commercial aquaponics business plan

Aquaponics Business Plan Template

Aquaponics business plan.

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

We have helped over 10,000 entrepreneurs and business owners create business plans and many have used them to start or grow their Aquaponics businesses.

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

Executive Summary

Business overview.

Growing Green Aquaponics is a startup aquaponics farm located in Salem, Oregon. The company is founded by Bob Hall, an experienced horticulturist who has gained valuable knowledge on how to grow food using aquaponics during the past ten years while working at Healthy Grown Aquaponics. Now that Bob has experienced managing an aquaponics farm, he is ready to start his own company, Growing Green Aquaponics. Bob is confident that his aquaponics skills, combined with his understanding of business management, will enable him to run a profitable aquaponics company of his own. Bob is recruiting a team of highly qualified professionals to help manage the day-to-day complexities of commercial aquaponics farming – sales and marketing, crop production, greenhouse management, fish farm management, budgeting, purchasing, financial reporting, system maintenance, and customer relations.

Growing Green Aquaponics will provide a wide selection of produce for grocery stores, restaurants, and individual consumers. Growing Green will be the go-to aquaponics farm in Salem for fresh produce available all year round. The company will be the ultimate choice for customer service while offering the best produce prices in the area.

Product Offering

The following are the products that Growing Green Aquaponics will grow and sell:

Customer Focus

Growing Green Aquaponics will target B2B customers in Salem such as local grocers, specialty food stores, and restaurants. The company will also target D2C customers including farmers market shoppers and customers who come directly to the farm to purchase produce. No matter the customer, Growing Green Aquaponics will deliver the best communication, service, and the freshest produce.

Management Team

Growing Green Aquaponics will be owned and operated by Bob Hall. Bob is a graduate of Oregon University with a degree in Horticulture. He has over ten years of experience working as an aquaponics technician for another local farm. Bob will be the company’s Chief Executive Officer and the Head Aquaponics Technician. He will oversee the production process, aquaponics system, and technician staff’s activities.

Bob has recruited a business management expert, Linda Flores, to be the company’s chief operating officer and help oversee aquaponics’s business operations. Linda will handle the day-to-day operations, including budgeting, vendor relationships, and logistics.

Bob and Linda have recruited an experienced marketing director, William Rivera, to become a member of the Growing Green Aquaponics management team. William is a graduate of the University of Michigan with a Master’s degree in Marketing. Bob and Linda rely on William’s expertise to execute the company’s marketing plan and advertising strategies.

Success Factors

Growing Green Aquaponics will be able to achieve success by offering the following competitive advantages:

Skilled team of aquaponics technicians and horticulture experts who will oversee the growing process and conduct inspections regularly to ensure all produce is of the highest quality.
Growing Green Aquaponics makes it easy for customers to obtain the company’s products with multiple ways to shop. Businesses and consumers can purchase produce online, onsite, or at various local farmers markets. They can choose to have the produce shipped on a regular schedule, delivered on-demand, or picked up onsite. Additionally, customers can come to the farm and hand-pick their produce themselves.
The company offers competitive pricing and discounts for regular customers.

Financial Highlights

Growing Green Aquaponics is seeking $800,000 in debt financing to launch its aquaponics business. The funding will be dedicated towards securing the facility and purchasing aquaponics 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: $340,000
Aquaponics equipment, supplies, and materials: $280,000
Three months of overhead expenses (payroll, utilities): $160,000
Marketing costs: $10,000
Working capital: $10,000

The following graph below outlines the pro forma financial projections for Growing Green Aquaponics.

Company Overview

Who is growing green aquaponics.

Growing Green Aquaponics is a newly established aquaponics company in Salem, Oregon. Growing Green will be the first choice for local grocers, restaurants, and consumers in Salem and the surrounding communities for its fresh produce available all year round. The company will sell its crops to local B2B customers and D2C consumers on-site and at farmers markets.

Growing Green Aquaponics will be able to guarantee the freshness, quality, and availability of its produce all year round thanks to the latest and most innovative aquaponics technology and a stringent quality control process. The company’s team of highly qualified professionals experienced in aquaponics, horticulture, and agriculture will manage the completely vertically integrated indoor farm. Customers can get a first-hand look at how aquaponics works by taking an aquaponics tour, participating in the company’s farm-to-table events, and picking out fresh produce straight from the facility.

Growing Green Aquaponics History

Growing Green Aquaponics is owned and operated by Bob Hall, an experienced horticulturist who has gained valuable knowledge during his ten year tenure working as an aquaponics technician at another local aquaponics farm. Now that Bob has gained the experience and knowledge of how to manage an aquaponics farm, he is ready to start one of his own. Bob has begun recruiting a team of highly qualified professionals to help manage the day to day complexities of commercial aquaponics farming – sales and marketing, crop production, greenhouse management, fish farm management, budgeting, purchasing, financial reporting, system maintenance, and customer relations.

Since incorporation, Growing Green Aquaponics has achieved the following milestones:

Registered Growing Green Aquaponics, LLC to transact business in the state of Oregon.
Has begun negotiations to purchase the property.
Reached out to numerous contacts to include local restaurants, grocers, and farmers markets to start getting vendor contracts.
Began recruiting a staff of accountants, aquaponics technicians, maintenance workers, and sales personnel to work at Growing Green Aquaponics.

Growing Green Aquaponics Services

The following will be the crops Growing Green Aquaponics will grow and sell:

Industry Analysis

The global aquaponics industry was valued at an estimated $872.7M and is expected to grow by a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 12.9% to reach $1,807.29M by the year 2028. North America is the leading region in market share due to its focus on advancements in aquaponics technology and a growing demand for organic food, followed by Asia and Europe. The Organic Trade Association reports an increase of 5.6% in organic fruit and vegetables sales in a single year in the United States. Aquaponics is an attractive option for health and environmentally-conscious consumers who are looking for sustainable organic foods free from pesticides and chemicals.

The aquaponics 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 produce, effective marketing campaigns, and keeping up with local food trends.

Customer Analysis

Demographic profile of target market.

The precise demographics for Salem, Oregon are:

Customer Segmentation

Growing Green will primarily target the following customer profiles:

Grocery stores
Specialty food stores
Restaurants
Farmers market shoppers
Individuals looking for fresh, clean, organic produce

Competitive Analysis

Direct and indirect competitors.

Growing Green Aquaponics will face competition from other companies with similar business profiles. A description of each competitor company is below.

Healthy Grown Aquaponics

Healthy Grown Aquaponics is one of the largest commercial aquaponics farms in Salem, Oregon. The company grows a variety of crops including tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce, herbs, leafy greens, and eggplant. Healthy Grown Aquaponics sells its produce to local restaurants and grocery stores. Healthy Grown Aquaponics aims to deliver high quality organic produce grown through its innovative aquaponics process. The company uses a stringent inspection process to ensure all of its products are the best quality. Healthy Grown Aquaponics’s team of experienced aquaponics professionals inspect each crop weekly to ensure optimum quality.

