Microgreens Business Plan Template

Microgreens Business Plan

You’ve come to the right place to create your Microgreens business plan.

We have helped over 1,000 entrepreneurs and business owners create business plans and many have used them to start or grow their Microgreens businesses.

Below is a template to help you create each section of your Microgreens business plan.

Executive Summary

Business Overview

Tara’s Greens is a startup microgreens farm located in Portland, Oregon. The company is founded by Tara Harper, an experienced horticulturist who has gained valuable knowledge on how to grow microgreens while working for another microgreens farm in the area. She started her career as a planting associate and worked her way up into an upper management position. Now that Tara has experienced managing a microgreens farm, she is ready to start her own company, Tara’s Greens. Tara is confident that her microgreens skills, combined with her understanding of business management, will enable her to run a profitable microgreens company of her own.

Tara’s Greens will provide a wide selection of microgreens for grocery stores, restaurants, and individual consumers. Tara’s Greens will be the go-to microgreens farm in Portland for fresh produce available all year round. The company will be the ultimate choice for customer service while offering the best prices in the area.

 

Product Offering

Tara’s Greens will offer a large selection of microgreens for grocery stores, restaurants, and individuals to buy. Some of these microgreens include kale, spinach, basil, watercress, and cabbage. Consumers can buy our products in grocery stores, at farmers markets, on our website, or directly at our facility.

 

Customer Focus

Tara’s Greens will primarily target grocery stores and restaurants located in the Portland, Oregon area. The company will also target customers including farmers market shoppers and customers who come directly to the farm to purchase microgreens.

 

Management Team

Tara’s Greens will be owned and operated by Tara Harper. Tara is a graduate of Oregon University with a degree in Horticulture. She has over ten years of experience working as an planting associate, grower, and facility manager at another local microgreens farm. Her education and experience are the company’s most valuable assets and will ensure that our farm is a success.

 

Success Factors

Tara’s Greens will be able to achieve success by offering the following competitive advantages:

• Skilled team of growers and horticulture experts who will oversee the growing process and conduct inspections daily to ensure all microgreen produce is of the highest quality.
• Tara’s Greens offer multiple ways for customers to shop with us. They can buy our microgreens online through our website, directly at our facility, or at local grocery stores and farmers markets.
• The company offers competitive pricing and discounts for regular customers.

 

Financial Highlights

Tara’s Greens is seeking $550,000 in debt financing to launch its microgreens business. The funding will be dedicated towards securing the facility and purchasing farm equipment and supplies. Funding will also be dedicated towards three months of overhead costs to include payroll of the staff and marketing expenses. The breakout of the funding is below:

• Facility build-out: $200,000
• Equipment, supplies, and materials: $100,000
• Three months of overhead expenses (payroll, utilities): $150,000
• Marketing costs: $50,000
• Working capital: $50,000

The following graph below outlines the pro forma financial projections for Tara’s Greens.

 

Company Overview

Who is Tara’s Greens?

Tara’s Greens is a newly established microgreens company in Portland, Oregon. We aim to be the first choice for local grocers, restaurants, and consumers in Portland and the surrounding communities for fresh microgreens all year round. We will sell our products in grocery stores, at farmers markets, on our website, and directly from our farm.

 
Tara’s Greens will be able to guarantee the freshness, quality, and availability of its produce all year round thanks to the latest and most innovative microgreens technology and a stringent quality control process. We will use a vertical farming system to ensure we have the space to grow as many microgreens as possible. Customers can take a tour of our farm to learn how we grow our microgreens and to pick fresh microgreens directly from our facility.

 

Tara’s Greens’ History

Tara’s Greens is owned and operated by Tara Harper, an experienced horticulturist who has gained valuable knowledge during her ten year tenure working for another local microgreens farm. Now that Tara has gained the experience and knowledge of how to manage a microgreens farm, she is ready to start one of her own. Tara incorporated Tara’s Greens on June 1st, 2023.

Since incorporation, Tara’s Greens has achieved the following milestones:

• Registered Tara’s Greens to transact business in the state of Oregon.
• Found a potential location and signed a letter of intent to lease it.
• Reached out to numerous contacts to include local restaurants, grocers, and farmers markets to start getting vendor contracts.
• Began recruiting a staff of technicians, growers, maintenance workers, and sales personnel to work at Tara’s Greens.

