Business Innovators Radio - CONNOR HIEBEL: Amelia Island Microgreens — From Health Challenges to Entrepreneurship

Episode Date: November 3, 2023

In this episode, Dr. Tamara Patzer talks with Connor Hiebel, a remarkable teen entrepreneur who is making a difference in the world through his business, Amelia Island Microgreens.Connor Hiebel is not your average teenager. Recognizing the importance of access to clean, nutrient-rich, and affordable food for all, Connor founded Amelia Island Microgreens. He was recently awarded a $10,000 grant from the 2022 FedEx Entrepreneur Fund, which supports small businesses owned by military-connected entrepreneurs or individuals with disabilities.With a deep-rooted understanding of the benefits of microgreens, Connor has expertly developed a selection of ‘Ready, Set, Grow!’ kits that allow individuals to grow their own microgreens for personal consumption and even their pets. Amelia Island Microgreens is a mother-son owned business that was born out of necessity to address Connor’s own complex health challenges.During the interview, Connor shares his personal journey and the hurdles he has overcome to create a flourishing business. Despite his health struggles, Connor has strived to educate himself and others about the power of good nutrition and mental practices. He highlights the unique nutritional benefits of microgreens, explaining that they are the most nutritious stage in a plant’s lifecycle, containing up to 40% more nutritional density than the mature plant. Connor emphasizes that microgreens are consumed live, providing essential enzymes not found in processed or “dead” foods.This episode is a must-listen for anyone interested in entrepreneurship, sustainable food systems, and personal health. Connor’s story is an inspiration to young entrepreneurs and individuals facing health challenges. His business acumen and dedication to empowering others make him a role model for all.If you want to learn more about Connor Hiebel and Amelia Island Microgreens, visit their website at http://www.AmeliaIslandMicrogreens.com. Additionally, their microgreen kits can be found at local Florida retail stores, including Coastal Cottage, Nassau Health Foods, and Redbones Dog Bakery.Join Dr. Tamara Patzer and Connor Hiebel in this captivating episode as they discuss the importance of access to nutritious food, the power of entrepreneurship, and the benefits of microgreens for a healthier lifestyle. You don’t want to miss it!Source: https://businessinnovatorsradio.com/connor-hiebel-amelia-island-microgreens-from-health-challenges-to-entrepreneurship

Welcome to Business Innovators Radio, featuring industry influencers and trendsetters, sharing proven strategies to help you build a better life right now. Hi, everyone. This is Dr. Tammy Patser, and I'm really excited about our guest today, Connor Hebel, because he is someone who you might consider as a teen visionary when it comes to sustainable. agriculture, and he is the co-owner and founder of Amelia Island Micro Greens, along with his mother. So let me tell you a little bit about Connor. From a very young age, he has demonstrated an unwavering commitment to health, nutrition, and sustainable living. He was faced with his own health challenges, so he turned to nature for solutions and discovered the transformative power of microgreens.

He was not just content with improving his own health. So at age 14, he co-founded Amelia Island microgreens with his mom. And the mission is to empower others to grow their own nutritious food. And we're going to take a deeper dive into that today. Today, Connor is not just a teen entrepreneur. He's a beacon of inspiration for many, emphasizing the potent combination of nutrition and sustainability. His company, Amelia Island MicroGreens, is a testament to his vision of a healthier, greener world. It stands as a symbol of resilience, innovation, and the belief that anyone, regardless of age, can make a significant impact.

With more than a decade of growing experience, Connor is not only teaching others the art and science of microgreen cultivation, but he's also instilling values of self-sufficiency, community, and eco-friendly practices. In a world where food quality and security are major concerns, Connor's story is a reminder that with passion, knowledge, and the right resources, everyone can take control of their nutrition and well-being. So welcome, Connor. Thank you for having me.