Salem Aquaponics

Salem Aquaponics is a small aquaponics farm catering to local restaurants, grocers, and farmers markets in Salem, Oregon and surrounding areas. Salem Aquaponics provides fresh produce including tomatoes, cucumbers, herbs, and squash all year round. The company provides tours of the facility to local schools for a nominal fee. The owners of Salem Aquaponics 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 that is locally grown.

Sustain-Able Aquaponics

Sustain-Able Aquaponics is a trusted Salem, Oregon-based aquaponics farm that provides superior produce to consumers in Salem and the surrounding areas. The company is able to provide a wide variety of fruits and vegetables using its state-of-the-art aquaponics equipment. Sustain-Able Aquaponics serves local grocers, specialty stores, and individual consumers with guaranteed fresh produce all year round. The company prides itself on being the number one choice for sustainable produce and its contribution to the growing farm-to-table movement.

Competitive Advantage

Growing Green Aquaponics will be able to offer the following advantages over their competition:

Skilled team of aquaponics technicians and horticulture experts who will oversee the growing process and conduct inspections daily to ensure all produce is of the highest quality.

Marketing Plan

Brand & value proposition.

Growing Green Aquaponics will offer the unique value proposition to its clientele:

Growing Green Aquaponics provides flexibility in how customers can shop. Customers have the option to purchase produce online, onsite, or at various local farmers markets.

Promotions Strategy

The promotions strategy for Growing Green Aquaponics 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. He will ensure Growing Green maintains an active social media presence with regular daily updates and fun content to get customers excited about aquaponics.

Professional Associations and Networking

Growing Green Aquaponics will become a member of professional associations such as the Aquaponics Association, American Fisheries Society, and the Oregon Aquaculture Association. The leadership team will focus their networking efforts on expanding the company’s vendor network.

Print Advertising

Growing Green Aquaponics 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

Growing Green Aquaponics 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 Growing Green is able to provide. The website will also list information on the company’s events and guided tours.

The marketing director will also manage Growing Green’s website presence with SEO marketing tactics so that when someone types in a search engine “Salem aquaponics farm” or “aquaponics farm near me”, Growing Green Aquaponics will be listed at the top of the search results.

The pricing of Growing Green Aquaponics 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 Growing Green Aquaponics.

Operation Functions:

Bob Hall will be the CEO and Lead Aquaponics Technician. He will oversee the aquaponics technicians, production process, and the aquaponics system maintenance. Bob has spent the past year recruiting the following staff:
Linda Flores – Chief Operating Officer who will manage the budgeting, vendor relationships, and logistics.
Susan Smith – Staff Accountant/Bookkeeper will provide all accounting, tax payments, and monthly financial reporting.
William Rivera – Marketing Director who will oversee all marketing strategies for the company and manage the website, social media, and outreach.
Jessica Mitchell – Quality Control Manager who will oversee all inspections of products, equipment, and processes.

Milestones:

Growing Green Aquaponics will have the following milestones complete in the next six months.

9/1/2022 – Finalize contract to purchase property.

9/15/2022 – Finalize personnel and staff employment contracts for the Growing Green Aquaponics management team.

10/1/2022 – Begin build-out of the facility, purchase equipment, and start production.

10/15/2022 – Begin networking at industry events and implement the marketing plan.

11/15/2022 – Finalize contracts for initial grocery, farmers market, and restaurant vendors.

1/15/2022 – Growing Green Aquaponics officially opens its facility up to customers and starts shipping out online orders.

Bob has recruited a business management expert, Linda Flores, to be the company’s Chief Operating Officer and help oversee aquaponics’s business operations. Linda will handle the day-to-day operations, including budgeting, vendor relationships, and logistics.

Bob and Linda have recruited an experienced marketing director, William Rivera, to become a member of the Growing Green Aquaponics management team. William is a graduate of the University of Michigan with a Master’s degree in Marketing. Bob and Linda rely on William’s expertise in the company’s marketing plan and advertising strategies.

Financial Plan

Key revenue & costs.

The revenue drivers for Growing Green Aquaponics are the fees charged to customers in exchange for the company’s products. When it comes to pricing, the farm 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 be the overhead costs required in order to staff an aquaponics farm. The expenses will be the payroll cost, utilities, greenhouse equipment and supplies, and marketing materials.

Funding Requirements and Use of Funds

Key assumptions.

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

Average pounds of produce sold per month: 9,000
Average fees per month: $15,000
Overhead costs per year: $640,000

Financial Projections

Income statement, balance sheet, cash flow statement, aquaponics business plan faqs, what is an aquaponics business plan.

An aquaponics business plan is a plan to start and/or grow your aquaponics business. Among other things, it outlines your business concept, identifies your target customers, presents your marketing plan and details your financial projections.

You can easily complete your aquaponics business plan using our Aquaponics Business Plan Template here .

What are the Main Types of Aquaponics Businesses?

There are a number of different kinds of aquaponics businesses, some examples include: Retail and Farm.

How Do You Get Funding for Your Aquaponics Farm Business Plan?

Aquaponics businesses are often funded through small business loans. Personal savings, credit card financing and angel investors are also popular forms of funding. This is true for an aquaponics farming business plan and a commercial aquaponics business plan.

What are the Steps To Start an Aquaponics Business?

Starting an aquaponics business can be an exciting endeavor. Having a clear roadmap of the steps to start a business will help you stay focused on your goals and get started faster.

1. Develop An Aquaponics Business Plan - The first step in starting a business is to create a detailed aquaponics farm business plan that outlines all aspects of the venture. This should include potential market size and target customers, the services or products you will offer, pricing strategies and a detailed financial forecast.

2. Choose Your Legal Structure - It's important to select an appropriate legal entity for your aquaponics business. This could be a limited liability company (LLC), corporation, partnership, or sole proprietorship. Each type has its own benefits and drawbacks so it’s important to do research and choose wisely so that your aquaponics business is in compliance with local laws.

3. Register Your Aquaponics Business - Once you have chosen a legal structure, the next step is to register your aquaponics business with the government or state where you’re operating from. This includes obtaining licenses and permits as required by federal, state, and local laws.

4. Identify Financing Options - It’s likely that you’ll need some capital to start your aquaponics business, so take some time to identify what financing options are available such as bank loans, investor funding, grants, or crowdfunding platforms.

5. Choose a Location - Whether you plan on operating out of a physical location or not, you should always have an idea of where you’ll be based should it become necessary in the future as well as what kind of space would be suitable for your operations.

6. Hire Employees - There are several ways to find qualified employees including job boards like LinkedIn or Indeed as well as hiring agencies if needed – depending on what type of employees you need it might also be more effective to reach out directly through networking events.

