Marc Bowers has successfully launched and managed home, garden and construction products for himself, private equity firms and multinational conglomerates. He's also on the board of Earthdance Farms and wants to make sure he leaves a legacy that isn't hard on the planet and future generations. Knowing that profit and making a difference can't come from "preaching to the choir," Marc is launching a vertical growing wall for the luxury home market. Learn from him why he chose this niche, why his product is poised for success, and how you can make a real difference expanding your concept of the market for sustainable products.

1. DisruptiveDiner:
Profitably Sustainable Food
Marc Bowers

2. My name is Marc. I commercialize ideas.
I have 6 minutes and 40 seconds of your time. Here
is what I want to discuss:
1) Macro-level “locavore” challenges
2) Household paradigm shifts
3) An early stage project that offers options
I am not a specialist, however I do see solutions. It is
these lower impact, local solutions that I would like to
focus on.
Copyright ©2013. All rights reserved.
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Introduction

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• The world's population is expected to increase to 9.1 billion
by 2050
• Population is scaling at a rate of one “Germany” per year
• Feeding all those people will mean increasing food
production by 70%
• A combination of higher crop yields and an expansion of the
area under cultivation are imperative
• The additional land available is unevenly distributed, and
much is suitable for growing only a few crops
Global headcount is a challenge
source: http://www.economist.com/node/17647627.
Macro

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• Water scarcity
• Soil scarcity/peak soil (soil is created
in geological time)
• Peak phosphorous
• Carbon footprint (modern ag is fossil
fuel driven)
• Nutrition – variety, breadth of food
options
• Et al
More challenges, more obstacles...
sources: various.
Macro

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Corn, rice and wheat account for ~90% of
global cereal production. We eat what is
commercially viable.
source: http://faostat.fao.org/.
Dietary variety is an issue Macro

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Hmmm... what does it all mean?
• Environmental challenges exist that are spilling over into
global food production
– Challenges have always existed
– Technology has historically kept ahead of the challenge curve
• Economic realities are also factors
– We eat what is commercially viable
– Labor conservation vs labor intense
• Humans are more detached from their food production, and
by extension from their own nutrition, than ever before
Macro

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And what can I do about it?
Traditional
• Recycle
• Minimize/conserve water usage
• Mow less frequently
• Etc.
Alternatives
• Farm – vertical, container, other
• Permaculture options
• Raise fish, raise chickens
• Forage – home/yard, parks, wild
lands
• CSA – Google EarthDance St Louis
Macro

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The (Urban) Family Farm
How big a backyard would you need to live off the land?
9,200 calories per day (family of 4) requires
approximately 1½ to 2 acres of land.
• 1 year of wheat requires ~12,000 square feet
• 1 year of corn requires ~2,640 square feet
• 1 year of pork requires ~200 square feet
• 1 year of dairy (goats) requires ~100 square feet
• 1 year of eggs requires ~65 square feet
If you buy wheat and corn, you need less land. If
your diet is meat free, you need less land. If you eat
chicken but not pork/beef/etc., you need less land.
source: http://1bog.org/blog/live-off-the-land-2/
Household

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Homesteading & Vertical Household
• Growing crops vertically can double or triple your
yield in less space and with less work
• Doubling production yields reduces the amount of
land required for cultivation
• With careful planning and implementation you
could produce ???% of your own food/nutrition
• The Urban Homestead. Location: Northwest
Pasadena, one mile from downtown Pasadena
• Property Size: 66’ x 132’ = 8,712 sq. ft. (1/5 acre)
• House Size: 1,500 sq. ft. (17% of the property)
• Garden Size: ~ 1/10 acre (3,900 sq. ft. / ~ 66' x 66‘,
45% of the property)
• Garden Diversity: Over 350 different vegetables,
herbs, fruits & berries
• Productivity: Up to 6,000 lbs. harvest annually on 1/10
acre
source: http://urbanhomestead.org/urban-homestead

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Rooftop Gardening Household
Benefits
• Decorative
• Food production
• Temperature control – reduction in hot/
cold fluctuations
• Hydrological benefits – water stays on
site, doesn’t stress the waste &
stormwater system
• Architectural enhancement
• Habitats or corridors for wildlife
• Recreational opportunities
• Google Urban Harvest StL's food roof
source: Wikipedia, et al.