This is a really exciting time for everyone, but I think especially for you because the world of microgreens, you're right in that forefront. So tell me a little bit more about your personal journey that led you to the creation of Amelia Island microgreens. and tell me more about that core mission. So when I was about seven years old, I ended up having a lot of health challenges. I mean, I've had them since birth, but it got really bad when I was seven to the point

it became severely debilitating. So I ended up going on a super strict gut repair diet where I could have some meats, some fruits, and some vegetables. And as I'm sure you know, as I'm sure it made a birthday part. is very challenging. And so during that time, like, getting a snack was a big challenge for me. So that's when I found microgreens. And having something that I could just go over cut and eat really easily made such a huge

difference for me. And since I was so young, going over and eating vegetables, willingly eating vegetables, is a miracle. My parents held their breath. They were like, is this actually happening? And because I was growing my own food, I wanted to eat it. There's something really empowering about kids being able to eat their own food. So when COVID hit five years later, I was concerned and my parents got so concerned that we put a lot of time and a lot of energy into creating a garden outside. And there was weeding, there was bugs, there was figuring out all sorts of information on like the weather, wind of plant. And that made me realize how vital and important growing microgreens is

because you can grow it indoors, so you don't have to worry about those weather patterns. There's no weeding, there's no bugs, and it's a lot more economically friendly. And you also get food in seven days. Who doesn't love growing something quickly and eating it immediately? That instant gratification. And so I took my 11 years of growing experience, and I created a kit that made it as easy and as fun to grow microgreens so that everyone could grow microgreens. I like to say you may not have a green thumb, but you have a microgreen thumb. I like that.

That's really interesting because you're right. Instant gratification. Microgreens definitely fit that because most gardeners don't only. take seven days and you're right about the growing too in Florida it your growing seasons are not anything like any other place in the world so you have there is a lot of education behind so there are many businesses working on sustainable agriculture and tell me more about what makes Amelia Island microgreens so different and you're unique approach to this whole agriculture market?

So one thing about microgreens, just they take less water. They reduce the waste because you're not having something in a store that may or may not get picked up and eaten. They take less shipping. there's no pesticides and it takes seven days to grow and just seven cups of water. So a cup of water each day. So it doesn't take that long to have fresh food and it's more sustainable. And we believe that everyone deserves access to nutrient rich food.

I think you said something, the nutrient rich food. And like you said, if it only takes a cup of water a day, I don't even know. What is that? That isn't even a gallon of water per growth cycle, I guess. So that is really interesting. And so are microgreens more nutritionally dense than, say, the mature, the, the mature plants? They are.

They're actually 40% more nutrient dense. And the reason why is because you're eating that microgreen right when it has all that nutrition from the seed. So if you think of like a chicken and an egg, the egg would be more nutrient dense than a chicken would be because it has to grow that whole chicken. It's the same thing with microgreens because that microgreen is trying to grow a whole plant. So you're just harvesting it when it has that highly packed nutrition. So that really makes a lot of sense. So you've been, how long have you actually been

selling in the marketplace now with your kids? A little over seven years. I started when I was 14 at COVID and I really wanted to give some, give people the ability to have their own sustainable food because knock on wood something doesn't happen. But if it does, at least you have something that can sustain you. Yeah, well, that makes sense. So do you have any stories about how maybe your microgreen products have affected a customer's life? I do. And that's a great question. So one of our first markets we went to, there was this little kid that came up who was probably about 10 years old, and he had no interest in any vegetables at all. And he looked at the microgreens, the broccoli microgreens, and he was not interested.

It just didn't seem right. But then we pulled out Amrith microgreens, and there are these bright, neon pink microgreens. And he was like, okay, I'll give that a try, very hesitantly. He tried it, and he fell in love with them. His mom bought the kit. She was like, that's amazing. vegetables, my kids eating vegetables. And so he started growing the amaranth. And then he started reaching out to eating broccoli microgreens to eating sunflower microgreens. And she said,

thank you for getting my kid to eat something other than chicken nuggets and hamburgers. Well, that makes a lot of sense because for that particular person, was it, like you said, he wasn't interested in the broccoli microgreens, was that just because they were just ordinary looking, but the bright pink attracted him? Yeah, it caught his flavor. Definitely. And they also taste a little different, but it was just like, wow, there's this different looking vegetable. This looks really cool.

And I think getting more comfortable with that one helped him kind of branch out into something a little different or what he thought wouldn't taste good, like broccoli. But there's something really special to growing your own food that even if it isn't usually something you like, because you're growing it, you feel more empowered to eat it. And it's also fresh food. A lot of our food in America has been shipped weeks, maybe even months to get to a store, and then it sits there. And during that time, it's losing a lot of its nutrition and a lot of its flavor because it's been harvested when it's ripe or before it's ripe. you're not really getting the best produce. So when you grow your own food, you're getting healthier and tastier food.