7. Acquire Necessary Aquaponics Equipment & Supplies - In order to start your aquaponics business, you'll need to purchase all of the necessary equipment and supplies to run a successful operation.

8. Market & Promote Your Business - Once you have all the necessary pieces in place, it’s time to start promoting and marketing your aquaponics business. This includes creating a website, utilizing social media platforms like Facebook or Twitter, and having an effective Search Engine Optimization (SEO) strategy. You should also consider traditional marketing techniques such as radio or print advertising.

Online Trade Magazine Agricultural Technology and Precision Farming

While an enticing opportunity, planning a commercial aquaponics greenhouse requires a detailed business plan and a clear understanding of your goals.

2022 Top Article - A Guide To Planning A Commercial Aquaponics Greenhouse

Article from | CERES Greenhouse Solutions

Imagine running a business that uses innovative sustainable growing methods, creates little to no waste, and gives back to the community by supplying fresh, local food. Commercial aquaponics presents an opportunity to do all three, while also being financially profitable with high-value, year-round produce.

Let’s discuss three major questions that can help clarify the scale, vision and financial goals for your commercial aquaponics greenhouse. All growers should consider these questions before detailing a business plan and should also read our blog, Can a Commercial Aquaponics Greenhouse be Profitable? (Note: In warm climates some large scale aquaponics farms are located outside. Most growers, however, depend on year-round greenhouses for added climate control and protection for their systems.)

1. Can you be the head grower of a Commercial Aquaponics Farm?

First, do you want to manage the day to day operations of a commercial aquaponics greenhouse? More importantly, do you have the skills to do so? Many growers underestimate the transition from a backyard system to a large-scale aquaponics project. It is important to understand that as a growing method, aquaponics is significantly more complicated than a hydroponic or soil-based commercial greenhouse. Instead of managing one ecosystem – the plants – you are managing two more: the fish and a living bio-filter made of bacteria and worms.

Sylvia Bernstein tactfully sums this up in her book, Aquaponic Gardening :

“The riskiest thing you can do is go to a weekend workshop and think that you are ready to manage a large aquaponics operation . While aquaponics is not too complex once you understand how it all works, you need to grow for a while before you become experienced at recognizing signs of trouble. I can now walk into my greenhouse and instantly know that something is wrong because the sounds and the smells aren’t normal. I can look at the fish and observe their eating habits and tell how healthy they are. I can look at the plants and tell if I have a pH, nutrient or insect problem. I shudder to think what would have happened had I started a large growing operation before honing these skills.”

If you do not have aquaponics growing experience, your options are to start small and learn, or to hire an experienced grower. Large-scale aquaponic greenhouses often hire two head growers – one with a specialty in aquaculture (fish) and one who specializes in horticulture (plants). Experienced growers often recommend setting these up as two potentially independent systems that can, if necessary, be operated on their own. Regardless, identifying who has the knowledge and experience level that is right for your scale is a key first step to planning your commercial aquaponics venture.

commercial aquaponics- aquaponics starts

2. What is your growth strategy for your aquaponics greenhouse?

A common strategy we see among commercial aquaponic growers is to ‘start small’ and grow the operation slowly. This strategy can and has successfully worked for many growers.

However, others also note that scaling up is not always a linear progression, and the ‘jump’ to a full-blown commercial aquaponics greenhouse poses challenges.

If first investing in a starter greenhouse (1,000 – 5,000 sq. ft.), there may be significant growing pains if transitioning to a large-scale operation (over 10,000 sq. ft.) down the road. One option is to expand incrementally with additional smaller greenhouses. Longtime grower, Rob Torcellini of Bigelow Brook Farm did on his operation in Connecticut:

“We originally started with the dome greenhouse as a test to see how we could grow in the harsh New England weather while refining our aquaponic design and growing techniques. After 3 years of success (and many failures), we decided to minimize our financial risk of expanding into a single 26′ x 144′ greenhouse. Once this greenhouse is operational and we have an established outlet for our produce to create a more stable cash flow, only then will we continue to expand to the next greenhouse. Instead of finding venture capital or large bank loans, we have chosen to personally invest in our own operation. Using our own money is certainly an incentive to watch every penny of the project!”

The downside to growing your commercial aquaponics greenhouse incrementally is that it is a much greater investment (many small structures instead of one large one). It can also lead to inefficiencies with workflow and labor once you have multiple structures. The major pro, as Rob notes, is that risk is contained and you don’t get in over your head. Alternatively, you can transition from a small greenhouse to larger operation by investing in an entirely new structure and hiring an experienced team of growers when you feel comfortable to do so.

At Ceres, we often build modularly , starting with one greenhouse and incrementally adding greenhouses connected by a headhouse and/or corridors. This commercial design philosophy not only saves space, but is engineered to ensure maximum sun harvesting and climate control efficiency. Plus our modular model allows uninterrupted growing, so you can continue to run your business while construction occurs.

As you can tell, there is no one right strategy for scaling the business, but rather many pros and cons of different strategies. It will largely depend on how big you want to start and how big you want to go. It also depends on how the business is funded. Like any business, commercial aquaponics greenhouses can be self-funded or financed with loans. Grants, too, are common supplementary income for non-profit and school greenhouses . Which route you choose is a personal decision, tied to your tolerance for risk, financial situation, ability to get loans and desire to be self-sufficient.

3. What are your top priorities?

In the end, these questions come back to why you want to start a commercial aquaponics greenhouse. Some growers require a significant and immediate return from their investment. Others are primarily motivated by creating business that supports their community with fresh local food, and are less concerned about the financial return. In many cases, we see growers only want to break-even or pay themselves a small salary from the operation, but they don’t expect to make much money.

Whatever your priorities are, it is crucial to evaluate your expected financial return, and diligently create a business plan. If you need assistance in fleshing out the details of a business plan, we recommend utilizing one of the many courses across the country that are tailored to aquaponic greenhouse businesses. (Simply search commercial aquaponics course and you will find a long list of possibilities. We recommend choosing presenters with many years in the business, such as JD and Tawnya Sawyer of The Aquaponics Source .)

An idea of returns is important to flesh out early on, as this will greatly impact the scale of your commercial aquaponics greenhouse. Typically, larger operations are more geared toward profits, due to their greater volume and economies of scale. Large-scale commercial growers must be fairly large in order to achieve the volume required by chain retailers and to compete at scale. Being large, of course, introduces a much higher level of risk, which is why we see many commercial aquaponics greenhouse growers selling produce in local markets from a small or midsize greenhouse.