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On-site water recapture & usage Household
• Rain gardens – route water to a fallow point on the property
and raise more water intense fruits and vegetables
• System stress – watch for tax and other incentive credits for
keeping stormwater out of the sewer system
• Better manages peak flow
• Reduces overflow events into the watershed
• Allows the property owner to use captured water on-site
source: http://www.wholewatersystems.com

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Aquaponics Household
• Aquaponics is a combination of aquaculture and hydroponics.
• Hydroponics requires expensive nutrients and periodic flushing of the
system.
• Aquaculture needs to have excess nutrients removed and replaced with
clean fresh water.
• Combining the two, these negative aspects are turned into positives. The
positive aspects of both aquaculture and hydroponics are retained and the
negative aspects no longer exist.
source: http://www.treehugger.com

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Foraging is under-utilized
Acorn Notes
• Acorns weigh ~8lbs/gallon
• There are ~60-100 acorns/lb
• 1 cubic yard of acorns = ~200lbs
• An oak tree produces ~70,000 acorns
(~900lbs) in a good year
• ~500lbs of acorns, 4 tubs, are required to
meet personal household need for a family of
5 (assuming 50% substitution for flour).
Arbor Management
• ~750 lbs of acorns are required to plant an
acre.
• The ideal density goal for mature oak
hardwoods is ~20 trees per acre.
source: empirical learning. various bloggers.
Household

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Acorns – Processing
taste test at all/most steps to determine tannin levels!
1. Within 24 hours of harvesting.
• Visually inspect, sort and dry. Submerge in clean, cold water for ~20 minutes to
wash and identify/remove floating debris. Freeze to kill bugs.
• Optional - Toast in an oven on a cookie sheet at ~200°F for ~20-30 minutes to dry
acorns and kill bugs.
2. Shell and remove kernels. Course grind kernels.
3. Leeching options: hot boil or cold
• Hot – Steep kernel meal in boiling water, cover with 2/3rds water to 1/3rd meal. Let
stand ~20 minutes. Strain off the dark water and add more boiling water. Repeat this
process 6 or more times. Taste test until the acorns are mild and palatable.
• Cold – soak in a bucket changing the water several time per day.
4. Strain using cheesecloth or towel to create an acorn flour meal paste.
5. If necessary, further grind to desired consistency or until the flour is fine enough to
“stick to the sifter" (like wheat flour) when the sifter is turned upside down.
6. Use or freeze immediately and/or freeze any unused portions.
Copyright ©2013. All rights reserved. source: empirical learning. various bloggers.
Household

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Acorns – Lessons Learned
• Acorn flour yield is roughly 2:1. Two gallon-sized
buckets of acorns will yield approximately one
gallon of flour.
• All acorns are edible.
• Don’t let wet acorn meal lie about. It will mold.
Keep at the leaching process.
• The first 10% of the acorns that fall should be left
alone due to likely immaturities.
• White oak acorns taste better, less tannin.
• Acorns do not contain gluten and cannot be
substituted for wheat flour.
Copyright ©2013. All rights reserved. source: empirical learning. various bloggers.
Household

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New Product Project – Mission
To engineer and market artisanal food growing systems that
utilize historically unused growing space.
New Product

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Gardening Limitations
1. Labor intense + back pain and injuries.
2. Aesthetics – forced choice between yard
or garden.
3. Space displacement.
4. Poor water usage and retention.
5. Low flexibility – outdoor only.
6. Seasonal only.
7. Mono-cultural – no pest or blight control
flexibility.
8. No garden-to-market transportability.
9. Stationary sun exposure.
10.Low(er) yields than alternatives.
New Product

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An Opportunity
Modular Nature:
 Functions as a stand-alone or
integrated system.
 Buy all at once, or add
modules over time.
 Tie to existing solar, or buy
with dedicated panels.
 Harvest rainwater or connect
to muni system.
A module-based vertical growing system integrated with solar power, self-
watering, soil moisture monitoring, and pivot capabilities. Individual modules
are light enough to be independently picked up and moved by a single
individual. The system can be arranged on a wall or free-standing frame and
can be rack-stacked in a vehicle for transport.
New Product

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Solutions Offered
1. Labor Saving – Wall pods are lightweight, easy to work with and flexible.
2. Aesthetics – Functional, decorative, or both. Also installs as a visual barrier between patios, etc.
3. Space Displacement – Vertical orientation. Equally functional as a rooftop garden.
4. Water Usage & Retention – Solar enabled to self-water on a timer from rain barrels or other sources.
5. Flexible – Indoor, outdoor, or both.
6. Seasonality – Can be moved indoors for extended growing season or winter gardening.
7. Mono-cultural – Pods enable beneficial plants to be moved next to one another within minutes.
8. Transportability – Move product to farmers market while still on the vine.
9. Solar Transit – Solar panels enable power pivot to track and optimize right angle sun exposure.
10.Optimized Yields – System benefits enable 3x crop yield improvement vs traditional gardening.
New Product

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Target Markets
• Big-box home & garden retailers (Lowe’s, Home Depot).
• Landscape contractors.
• Real estate management companies and condominium associations.
• Construction companies.
• Commercial and industrial sites.
• Private-sector community development projects.
• LEED and Passive building certifiers.
• Green roof specialists.
• Urban farms, restaurants, and food providers.
• Architects, engineers, and specifiers.
• Municipal, state, and federal agencies.
New Product

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Contact Info
Marc Bowers • (314) 269-7986
mbowers@innovationinprocess.com
www.linkedin.com/in/marcbowers