Yes, I notice that with peaches and plums. It's like these don't even, they don't smell like peaches. They don't taste like peaches. They don't have any flavor. And that's the thing with a lot of our food that you buy. And it's very expensive. but it has, it's like not eating anything that resembles what I remember growing up. So go ahead.

I was just going to say, I never liked tomatoes until I had a fresh tomato out of a garden. It changed whether I like tomatoes or not, just having that. It's totally different. Yeah, real, real tomatoes out of a garden. They taste like sunshine. They do, yes. That's exactly. They taste like sunshine, and that's the memories I have growing up is that peaches or apples or tomatoes have

have something about them that you can taste the sunshine in them. There's something different about that. You really do a lot of things with your business to help other. people. Can you tell me more about how philanthropy plays a role in your business model? Of course. So one of our things that we're super excited we're going to start branching out and doing is we're going to start when each of our customers buys a kit, we're going to give a kit to a school so that that way other younger kids can start growing their own food and learning like photosynthesis, learning how roots uptake water. There's so much you can learn. And it's fun.

It's not like looking at a textbook and being like you're actually hands on. And that's something that's really at the heart of Amelia Island microgreens because I know how much. of the difference it made for me. And I can see how much of a difference it makes in many of my other customers and especially young kids. When we can get young kids growing their own food and learning that food doesn't come from a store, I think the world's going to be a much better place. That makes sense. And I like that because our schools, I mean, some of my best learning experiences come from growing things like we used to grow beans. And I remember this one kid, Kelly Howard,

this is how much of an impact it made. This kid named Kelly Howard, no matter what, he always had the biggest, tallest beans. And we all grew the beans at the same time. We're given the seeds of the same packet, but for some reason, his bean plants always grew bigger than everyone else's and he always won the prize for having the tallest bean plant. So that's how strong the memory is and how important it is that you're giving back to children.

And some of the children, especially in the bigger cities, they may not have ever had any experience with growing anything, you know, if they live in an apartment building or something. and that is something about the microgreens is you can literally grow them anywhere, right? Exactly, yeah. And like some kids don't even know what a plant looks like. Or like they just see it in a store and they're like, oh, it's just in a store. It doesn't come from anything. The store just kind of produces it somehow.

So for kids to actually see, no, there's like this whole ecosystem and time that it takes to create a vegetable. it's life-changing. And what was a question again? I'm sorry. We were just talking about your efforts to help other people and that you were giving the kids to the schools. And then, of course, we got off on our interest in conversation about the value of having growing plants for school children.

So it was really. really about that. Are you doing anything else along those lines with philanthropy? I am, yes. I also have been, I'm really excited to be donating a small percentage from each kit to U.S. Pain Foundation. They help kids who have chronic pain. Some of them have diagnoses that they have. And then other people, they're still in that process of trying to figure out what's going on. And a lot of those kids can't go to a summer camp that, like, if they have this label, they can go to it. A lot of them just kind of fall through the cracks. And I was one of those kids. And it was, it was very difficult seeing, like, other people getting all this,

like, support. And then, like, no one really understood what I had. And so I was just kind of that awkward kid and then I was also dealing with health challenges. And to have like that group of people that understood and to be able to support other people having that group, I'm really happy and really passionate to be able to help with. I'm sorry, what was the name of the group again? The coalition for the, or US pain. USP. Yeah. And we also give to our local for the homeless. We give them some microgreens. A lot of people who are homeless, their teeth are not good at all, so they can't have something like an apple. And that leads to not having good nutrition. And then a lot of things that are inexpensive that you can buy in bulk are usually

high in like sugars and all the things that aren't healthy for you. And it's also the easiest thing to chew as well. So microgreens are very tender and they're super nutrient dense. So they're perfect for people who may not be able to have something that's an apple. And so we give them microgreens, they put them in their sandwiches or whatever they're eating that day. And it just gives that nice boost of nutrition that a lot of our homeless desperately need. That's a really good thing. I mean, some of the ideas you have, I think, are unique. And what makes it interesting to me is that it's you, you know, you and your mom and your company. It's not like you're a big conglomerate or a big

