workflow to seamlessly integrate with the one existing in most of these environments. As one of our customers has already voiced: “It doesn’t get easier than this.” The Mana Micro Farm’s wooden shell can be designed individually to the Restaurant’s needs.

Vertical and Urban Agriculture belong to the larger family of controlled environment agriculture. While still in its infancy, the technology and need for it is rapidly expanding as the climate becomes more unpredictable and the population continues to grow. Mana Farms seeks to contribute to the solution by eliminating the CO2 emissions produced by production and logistical transport of the herbs and leafy greens. Another benefit: The restaurants can produce their own microgreens at a better price than they would pay from the wholesaler.

Mana Farms hopes to become an industry leader within the hotel and gastro industries, starting first in Germany and the DACH area but then becoming industry standard abroad as well. As the technology is refined, the options for customization of product details like exterior finishing and colours to match the ambient become available for even further seamless integration into everyday life. 

Presently we are running a crowd-investment campaign on the platform seedmatch and looking for ways to increase awareness about that so that would be our primary focus for the time being as it ends in July. In the long term, we would seek to build contacts across the VF space and explore opportunities for business development and community building as well as learning, exchange, and promotion of best practices.