Identifying your Scale: Putting it All Together

After answering the questions above, you should have a rough picture of your ideal aquaponics greenhouse business. Do you want to fund and manage a small-scale year-round greenhouse on your own? Or, do you want to get financing and run a large-scale aquaponics farm with a team of growers? Or are you somewhere in between – taking out some loans from friends and family, hiring out some of the work while relying on your own experience to operate and run a commercial aquaponics greenhouse? When commercial aquaponics entrepreneurs approach us at Ceres, they usually fall into one of these categories, each of which has pros and cons. To summarize:

Small-scale commercial (1,000 – 3,000 sq. ft.)

Typical grower: Growers who are new to aquaponics, often creating a small starter greenhouse to gain experience, possibly expanding to a larger operation later. Usually self-funded, these greenhouses do not generate significant profits but can feed friends and family, or supplement a small CSA with year-round produce. Jerome Peloquin refers to this scale as the “sustenance” business model, as it typically provides only for the grower and family/community members, but does not generate significant financial returns.

Mid-Size commercial (3,000 – 10,000 sq. ft.)

Typical grower: Growers are often entrepreneurs with some aquaponics or commercial greenhouse experience. They want to expand to building a sustainable, community-oriented business. The greenhouse is often managed by a few employees, with the owner often having a hands-on or managerial role (and often have second jobs). Many growers find supplementary income from non-growing operations, such as consulting, events, classes, etc. A larger greenhouse allows for greater production and a more financially stable business. Markets are typically local restaurants and farmers markets.

Large-scale commercial (> 10,000 sq. ft.)

Typical grower/owner: In these cases, the owner is rarely the main grower. More commonly, the owner is an investor (probably one of several). Greenhouses are more advanced and automated, and run by an organized team (one or more head growers, and several laborers). Outlets for the products are large-scale retailers and food distributors. In these cases, the operation is competing with large-scale hydroponic growers (along with all the other commercial produce). The size imposes a much greater financial risk. But with increased risk, comes the potential for greater returns.

Our close partnership with The Aquaponics Source allows us to design commercial aquaponic greenhouses that are customized to the client’s goals and are guaranteed for success. For more information on our standard or custom aquaponic solar greenhouse designs, visit our aquaponics greenhouse page or contact us today!

The content & opinions in this article are the author’s and do not necessarily represent the views of AgriTechTomorrow

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Aquaponics Business Plan Template

If you want to start an aquaponics business or expand your current one, you need a business plan.

Since 1999, we have helped millions of entrepreneurs create business plans to start and grow their businesses.

Below are links to each section of your aquaponics business plan template:

Next Section: Executive Summary >

Aquaponics Business Plan FAQs

What is the easiest way to complete my aquaponics business plan.

Growthink's Ultimate Business Plan Template allows you to quickly and easily complete your Business Plan.

What Is an Aquaponics Business Plan?

A business plan provides a snapshot of your aquaponics business as it stands today, and lays out your growth plan for the next five years. It explains your business goals and your strategy for reaching them. It also includes market research to support your plans.

Why Do You Need an Aquaponics Business Plan?

If you’re looking to start an aquaponics business or grow your existing aquaponics business you need a business plan. A business plan will help you raise funding, if needed, and plan out the growth of your aquaponics business in order to improve your chances of success. Your aquaponics business plan is a living document that should be updated annually as your company grows and changes.

What Are the Sources of Funding for Aquaponics Businesses?

The main sources of funding for an aquaponics business are personal savings, credit cards, bank loans and angel investors. With regards to bank loans, banks will want to review your business plan and gain confidence that you will be able to repay your loan and interest. To acquire this confidence, the loan officer will not only want to confirm that your financials are reasonable. But they will want to see a professional plan. Such a plan will give them the confidence that you can successfully and professionally operate a business.

The second most common form of funding for an aquaponics business is angel investors. Angel investors are wealthy individuals who will write you a check. They will either take equity in return for their funding, or, like a bank, they will give you a loan. VC funding is not appropriate for aquaponics businesses as VC seek quick and massive returns from high tech ventures.

AQUAPONICS BUSINESS PLAN OUTLINE

Aquaponics Business Plan Home
1. Executive Summary
2. Company Overview
3. Industry Analysis
4. Customer Analysis
5. Competitive Analysis
6. Marketing Plan
7. Operations Plan
8. Management Team
9. Financial Plan
10. Appendix
Aquaponics Business Plan Summary

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A Guide to Planning a Commercial Aquaponics Greenhouse

January 24, 2022
Aquaponics , Commercial
Haley Bridgnell

While an enticing opportunity, planning a commercial aquaponics greenhouse requires a detailed business plan and a clear understanding of your goals.

1. Can you be the head grower of a Commercial Aquaponics Farm?

Sylvia Bernstein tactfully sums this up in her book, Aquaponic Gardening :

2. What is your growth strategy for your aquaponics greenhouse?

A common strategy we see among commercial aquaponic growers is to ‘start small’ and grow the operation slowly. This strategy can and has successfully worked for many growers.

However, others also note that scaling up is not always a linear progression, and the ‘jump’ to a full-blown commercial aquaponics greenhouse poses challenges.

3. What are your top priorities?

Identifying your Scale: Putting it All Together

Small-scale commercial (1,000 – 3,000 sq. ft.)

Typical grower : Growers who are new to aquaponics, often creating a small starter greenhouse to gain experience, possibly expanding to a larger operation later. Usually self-funded, these greenhouses do not generate significant profits but can feed friends and family, or supplement a small CSA with year-round produce. Jerome Peloquin refers to this scale as the “sustenance” business model, as it typically provides only for the grower and family/community members, but does not generate significant financial returns.

Mid-Size commercial (3,000 – 10,000 sq. ft.)

Typical grower : Growers are often entrepreneurs with some aquaponics or commercial greenhouse experience. They want to expand to building a sustainable, community-oriented business. The greenhouse is often managed by a few employees, with the owner often having a hands-on or managerial role (and often have second jobs). Many growers find supplementary income from non-growing operations, such as consulting, events, classes, etc. A larger greenhouse allows for greater production and a more financially stable business. Markets are typically local restaurants and farmers markets.

Large-scale commercial (> 10,000 sq. ft.)

Typical grower/owner : In these cases, the owner is rarely the main grower. More commonly, the owner is an investor (probably one of several). Greenhouses are more advanced and automated, and run by an organized team (one or more head growers, and several laborers). Outlets for the products are large-scale retailers and food distributors. In these cases, the operation is competing with large-scale hydroponic growers (along with all the other commercial produce). The size imposes a much greater financial risk. But with increased risk, comes the potential for greater returns.

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How to Design Your Commercial Aquaponics System for Business

April 28, 2023

Over the years, aquaponics continued to gain popularity as many urban farmers saw the potential of aquaponics for commercial use because of its ability to produce healthy crops and fish with minimum footprints and space requirements.

However, designing a commercial aquaponics system for business requires careful planning and consideration of several important factors. This is why we provide this article with a comprehensive guide to designing your commercial aquaponics system.