 

Tara’s Greens’ Services

Tara’s Greens will sell a wide variety of microgreens and herbs, including the following:

• Kale
• Spinach
• Basil
• Watercress
• Cabbage
• Celery
• Cilantro
• Radish
• Arugula

 

Industry Analysis

The global microgreens industry was valued at an estimated $1.3 billion in 2019 and is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 11.1% to reach $2.2 billion by 2028. This growth is led by increased spending on premium produce and healthy foods. The popularity of microgreens is also due to increased awareness of the importance of eating greens and maintaining a healthy lifestyle. The industry’s growth is also influenced by the implementation of vertical farming, greenhouse farming, and similar technologies.

The microgreens market is highly fragmented with a handful of major players and an expanding global market for emerging companies making up the rest of the market share. Industry operators can achieve a competitive advantage by selling high quality, in-demand microgreens, effective marketing campaigns, and keeping up with local food trends.

 

Customer Analysis

Demographic Profile of Target Market

Tara’s Greens will primarily target grocery stores and restaurants located in the Portland, Oregon area. The company will also target customers including farmers market shoppers and customers who come directly to the farm to purchase produce.

The precise demographics for Portland, Oregon are:

	Total	Percent
Total population	1,680,988	100%
Male	838,675	49.9%
Female	842,313	50.1%
20 to 24 years	114,872	6.8%
25 to 34 years	273,588	16.3%
35 to 44 years	235,946	14.0%
45 to 54 years	210,256	12.5%
55 to 59 years	105,057	6.2%
60 to 64 years	87,484	5.2%
65 to 74 years	116,878	7.0%
75 to 84 years	52,524	3.1%

 

Customer Segmentation

Tara’s Greens will primarily target the following customer profiles:

• Grocery stores
• Restaurants
• Farmers market shoppers
• Individuals looking for fresh herbs and microgreens

 

Competitive Analysis

Direct and Indirect Competitors

Tara’s Greens will face competition from other companies with similar business profiles. A description of each competitor company is below.

 

Organic Microgreens

Organic Microgreens is one of the most popular microgreens farms in the Portland metro area. The company grows a wide variety of microgreens including cilantro, cress, fennel, kale, and sorrel. All of the company’s microgreens are grown organically and the company has a very stringent growing and quality control process to ensure each plant meets their standards of quality. Though Organic Microgreens is very popular, their high prices prevent many people in the Portland area from purchasing their products. Consumers looking for the same quality microgreens for an affordable price will be more eager to buy their microgreens from Tara’s Greens.

 

PDX Microgreens

PDX Microgreens is a small microgreens farm catering to local restaurants, grocers, and farmers markets in Portland, Oregon and surrounding areas. PDX Microgreens provide fresh microgreens including parsley, cabbage, celery, and arugula all year round. The company provides tours of the facility to local schools for a nominal fee. The owners of PDX Microgreens are former restaurant managers and farm-to-table supporters so they understand how important it is to the community for restaurants to have fresh produce and microgreens that are locally grown.

 

Tiny Greens

Tiny Greens is a trusted Portland, Oregon-based microgreens farm that provides superior produce to consumers in Portland and the surrounding areas. The company is able to provide a wide variety of microgreens using vertical farming and state-of-the-art equipment. Tiny Greens serve local grocers, specialty stores, and individual consumers with guaranteed fresh microgreens all year round.

 

Competitive Advantage

Tara’s Greens will be able to offer the following advantages over their competition:

• Skilled team of growers and horticulture experts who will oversee the growing process and conduct inspections daily to ensure all microgreen produce is of the highest quality.
• Tara’s Greens offer multiple ways for customers to shop with us. They can buy our microgreens online through our website, directly at our facility, or at local grocery stores and farmers markets.
• The company offers competitive pricing and discounts for regular customers.

 

Marketing Plan

Brand & Value Proposition

Tara’s Greens will offer the unique value proposition to its clientele:

• Tara’s Greens offers the best microgreens in town. All of our microgreens are organic and grown with great care.
• Our microgreens are priced competitively and the company offers discounts for regular customers.