company, but you're making a big impact in these people's lives, you know, like bringing easy nutrition to somebody who doesn't get nutritional food because you're, You're absolutely right. The food that is provided by pantries typically is high, salt, high carb or canned food or with very little, like you said, nutritional value. And even when I've seen it, even when they have the fruits and vegetables, it's not necessarily, you know, like you said, ripe or something that's nutritional. So, breaking. Along the way, I'm sure that Amelia Island microgreens has had some hurdles. And along the way, can you tell me a little bit about what some of your strategies have been to overcome some of the business hurdles that you've found? Of course, yeah. I would be surprised if there wasn't a business that had its own hurdles and challenges. It feels like the defining thing about having a business.

One of the things that we talked about in an article, a Forbes article, is that when COVID hit and there were all the shipping challenges where, like, boats wouldn't come in and, like, it really messed with the chain of getting supplies. we ended up having to pivot our kits because an item in there, Cocoa Coir, we weren't able to get. We bought the last 500 from two different companies, and we were running out. So we ended up having to go and look where could we find some grow medium that would work. And we ended up reaching out to our local microgreen growers around

and just being like, hey, what do you use? Can you help us? And maybe there's something we can help you with. And by going to other people who are also in that same boat of like, what do we do here, we were all able to kind of figure out what would work best. And now we have a very similar thing. It's still Cocoa Coyer. It's just a different size because that was what was getting shipped in. And we were able to make it work. We went from a near disaster to actually having something that worked better for our kits. Well, see, sometimes what do they say? Things happen for a reason.

So can you describe your kit to me a little bit? What is actually in a kit? Of course, yes. So I think a few things before I mention what's in the kit that are really important for anyone growing microgreens, you want to make sure that your seeds are good quality. So our seeds are tested for pathogens. They're non-GMO, they're organic, and their heirloom. One of the reasons why people were having E. coli scares was sprouting is because they did not test their pathogen in their seed.

So that meant that if you had Echolite in the seed, you were incubating it. So please test your pathogens or test your seeds for pathogens. And then the other one is grow medium. You don't need to use soil. And if you use soil, you have a chance of getting eruptions of bugs. Ours is Cocoa Quayer, which is sterilized coconut husk. And jute mat, which is a sterilized fiber of a plant. And then the last thing is you really want to have a two-tier tray.

So what that means is you have a tray on the bottom that doesn't have any holes. And then you have a tray on top that has holes. You'll put the grow medium and everything up on the top. The reason why you want to have that two tier tray system is so that you're not pouring water directly on the microgreens. You're growing them super densely. And if you do that, you have a high risk of mold, especially in a humid place like Florida. So those are a couple things to keep in mind if you're looking for getting a kit. So our kit comes with seeds that are really good quality.

We get them from True Leaf, and it comes with the soil, Cocoa Coir and JutMatt. We give you two different types to try so that you can see which one you like better, and then when you reorder your seeds, you can say, hey, I like this cocoa coir or, hey, I prefer JuteMat, and we will get you those. It comes with a two-tier tray, and that way you have less risk of mold, and it's just one that's one that's reusable. It's super easy. When I started growing microgreens, it was so much more challenging because I just did not have a good tray. So I highly recommend having a good tray.

We give you pH test strips. That way you can test the pH of your water because if you have the optimal pH, it'll make your growing experience much easier. We give you a water bottle for germination. For the first three days, you'll be nesting your microgreens. and that'll get them to start growing. And then we have germination trackers, and that's just so those first three days you can track when you've watered. And you can also put what microgreen you have on there,

so you don't forget what it is. And then lastly, we have our instructions in there. And if there's anything you end up getting confused with, you'll have our number, and you also have a QR code that takes you to a video on how to grow microgreens. So if any of that does not work for you, please reach out to us. We're a small business and we really want to help make sure that your microgreen growing experience is the best.

Wow. So every kit literally is a complete little ecosystem to grow these microgreens. You mentioned broccoli microgreens and different types of microgreens. do they all, are they all growable in the same or similar environment? Like if you were to have, you know, if you live here in Florida, would you just set all of those up in the similar place? That's a great question. The ones that we put in your kit are super easy to grow. They all have the same grow time and you use the same kit.