The Importance of a Well-Designed Commercial Aquaponics System

A well-designed aquaponics system is vital for businesses that plan to adopt this sustainable farming method. A well-designed system might be challenging initially, but it will provide several benefits to help farmers succeed in their aquaponics business. Here are some reasons why a well-designed aquaponics system is essential.

1. Increase Efficiency: Aquaponics is a highly efficient system. However, a well-designed aquaponics system that is tailored to your specific needs and goals can help maximize its efficiency.

2. Higher Yields: With the proper selection of fish and crops and optimized environmental conditions, farming all year round and increasing the overall yield is possible.

3. Reduced Cost Operating Expenses: A well-designed system can help reduce the need for manual labor and operating costs by optimizing energy consumption.

Factors to Consider in Designing a Commercial Aquaponics System for Business

1. location and space.

The location and space are two essential factors to consider before designing a commercial aquaponics system, as they can affect its success. The space will also affect the system's design, size, and layout. Here are some considerations for location and space in designing an aquaponics system for business.

Access to electricity and water: Aquaponics systems depend on a consistent and stable supply of electricity and water to function effectively. Therefore, it is crucial to build your system in a location where both electricity and water are easily accessible.
Climate and environmental conditions: When planning an aquaponics system, it's important to take into account environmental factors like humidity, temperature, and sunlight for the best results. It is recommended to choose a location that is near your target market to save on transportation costs and ensure the freshness of your products during delivery.
Size and system layout: The available space will affect the size and structure of the system. So it is essential to consider them when designing a commercial aquaponic system.

Building a commercial system can be expensive. That is why it is important to consider the costs of the components like grow beds, fish tanks, grow media, pumps, filters, lighting, and other materials required to build and maintain an aquaponics system.

Here are some factors to consider when it comes to budget:

Components: Setting up an aquaponics business requires several basic and optional components. It is essential to research the costs of each component to ensure the budget can cope with the costs.
Labor costs: Building and maintaining an aquaponics system requires skilled labor.
Operating costs and maintenance: Once the system is running, ongoing operating and maintenance costs will be necessary for the system's success.
Permits: Permits, licenses, and insurances needed to start the business require costs that should be included in the budget.

3. Local Regulations and Zoning Laws

Your local regulations and zoning laws when designing and building your system. Local regulations such as waste management, fish species selection, and the types of structures allowed should also be considered.

4. Target Market and Demand

It is essential to make a detailed business plan which includes research into the local market demand before designing and setting up an aquaponics system for business. A detailed aquaponics business plan will help you design a system that meets your customers' needs and ensures profitability.

5. Plant Selection

The crop selection will affect the system's design, as different plants have different growth rates and nutrient requirements. Here are things to keep in mind in selecting plants for your system.

Market demand: Choose crops that have a high demand in the market. This includes leafy greens, herbs, and vegetables that are popular with consumers.
Yield and growth rate: Select plants with high yield and grows quickly to maximize your system's production and profit.
Size and space requirements: The size of the plants and growth habits can affect the system's layout and design, so choose plants that will fit well in the available space and allow the efficient use of resources.
Nutrient requirements: Select crops with similar nutrient requirements to maintain the balanced ecosystem of the system.
Crop diversity: Growing various plants can help prevent pests and help ensure a stable supply of fresh produce to the market demand.

6. Fish Selection

Like plants, different fish species have different growth rates and nutrient requirements. It is essential to consider factors, such as market demand, compatibility with the chosen plants, and the size of your fish tank when designing your aquaponics system. Other factors to consider are:

Purpose: What are your goals for raising fish? Is it for consumption or decorative purposes? Asking yourself these questions will help you make the correct decision in selecting the best fish for your system.
Temperature: Select fish species that thrive in your local temperature range.
Growth rate: if you are planning to sell fish, choose fish species that grow quickly to maximize your profits,
Feeding habits: Choose fish that are easy to feed. Ensure also the fish feed of your chosen fish is readily available in your area.
Legal requirements: Some areas require permits to raise certain fish species. So check with your local fisheries laws for any requirements for the fish species you want to grow.

Designing Your Aquaponics System for Business

A well-designed system can help you maximize production, minimize costs and ensure the longevity of your system.

A. Components of Aquaponics Systems

Designing an aquaponics system for business requires careful consideration of the components. Selecting the right components can help your business minimize costs, maximize production, and ensure long-term sustainability. The size and type of each component should also be considered to meet your business's specific needs and goals. Here are the components of aquaponics systems.

1. Fish tank: The fish tank is where fish are raised, and their waste is converted into plant nutrients. The fish tank's size should be determined by the size and number of fish that will be raised.

2. Grow bed: The grow bed is where the plants are grown. It is filled with grow media like expanded clay or gravel , and water is circulated through the grow bed to provide nutrients to the plants.

3. Water pump: A water pump is essential for maintaining proper water circulation. It is responsible for transferring water from the fish tank to the grow bed and back.

4. Water filter: A water filter removes solid waste and debris from the water. An example filter in aquaponics system is a biofilter.

5. Aeration system: An aeration system provides oxygen to fish and plants. It can be achieved by using air stones , diffusers , or pumps.

6. Lighting system : A lighting system is used to provide light to the plants. Lighting is only important for indoor aquaponics systems because they do not have access to sunlight. If you have an outdoor system, you don't need to use growl lights.

7. Backup power source: A backup power source such as generators, battery backup systems or solar power is essential for aquaponics systems where the electrical source is not stable.

B. System Design Principles

The system should be designed to facilitate continuous water flow, exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide through aeration, constant water movement, and surface area for the bacteria to grow and thrive

C. System Maintenance

A well-designed commercial system should be designed for easy maintenance, such as fish feeding and monitoring fish and plants, water testing, planting and harvesting, cleaning, and pest and nutrient management.

Designing Your Aquaponics System

As mentioned above, creating an aquaponics system for business requires careful planning and consideration of various factors.

1. Sketching Out Your Plan

It is important to sketch your plan before building your system. Include in your sketch the layout and dimensions of the different components because this will help you ensure that all your components are correctly positioned for optimum performance. The sketch will also serve as your guide in the construction and installation of different components.

2. Positioning Components for Optimum Performance

Your component's position can impact the overall performance of your system. The components should be positioned to ensure efficient water flow.

3. Ensuring Adequate Space for Plant and Fish Growth

Ensure your aquaponics system has enough space for fish and plant growth. You should select the correct size for the fish tank and grow bed to ensure plants have enough space and room to grow and access the nutrients in the water.

4. Planning for Scalability

When designing your aquaponics system, ensure it can be expanded in the future. Consider the available space for future expansion if the business needs to scale up production.

5. Design an efficient Water Management System

Water is critical for aquaponics. So it must be monitored carefully to maintain good water quality and ensure that nutrients are at their optimum level. This will include regular water testing, adjusting the pH and nutrient levels, and providing continuous water flow throughout the system.