 

Promotions Strategy

The promotions strategy for Tara’s Greens is as follows:

Social Media Marketing

The company’s marketing director will create accounts on social media platforms such as LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and YouTube.Shewill ensure Tara’s Greens maintains an active social media presence with regular daily updates and fun content to get customers excited about our microgreens.

Word of Mouth/Referrals

Tara’s Greens will encourage word-of-mouth marketing from loyal and satisfied clients. The company will incentivize its existing customer base to encourage their friends and colleagues to try its range of microgreens.

Print Advertising

Tara’s Greens will invest in professionally designed print ads to display in programs or flyers at industry networking events. The company will also send direct mailers to local restaurants and grocery stores.

Website/SEO Marketing

Tara’s Greens will utilize the in-house marketing director that designed the print ads to also design the company website. The website will be well organized, informative, and list all the produce that Tara’s Greens is able to provide. The website will also list information on the company’s events and guided tours.

 

Pricing

The pricing of Tara’s Greens will be moderate and on par with competitors so customers feel they receive value when purchasing the company’s produce.

 

Operations Plan

The following will be the operations plan for Tara’s Greens.
Operation Functions:

• Tara Harper will be the CEO and Head Farmer of Tara’s Greens. She will oversee the staff, production process, and general operations of the company. Tara will spend the next several months recruiting the following staff:
• Chief Operating Officer who will manage the budgeting, vendor relationships, and logistics.
• Staff Accountant/Bookkeeper will provide all accounting, tax payments, and monthly financial reporting.
• Marketing Director who will oversee all marketing strategies for the company and manage the website, social media, and outreach.
• Several growers and farm hands who will grow microgreens and ensure they meet our standards of quality.

 

Milestones:

Tara’s Greens will have the following milestones complete in the next six months.

• 8/1/202X – Finalize contract to lease property.
• 9/1/202X – Finalize personnel and staff employment contracts for the Tara’s Greens management team.
• 10/1/202X – Begin build-out of the facility, purchase equipment, and start production.
• 11/1/202X – Begin networking at industry events and implement the marketing plan.
• 12/1/202X – Finalize contracts for initial grocery, farmers market, and restaurant vendors.
• 1/1/202X – Tara’s Greens officially opens its facility up to customers and starts shipping out online orders.

 

Management Team

Tara’s Greens will be owned and operated by Tara Harper. Tara is a graduate of Oregon University with a degree in Horticulture. She has over ten years of experience working as an planting associate, grower, and facility manager at another local microgreens farm. Her education and experience are the company’s most valuable assets and will ensure that our farm is a success.

Though Tara has never run a business of her own, she has worked in the industry long enough to gain an in-depth knowledge of the operations (e.g., running day-to-day operations) and the business (e.g., staffing, marketing, etc.) sides of running a microgreens business. She will also hire several professionals to help her run other aspects of the business she is unfamiliar with.

 

Financial Plan

Key Revenue & Costs

The revenue drivers for Tara’s Greens are the fees charged to customers in exchange for the company’s products. When it comes to pricing, the company will monitor production costs, average prices charged by competitors, and product availability in the market to ensure its prices will generate a healthy profit margin.

The cost drivers will include the overhead costs, labor costs, cost of the equipment and supplies, and marketing expenses.

 

Funding Requirements and Use of Funds

Tara’s Greens is seeking $550,000 in debt financing to launch its microgreens business. The funding will be dedicated towards securing the facility and purchasing farm equipment and supplies. Funding will also be dedicated towards three months of overhead costs to include payroll of the staff and marketing expenses. The breakout of the funding is below:

• Facility build-out: $200,000
• Equipment, supplies, and materials: $100,000
• Three months of overhead expenses (payroll, utilities): $150,000
• Marketing costs: $50,000
• Working capital: $50,000

 

Key Assumptions

The following outlines the key assumptions required in order to achieve the revenue and cost numbers in the financials and pay off the startup business loan.

• Pounds of microgreens sold per month: 1000
• Overhead costs per year: $100,000

 

Financial Projections

Income Statement

Balance Sheet

Cash Flow Statement

Microgreens Business Plan FAQs