What you want to make sure is that you're using one seed packet per grow. They've been measured out for the size of your tray. And so just make sure that you're doing that. And then afterwards, there's this root carpet. So you cut your microgreens and then there's this little bit of like soil there. You want to pull that up and you can compost it. Chickens love it or you can throw it in the trash. But make sure you take that out and you clean your tray off.

And then you can grow again. You do not want to reuse soil because it already has like some bacteria and stuff. and you want to keep your microgreens as sterile as possible. Okay, so you don't reuse your jute mat or your cocoa, whatever that was. So, okay, that makes sense. But the trays are reusable. Yes, they are. I've had one for about four years and it's stayed strong.

They're really sturdy and they're really easy to use. I'm really happy that we have them because they make the growing process so much easier. So a lot of what you're just describing kind of melds into my next question about, you know, the fact that microgreen growing might be new to some people. You mentioned that you have a video that they can use to find out. What other educational information or tools do you have? have or are you planning on doing? That is a great question. I have the video, a few different videos on like growing microgreens, some where I'm just like teaching people how to grow microgreens.

Some have been like a Zoom where I'm teaching someone else. So they ask a few more questions. I also just have like we just did this. We have a 10 part series. And each day, it'll send you a video on how like different parts of the microgreens process such as how to grow microgreens, the nutritional benefits, how you can incorporate them in meals and so much more. They're really, really helpful videos. And when you go on to our website, there's a little place to click and enter to get into the 10-part series. We also have a vault of micrograin videos that go even more in depth on everything you need to know about growing microgreens and not only growing them, but how to harvest them, how to eat them, everything you need to know. So here's a question that just popped into my head really to microgreens.

Because a lot of it you were talking about harvesting and eating them fresh. how long do they last after you harvest them? So after you harvest them, if you're not eating them immediately, what you'd want to do is you'd want to get a plastic bag or just a bag in general, like usually zip blocks what most people have. But if you have a reasonable, that's even better. And you get a dry paper towel. That'll help absorb any moisture that might be there.

It helps it last longer. so you put that paper towel into your bag, then you put the microgreens in there and you put it in the fridge and it'll last another seven to 14 days. Oh. So you don't have to like gobble them down, you know, and then you harvest. Also what we recommend is after that seven day period of it growing, start eating just like clip them and eat them whenever you want. But you have about another seven days to eat them while they're still last. So you can just let them continue growing. And then if they look like they're kind of verging and a little bit more bitter, that's when you'd want to just harvest them all and put them in the fridge. So they actually do change flavor as they mature, I guess. Yes. I find that their time is up or whatever.

And like as you, like if you eat some microgreens, you'll notice that like it's a little. calmer than the mature plant. On average, like kale microgreens, it's very, very calm. And it, it almost kind of tastes sweet. It's, it still has that kale taste, but it's not bitter like the mature plant is. I don't know. Some, like, kind of making me hungry. I wanted to look forward a little bit about what you know what you're looking forward to in the microgreen industry and any projects that you have maybe in the pipeline can you tell me a little bit more about that of course one thing we just started we're in the process of like talking we are going to start supplying lettuce grow they have a line of hydroponics

well, aeroponic tower gardens. And that way you can grow fresh lettuce. You can grow fresh strawberries. You can grow fresh kale, fresh, like any type of fruit or vegetable you want. You can grow in this. And all you need to do is pour some water and pour the nutrients in. And then the tower does the rest. You can grow it indoors or you can grow it outdoors. And they also will just, we'll just. ship your seed starts. So you don't even have to do that whole process of putting the seed, letting it grow and like getting the optimal temperature. Seed starts are one of the biggest challenges that I've run into with having an aeroponic garden. So to just have that already supplied to me, that's just incredible. And why someone would want aeroponics is because plants aren't usually, they're not too thrilled to be sitting in water like the whole day. And that's one of the challenges that people with hydroponics have is that their plant could get root rot. So what this tower does is it has the water at the base and it has a pump that pumps it up to the top of it.