6. Implementing a Monitoring and Control System

Implementing a monitoring and control system is essential to monitor your system and ensure its long-term success constantly. Doing this will allow you to track and adjust various parameters immediately 24 hours a day and make the necessary adjustments without human intervention.

Aquaponics System Maintenance and Upkeep

Maintaining and ensuring the proper upkeep of your aquaponics system is crucial for its success. Failure to properly maintain your system can lead to system failure, poor yields, and even the death of fish and plants. Below are the tasks involved in maintaining your system.

1. Regular Cleaning and Monitoring of the Components

Regular cleaning and monitoring of the fish tank, grow bed, water filter, and pumps are essential in ensuring the longevity and performance of the system. Uneaten fish food and other solid waste can accumulate in the fish tank, grow beds, and pipes , leading to the buildup of harmful bacteria.

2. Maintaining Proper pH Levels and Nutrient Balance

Regular water tests are essential to ensure pH, ammonia , nitrite, nitrate, and nutrient levels are within their parameters. Regular water tests will also ensure the nutrients are balanced at all times.

3. Regular Feeding and Care of Fish

Fish plays a vital role in aquaponics systems as they produce waste converted into nutrients for plants. Therefore, providing them with proper care and the right fish food is essential to ensure their health and growth.

4. Timely Harvesting of Crops

Plants grow faster in aquaponics than in traditional growing methods. Therefore, monitoring their growth and harvesting them at the right time is essential to maximize yields.

5. Trouble Shooting Common Issues

Even with regular maintenance and monitoring, aquaponics systems can still experience issues such as clogged filters, power interruptions, algae growth, and nutrient imbalance. So it is essential to identify and troubleshoot these issues as soon as possible to prevent system failure.

Designing and operating a commercial aquaponics system requires careful planning, research, and implementation. The planning process must carefully consider factors such as location, budget, regulations, target market, crop and fish selection, and component selection. With the right design, detailed business plan and proper maintenance, an aquaponics system can be a sustainable and profitable business venture for those who invest their time and effort into its in setting up a commercial aquaponics system for business.

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Aquaponics refers to the rearing of fish and plants together in a controlled environment. It is a combination of aquaculture, the rearing of fish, and hydroponics, the growing of plants without soil. In aquaponics the water from the fish tanks is used to grow the plants. The plants get their nutrients from the nutrient rich water produced by the fish wastes. Since in the process of deriving their nutrients from the waste water, the plants are actually cleaning the water, the water is thus recycled and reintroduced into the fish tanks. Aquaponics is commercially viable that a farmer sell both fish and plant products, such as lettuce, tomatoes and spinach.

Conduct research on commercial aquaponic farming. Gather sufficient information on how to establish and manage an aquaponic farm. Visit aquaponic farmers within your locality or state to gain their advice on how best to operate a commercial aquaponic farm. Research the internet to gather more knowledge on aquaponic farming. Visit your state's department of agriculture and fishing to gather information on any registration requirements necessary before starting an aquaponic farm.

Consult a qualified accountant to help you prepare a detailed business plan for your aquaponic farm. The plan should contain the financial forecasts of your aquaponic farm, including projected cash flow statements, estimated start-up costs, and sales forecasts. Include a market analysis and marketing strategies that you will use to sell your fish and plant produce.

Identify the area where you will establish the farm. The location of an aquaponic farm greatly affects the growth and development of the fish and plants. Choose a location where temperatures are neither too high nor too low. It should also have sufficient light to ensure the plants get enough light for food production. Ensure that the area is free of harmful chemicals as these will kill both the fish and plants.

Acquire all the necessary materials needed for setting up your aquaponics system. These include; fish tanks, pumps for pumping the water, growing medium for your plants, grow beds on which the plants will be grown and fish. Consult an aquaponics professional to help set up the aquaponics system.

Register your aquaponic farm to obtain the necessary permits and licenses. Register with your local state's department of fishing since you will be operating your farm for commercial purposes. Register with your state's department of tax to obtain a sales tax certificate and a state tax identification number. Register with the Internal Revenue Service to acquire an Employer Identification Number to enable you comply with federal tax requirements.

Roll out your commercial aquaponic plan as per your business plan. Continue consulting other aquaponic farmers and professional resources on a regular basis so as to seek their guidance on how to effectively and efficiently manage your farm and to gather current trends in aquaponic business.

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Join aquaponic farmers organizations and subscribe to aquaponic magazines such as Backyard Aquaponics to continue gaining knowledge on aquaponic farming.

Paul Merchant started writing in 2005. His articles have appeared in “JSTOR Journals” and “Wileys Management Journals.” He is a certified public accountant and a qualified project management expert. Merchant holds a Bachelor of Arts in communication from the University of Nairobi.

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Aquaponics Farm Business Plan Template

MAY.16, 2018

Do you want to start aquaponics business?

Do you wish to start a aquaponics business ? Aquaponics business has tremendously grown in the last few years. With agriculture becoming a main source of livelihood, you definitely make a lot of money in this business. One of the strongholds about this business is using creativity to produce food for different group of people from nonprofit, urban people and communities among others. Everyone needs to eat to function properly, and as long as you are growing healthy foods in your aquaponics farm, you will make cash. There are so many niche categories to choose from and with a well-laid out commercial cultivation business plan, you’re guaranteed to make good profits.

Executive Summary

2.1 the business.

The aquaponics business will be registered as Mary’s Shed and will be located in Baltimore, Maryland. The business will be owned by Ann Marie who’s an experienced agriculturist by profession.

2.2 Management Team

Ann Marie who’s the owner and manager of Mary’s Shed is an experienced agriculturist with a wide experience in the aquaponics industry that spans over 15 years. During her career, Ann has worked with various aquaponics farms and industry such as Ouroboros Farms gathering essential experience associated with aquaponics industry.

2.3 Customer Focus

In this aquaponics business model , focus will be on targeting customers who love eating healthy grown vegetables and animals. All food grown in Mary’s Shed will use a chemical-free method of growing.

2.4 Business Target

Mary’s Shed plans to offer healthy, chemical free and high quality products to a wide range of customers. After watching the local trends, Mary’s Shed is planning to target both local and regional customers.

Aquaponics Business Plan - 3 Years Profit Forecast

Aquaponics Company Summary

3.1 company owner.

Ann Marie is an experienced agriculturist who has had the opportunity to work in various reputable aquaponics farms across the United States. Given her past experience, she knows how to start aquaponic farming business plan . Ann understands the various aspects involved in the niche selection, business marketing and the right strategy to use.

3.2 Aim of Starting the Aquaponics Business

Aquaponic businesses have become popular in recent times thus making the need to have farmers who can creatively cater for customer needs without affecting the environment negatively. People love eating healthy chemical free vegetables and animals because they don’t expose one to diseases but instead boost their health. Mary has the perfect approach to make sure customers get what they are looking for.

