AloAlto Foods

This interview details AloAlto, an indoor farming company based in Spain. The interview is with Alejandro Casacuberta, Co-Founder of AloAlto.

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What is the origin story of AloAlto?

Our story began with a group of fellows who shared a passion for agriculture, sustainability, and innovation. From acquaintances, they became friends and partners and the project took shape. We began to develop a small model in the garage of the father of one of them.

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Through this, we gained knowledge about indoor vertical farming, an incipient agronomic technique. The key attractors were:

1. Savings of +90% water consumption
2. ZERO pesticides and insecticides
3. Higher production per m2
4. Local / KM0
5. All year

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

The most complex challenge will be to jump from niche to mass market. Although we are confident of our capabilities, we face the scalability hurdle with respect, hence learn on every step we take.

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What is unique about AloAlto compared to competitors?

1. We produce the best products in the world in a sustainable way next to cities to reach a greater number of people. We use techniques that allow us to ensure quality and recurrence, even with new products that have never before been grown in Europe. We break geographical barriers to democratise access to new products.

2. Following our initial experimentation with leafy greens, we decided to differentiate ourselves by bringing a unique product to the market. That's why we went to Japan. There you can find fruit with intense flavor, aroma, and texture - as some say, the best in the world. We traveled 3000km, visited +50 farms, tested +40 varieties, and selected our winner. After 8 months of paperwork, perseverance, construction of the “Farm” and a lot of work, we are harvesting the OKU Berry for the first time in Europe.

3. This approach has taught us how to grow a complex and delicate product.

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What are some other relevant metrics of the company (growing area size, production quantity, team size, etc.)?

<15km away from Barcelona, 75m2 of climate chambers, the potential to grow our current production of 50kg/month x30, a team of 3 co-founders + 1 employee, first clients are Michelin star restaurants

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What are some goals in 2024 and beyond for AloAlto?

1. PMF with B2B2C and B2C.

2. Energy efficiency, developing a solution that integrates natural resources further into our farming. 

3. Also the cultivation of new crops and system innovation to grow them.

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

Email contact on our website, Linkedin or Instagram

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