And then it sprinkles the water on the roots. And it has a timer, 15 minutes of water, 15 minutes of air. And it cycles through that the whole every day and night. And so it also grow, your food grows so much quicker. And there's no weeding, which is incredible because I have achy joints and I have no interest in weeding. Another thing that we're, we're, we're, we are in the process. Yes, developing. It's been already in, like, we've already been supplying this, but we're just now really starting to hone in and develop it to be the best that it can be is Jurassic greens.

So what Jurassic greens are are microgreens for omnivorous lizards. I actually have a bearded dragon. And what I used to do is I'd go to the store and I'd get my leafy greens there. And the food there's, it's been sprayed. It's been harvested early. And it's just not that nutritious compared to microgreens. So once I started realizing I grow microgreens, I could grow microgreens for my lizard. A light bulb came on.

And it's been such a game changer. My bearded dragon has grown so much faster after I started feeding her Jurassic greens. And it's a mixture of endive collards. kale and turn up. So it's all like a huge mixture rather than going to the store and getting like collards, collards, collards, collards, turn up greens, turn up greens, turn up greens. You have a whole blend. And it's just amazing. So can humans eat the Jurassic blend too? They can. Though I will just caution you. End dive is very bitter, and so it won't taste as good as everything else. However, like the, like, turnip greens and all of, like, everything else is good, but that end dive is so bitter.

That's interesting. So you talk about nutrient dense. What are some of the nutrients that you are getting from microgreens? It varies from each microgreens. It's the same. It's the same. as like a vegetable, like the nutrients and broccoli would be different than the nutrients in, say, in orange. So let's talk about broccoli a little. Broccoli and a lot of your leafy vegetables have a thing called sulforaphanes in them. And what sulforaphanes can help aid in is cancer prevention. They're super beneficial for you. And broccoli is one of those that's really high in a lot of vital vitamins and minerals. Another one would be our Oriental mustard and Amrith. They're both high in iron, which is really good for your blood. Oriental mustard is also really good for your

digestion. And it also is really good for energizing as well. Like if you want to get more energy and more focus, that one would be an amazing one. So all of these different seeds, you know, sell the kits and then do you also sell the seeds separately? We do, yes. So you have three seeds or six seeds in your kits. And when you end up running out of those, you can reorder from us. And when you reorder, say, a set of 10 seeds in soil, that is $30. So that brings your one tray of growing microgreens down to $3.

each grow. And if you were to buy like an eighth of what you're growing at a store, it'll be like $6, $7. So to have a whole big tray that's $3, that is super amazing. And you're also in control of what gets on it, what water you're using, all of that. And we do have a subscription as well. That way, you don't even have to think about, oh, I need to reorder. It just comes right to your door. Wow. And you also get that surprise of like, what microgreens am I getting this time?

And that's always fun too, that mystery. So you have the microgram, obviously human consumption, the special for lizards or what about, do you have anything for like dogs and cats? We do, yes. We have meow greens.

And it's a mixture of, We eat rye, oat, and barley. And cats are actually meant to have grass. It's just that we spray our grass outside. What they're looking for is the folic acid in there. And it's really helpful in your cat's digestion. And dogs can also eat it too. We just have said that it's cat grass because usually that's what people imagine.

Dogs also eat it. I give it to my dog sometimes when she's not food. feeling 100%. And if your cat or dog just does not seem interested in it, what you can do is you can cut it and put it in their dog or cat food. We also are in the process, should I say? We're in the process of creating microgreen for guinea pigs. Okay.

Because they also need like cales and stuff like that. They need their vegetables. and so to have super nutrient-dense food for your guinea pigs, it's really beneficial for them, too. Yeah, well, I grew up with, I babysat a guinea pig ones, but I used to have hamsters and gerbils and rats and all kinds of little critters that I used to play with all the time when I was a kid. You just have a story. So I had just, I was in middle school and I had just gotten this nice brand new pair of shoes. They were like white. They, you have a little stain and everyone can see it.

Right. So I went to school that next day and we all had like jobs. We had to do like sweeping the floor, taking out the compost. And I wasn't aware of what my job was that day. It was to clean out the guinea pig cage. and the person before me did not do the job that they needed to do. So it ended up becoming this whole huge mess. And those brand new shoes I had just gotten were not brand new anymore.