3.3 How the Business will be Started

Having worked in the aquaponic industry for over fifteen years, Ann Marie is a pro in aquaponics businesses as she has helped other businesses succeed. Given her agriculture experience, Ann clearly understands what needs to be done to come up with an all-inclusive financial plan for Mary’s Shed. She also plans to make use of free aquaponics business plans available on the internet.

Services for Customers

Having a well-thought-out aquaponic farm business plan will come in handy for the business development and service delivery. Mary’s Shed plans to offer its customers a wide range of awesome products. One of the best parts about starting an aquaponics business is it contributes positively to people health and wellbeing. Mary’s Shed hopes to conduct a comprehensive research to understand better what kind of vegetables, fruits and animals people prefer to eat. In order to successfully create an aquaponic business, it is essential to identify the products you wish to see and try to diversify where necessary. In this case, Mary’s Shed is planning to offer customers the following products:

Grow fresh water fish including tilapia, silver perch, eel-tailed catfish, jade perch and Murray cod.
Green leafy vegetables such as Chinese cabbage, lettuce, spinach, watercress, among others
Fruits such as bananas, oranges, pineapple, strawberries and melons etc
Healthy herbs to help people boost their immune systems which include basil, coriander, parsley, lemongrass, sage and mint among others.

In order to successfully create an aquaponic business, it is essential to identify the products you wish to see and try to diversify where necessary.

Marketing Analysis of Aquaponics Business

Ever since the growing trend of healthy eating, the market of organically grown vegetables, fruits and animals has greatly increased. The market has changed and customers want to eat chemical free grown food. With the rate of lifestyle diseases people are suffering from everyday such as cancer and diabetes, there is a need for healthy and nutritious vegetables and herbs. Starting an aquaponics farm business is a dream come true for Ann Marie. The aquaponics farm business plan at hand will use the aquaponic cycle technology which is water efficient, chemical free and sustainable method of growing.

According to recent research, the aquaponics business field had a mind blowing potential market size of $180m in 2013 and this is expected to go past $1 billion in sales by year 2020. Mary’s Shed plans to tap into the increasing market and thanks to a comprehensive aquaponics business plan , the business will be successful.

5.1 Market Segment

For Mary’s Shed to properly meet the needs of its customers, the professional business planning to offer various healthy products whose demand is high. Thus way, the business can effectively reach out to customers. In the aquaponics business plan sample , Mary’s Shed has carried out an in-depth market analysis to target the right customers with the right product in order to make them long term customers.

Aquaponics Business Plan - Market Segmentation

5.1.1 Households

Baltimore has a high population of households that are in need of healthy vegetables and meat. Research has shown an increase over the years in healthy food consumption in many households in Baltimore. People have become healthier conscious and want their children and loved ones to consume health food options. Given the demand for local healthy foods, Mary Shed plans to target these households to constantly supply them with chemical free grown fish, vegetables and herbs. According to Mary’s Shed aquaponics business plan template , this will be amojor revenue source for the business.

5.1.2 Retail Shops & Supermarkets

Baltimore has a many supermarkets and retail shops that sell vegetables and herbs. Most working class people pass by the supermarket frequently. Mary’s Shed plans to approach various supermarkets and retail shop to supply them with healthy leafy vegetables and fish. Since vegetables and fish are commonly loved by people, the supermarkets will use Mary’s Shed as one of their main vegetable supplier.

5.1.3 Hotels

Baltimore is a home to many prestigious and beautiful hotels in the United State. Most of these hotels require herbs, vegetables and fish to cook various recipes for their customers. Mary’s Shed plans to supply most of these hotels with the products they require making the customers happy. The fact that Mary’s Shed plans to grow chemical free products, it will be one of the selling point to the hotel owners.

5.1.4 Organic Markets

Over the years, the growth of organic markets in Baltimore has grown immensely. People flock to these markets looking for organically grown vegetables and herbs. Since Mary’s Shed plans to grown organic and non-gmo vegetables and plants, the products will definitely be loved by many. The business plans to supply sellers in the market with leafy vegetables and herbs.

5.2 Business Target

With the demand for aquaponic products increasing, Mary’s Shed has come up with a unique aquaponics business plan after going through various aquaponics business plan templates . This plan will cater for both local and external customers. Baltimore is a large city and business expects to make awesome sales by putting in place systems that will leave the customers asking for more. This aquaponic business models hopes to achieve an annual growth of between 30 -40%.

5.3 Product Pricing

In order for Mary’s Shed to achieve its targets, a detailed pricing survey was done in order to come up with affordable yet competitive pricing structure after observing the market patterns. Mary’s Shed also hopes to offer the best prices without hurting the business for the first month.

Aquaponics Farming Strategy

The aquaponics farm business has witnessed immense growth and it is expected more people will be joining. The need for healthy and well grown food products has grown and trends indicate an increase of chemical free products. When planning how on starting an aquaponics farm business, focus should be how to attract long term customers to keep a steady flow income.

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6.1 Competitive Analysis

When you start an aquaponics business, it is important to analyze the market and come up with the best strategies to grow the business. Despite the growing number of aquaponics businesses in Baltimore, Mary’s Shed has come up with the best strategies to stay on top of the game.

6.2 Sales Strategy

For Mary’s Shed to advertise its aquaponics products, the following sales strategies will be adopted for marketing the business.

Find a creative and customer-friendly approach of handling any complains to keep a positive image of the business
Advertise the aquaponics business on local media channels such as television, radio and newspapers
Offer new clients low prices for the first month in order to entice and allow them to see the quality of products
Always aim to provide high quality chemically free vegetables.
Advertise the business using digital marketing strategies such as Social media platforms (Facebook, Twitter and Instagram).

6.3 Sales Forecast

To achieve its sales targets, Mary’s Shed has formulated a detailed sales forecast to show how the subscription box business will perform when it begins operations.

Personnel Plan for Commercial Aquaponics

Mary’s Shed plans to employ an experienced small team of staff to run the business. How to start an aquaponic business expects you to identify your personnel team and what each role the member will play. It’s essential to come up with a staff budget to help the business know how much it will spend on staff salaries to keep them motivated.

7.1 Personnel Plan for Commercial Aquaponics

Mary’s Shed is owned by Ann Marie who will also become the manager of the aquaponic business. As preparations take shape to open the business, the following staff members will be hired to help on making the dream of the commercial aquaponics business plan come true. The team is expected to work closely together to facilitate a smooth flow of business activities.

Manager/Owner 1 Marketing Executive 1 Operations Manager 1 Accountant 2 Agriculturists 2 Aquaponic Experts

The staff will be trained in order to familiarize themselves with how an aquaponic business is managed on a day to day basis.

7.2 Average Salaries

Mary’s Shed plans to remunerate staff members the following salaries in the first three years of operation.