Yeah, I can imagine trying to clean out any type of an animal cage. It wouldn't be good with new shoes. And with middle floors cleaning it, not a good thing either. So I know there's people out there listening, you know, they're going, wow, I should try microgreens. I should do this. Are there any tips or guidelines that you can give us so that we can just make it easier on ourselves in trying to educate ourselves about microgreens and growing them and eating them and, you know, all of the possibilities? That's a really great question. Like I mentioned before, check your seeds, check your soil, and also make sure you're growing

on a two-tier tray. That'll make such a huge difference in whether your microgreens are successful or not. And also, I would really caution against buying a microgreen kit that's very low quality that you can get for $5. those at least to me I don't see how someone could detect testing the seeds and testing the soil to make sure that it's the best quality that it can be and also just um just know that it's like anything if the first time you fail that's not you ruined everything and you shouldn't try again sometimes you just need to tweak one little thing and then it gets

better. It's a practice. It's a bit of learning. And also, once you understand how microgreens grow, that first time, it's a lot of information to uptake. But after that, it gets so much easier because you know, okay, I do this. Like, I do germination, then I water this way afterwards. It's super easy and you can do it. I like to say everyone has a green thumb, but not every, no, not everyone has a green thumb, but everyone has a microgreen thumb. Well, I would think, listening to you, I'm thinking, okay, I can see where you might run into a few trouble problems, especially in Florida, because of all of the reasons you said about the heat and the humidity and everything.

But like you said, if you try it and say, oh, you know, I overwatered it or I did this. I mean, you should be able to come up with something good. And the great thing about that is please call us. If you have any questions, we are here to help. And usually it's just some little tweak. Like, I've been watering a little too much or I need to water a little bit more. And we are more than happy to help you. and if it just doesn't turn out, which every so often, very rarely we get that, but every so often we do,

then we can always supply you with a new set of seeds just to make up for having that challenge. We really want to make sure that you have the best growing capability that you can. That reminds me of water. Do you recommend that people use like a bottled water or a spring water? water or distilled water or, you know, or is tap water okay? We would prefer not to use tap water just because all the chlorine and stuff like that, you'll kind of get that in your microgreens. And with bottled water, you just want to be a little cautious because the plastic,

there's a chance that'll kind of seep into the water. We recommend using just like a filtration system. and you'll have a pH test strip that'll also help with your water quality, making sure that it's in that right pH balance. Okay, well, that makes sense. So I wanted to ask you about your environmental sustainability and how you've woven that into your business with the way that you package your products and things like that. Can you expand on that a little bit for me? Of course. So we ended up getting a $10,000 grant from FedEx to create a box and get rid of 98% of our single-use plastics that we have in our kit right now.

And I really want to get as far away from plastics as we can. So by moving to this box, which we're super excited about, it's going to look amazing. we'll be moving closer to being more eco-friendly and sustainable, or at least as sustainable as we can. One of our next steps after this that we're really looking to go to is having a bamboo or hemp tray. That way, we're just completely getting rid of all those plastics. So a bamboo or a hemp tray, you mean the actual tray is made of bamboo or hemp.

So it's a natural box as opposed to any type of classic. Wow, that's interesting. So is there anything else that you've applied for that you might be in the running for? Any grants or anything in addition to that? I'm just curious. We're looking right now. Okay. We're in that whole process of just looking at it.

Yeah. So I imagine, I mean, there are different programs out there. And like you said, you just have to look for them and then apply for them. And if it works out, it works out. So you're different to. So you started this business with your mother. Is it still the two of you or do you have other team members that are working on your project? I remember you saying that you went and talked to other microgreen growers.

And then you mentioned that you were teaming up with the lettuce situation. So is your company expanding beyond you and your mom? So it started as a family business. And when I had health challenges, my whole family just got together and we all went on that diet. Then when I started to realize that I wanted to create a business, my whole family got together and helped me with that. Like my dad helps with putting the bottles on the kits. My mom helps. There are times where like with the grant writing, like I'll do a little and then she'll do a little and like working together, having someone to collaborate.

makes such a huge difference and like having a different perspective. And we're right in that awkward spot of like we're still kind of like a family small business, but we're also moving into becoming bigger and needing more help. And so we're just in that awkward space. And we're really excited to we're almost there where we'll start hiring a few more people. We do have a few mentors, like the Small Business Association, helps us with figuring out, like, business plans, stuff like that that is essential to having a business. And we do have, like, the lettuce grow will be supplying those as well. And we do have a couple other mentors who help us and give us tips and pointers and are like, maybe you should go in this direction.

a little bit more focus on this. And we've reached out to like Fiverr for if there's something we need help with that we can't quite do. So we're really starting to move into getting more support. And I guess that's a little bit of a long answer for that. Well, no, it's good because obviously you are growing. And I know that you do go out into the community. and educate people. Just the very fact that you go out and have your product out is education because,

you know, people see it and, you know, what's that? And then that gives you the opportunity to educate people about all of the benefits of microgreens. So do your customers give you, have you had any good feedback from customers that maybe turned on a light bulb moment? for you in helping you in maybe your product creation. I know you mentioned your own bearded lizard gave you the inspiration to create a whole product to benefit your lizard's nutrition. Have you had any customers make any suggestions? We've actually had lots of great feedback.

We're always grateful for feedback. It helps us grows in ways to improve our product. And there are a lot of things that we may. may not see because we've been doing this for so long that like it's like, oh yeah, we just do this and this and this. But to someone else, it may not make quite as much sense. So to be like, hey, this didn't quite resonate with me. It really helps us learn what we need to really help each, each grower, each new person starting out this microgreen journey. And it really makes a difference to us to know where we need to improve to help everyone to help you.

We really want to empower you to grow the best microgreens you can. And the only way we can do that is to know what it is you need. Well, that makes a lot of sense. So if somebody wants to reach out to you, what's the best way to do it? So you can go to our website and if you had any questions, you can like kind of see there if there's any answers. You can also email us at Connor at Amelia IslandmicroGreens.com. And that'll also be on the website so you can see it pretty easily there.

I have a phone number that you can reach out to. And please don't hesitate to do that. I'm available pretty often. Like I answer my phone pretty often. 888-8-4-2-2-23-48. And you can also reach out to us on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, YouTube, Pinterest, and occasionally I'm on LinkedIn,

but not quite as often as the others. So have you made any TikTok videos? I have. I've made quite a few. It's not the like standard like thing you imagine when you see TikTok, like, dancing. I just mostly show, like, how to grow microgreens. Some of the processes of, like, printing out the labels, like fun little behind-the-scenes stuff that you usually don't see on, like, YouTube.

So it's more of, like, just a mix of education and fun stuff. Well, that sounds like a lot of fun. So is there anything you'd like to add that maybe I forgot to ask? I can't think of anything. I think we covered quite a lot today. Yeah, we really did. Like I said, it's very interesting. And when we were talking about the cat greens, I've seen dogs.

You know, it's like they'll go out and all they do is eat grass or cats. And you watch animals. And, of course, they're doing exactly what you just said. They're eating the grass and everybody. And you mentioned your dog when it didn't feel well. and I remember the old wives tale about, oh, why is the dog eating grass? Oh, its stomach probably feels bad or something. You know, that's what you were told about why these animals would eat grass and different things like that. So it all makes sense. But it's, I love the idea of having that dense nutrition because, you know, we all need nutrition and the high quality.

And it was amazing to me the amount of money that you would save with microgreens versus going to the store, even if you were going to the store to buy microgreens. Like if you go to buy alfalfalfa sprouts or bean sprouts, they're not inexpensive. No, they're very expensive to buy. Well, with that, I just want to thank you, Connor, because we learned a lot. And go to amelia island microgreens.com. There's a lot of information there. And like Connor said, you can sign up for that 10-part series. And of course, there's education about all of the different types of microgreens

and, of course, the kids. And we even learned, you know, I thought that was really interesting, learning about, you know, what happens when, you have a pandemic and the supply chain comes to a halt, you know, and you had to pivot to find something else that worked. And then I had never heard of aeroponics. I'd heard of hydroponics, but I'd never heard of aeroponics so that I learned something. So I appreciate that. So thank you so much. Thank you so much for having me and taking this time. I really appreciate it. And I really had fun today. I hope all our viewers here today had fun learning, and I hope you had a few takeaways for today.

Thank you. So we'll see you next time. Thank you. Thanks for listening to Business Innovators Radio. To hear all episodes featuring leading industry influencers and trendsetters, visit us online at businessinnovators.com today.