Financial Plan for Aquaponics Farm

Mary’s Shed has come up with an in-depth financial plan that will act as a guide on how the business will be run and managed. In this aquaponic farm business model, key financial parameters have been noted down. Ann Marie will raise capital from her personal savings and will collaborate with two investors. This requires make up business plan for investors . Prior planning how to start an aquaponic farm business, you need to know how about the expenses and costs involved to launch operations. A loan will also be secured to finance any budget shortage. Given the aquaponics profit margin , this is a business with high prospects if executed well.

8.1 Important Assumptions

The financial forecast for Mary’s Shed will be based on the assumptions below.

8.2 Brake-even Analysis

The Brake-even Analysis for Mary’s Shed is shown in the graph below.

Aquaponics Business Plan - Brake-even Analysis

8.3 Projected Profit and Loss

Below is the Profit and Loss information for the subscription box business calculated on a monthly and annual basis.

8.3.1 Monthly Profit

Aquaponics Business Plan - PROFIT MONTHLY

8.3.2 Yearly Profit

Aquaponics Business Plan - PROFIT YEARLY

8.3.3 Monthly Gross Margin

Aquaponics Business Plan - GROSS MARGIN MONTHLY

8.3.4 Yearly Gross Margin

Aquaponics Business Plan - GROSS MARGIN YEARLY

8.4 Projected Cash Flow

Below is a summary of pro forma cash flow, subtotal cash received, subtotal cash spent, subtotal cash from operations and subtotal cash spent on operations.

Aquaponics Business Plan - Projected Cash Flow

8.5 Projected Balance Sheet

Below is a Projected Balance Sheet for Mary’s Shed that shows assets, capital, liabilities, long term assets and current liabilities.

8.6 Business Ratios

The following is the Ratio Analysis, Business Net Worth and Business Ratios for Mary’s Shed.

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Aquaponics Food Production Systems pp 453–485 Cite as

Commercial Aquaponics: A Long Road Ahead

Maja Turnšek 5 na1 ,
Rolf Morgenstern 6 na1 ,
Iris Schröter 6 na1 ,
Marcus Mergenthaler 6 na1 ,
Silke Hüttel 7 na1 &
Michael Leyer 8 na1
Open Access
First Online: 22 June 2019

66k Accesses

12 Citations

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Aquaponic systems are often designated as sustainable food production systems that are still facing various challenges, especially when they are considered as a commercial endeavour that needs to compete on the market. The early stages of the aquaponics industry have witnessed a number of unrealistic statements about the economic advantageousness of aquaponics. This chapter deals with these topics and discusses them critically. The latest scientific literature and current personal experiences of European commercial aquaponics farmers are taken into account on three levels: The horticulture side of production, the aquaculture side of production and the early data on the market response to aquaponics, emphasising the marketing issues and public acceptance of aquaponics. In summary, the chapter does not provide an “off-the-peg” solution to evaluate the economic performance of a particular aquaponics system. Instead it provides a broad database that enables an estimation of the efficiency of a planned system more realistically, pointing to challenges that the commercial aquaponics early adopters faced that are important lessons for future aquaponic endeavours, particularly in Europe.

Commercial aquaponics
Aquaponics economic myths
Marketing of aquaponics

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1 Introduction: Beyond Myths

Although we have witnessed the first research developments in aquaponics as far back as the late 1970s (Naegel 1977 ; Lewis et al. 1978 ), there is still a long road ahead for the sound economical assessment of aquaponics. The industry is developing slowly, and thus available data is often based on model cases from research and not on commercial-based systems. After initial positive conclusions about the economic potentials of aquaponics in research-based settings of the low-investment systems in USA, primarily the system in Virgin Islands (Bailey et al. 1997 ) and Alberta (Savidov and Brooks 2004 ), commercial aquaponics encountered a high level of early enthusiasm in business contexts, often based on unrealistic expectations.

To provide a specific example, in its early market forecast, IndustryARC ( 2012 ) anticipated that aquaponics as an industry has a potential market size of around $180 million in 2013 and is expected to reach $1 billion in sales in 2020. Later they projected aquaponics to increase from $409 million in 2015 to $906.9 million by 2021 (IndustryARC 2017 ). The same report (IndustryARC 2012 ) provided a number of yet untested claims about aquaponics, for example, about the economic superiority of aquaponics in terms of output, growth time and diversification possibilities in a commercial setting. We name such claims here as “aquaponics economic myths” that have been a typical part of the early internet-fuelled hype on commercial aquaponics.

Take a look at their statement: “Aquaponics uses 90% less land and water than agriculture but has the potential to generate 3 to 4 times more food than the latter also” (IndustryARC 2012 ). Comments such as these are extremely vague, since it is not clear what exactly aquaponics is being compared to when the authors are referring to “agriculture”. Although aquaponics does use less water than soil-based food production, since the water used in soil-based production can be lost in the soil, not being absorbed by plants compared to staying in a recirculation loop with aquaponics. The exact amount of water savings depends on the type of the system. Additionally, “3 to 4 times more food” seems highly exaggerated. Aquaponics can have yields comparable to hydroponics (e.g. Savidov and Brooks 2004 ; Graber and Junge, 2009 ). Yet the statement glosses over the fact that at least in coupled aquaponics so-called operational compromises need to be made in order to find a balance between optimum parameters for healthy plants and fish (see Chaps. 1 and 8 of this manuscript), which can lead to aquaponics having lower outputs compared to hydroponics.

Therefore, statements like the above lack a clear definition of the reference scenario and the reference unit of comparison. In an economic assessment, higher output levels can only be compared meaningfully if there is a clear reference to the input levels required to achieve this output. In the assessment of aquaponic systems, higher outputs per area might be achieved compared to conventional agriculture, yet aquaponic systems might require more energy, capital and work input. Only referring to land as an input factor assumes that other production factors are not scarce, which is hardly the case. Therefore, statements like the above neglect the “all other things being equal” principle in economic assessments. Vaclav Smil ( 2008 ) calculates and summarises energy expenditure of different agricultural activities, utilising energy as the common denominator, and this allows us to compare different agricultural methods with the aquaponic approach.

A similar myth is contained in the statement: “A major advantage pertaining to the aquaponics industry is that crop production time can be accelerated” (IndustryARC 2012 ). An acceleration of crop production necessarily depends on the amount of nutrients and water, oxygen and carbon dioxide in the surrounding atmosphere and light and temperature available to crops – factors that are not elements of aquaponics per se but can be added via greenhouse management practices, such as fertilisation and irrigation heating and artificial lights. These additional elements, however, increase both the costs of investment and the operational costs, often being too expensive to be economically viable (depending of course on the location, type of crops and especially the price of crops).

Another economically important advantage of aquaponics provided in the report was that “aquaponics is an adaptable process that allows for a diversification of income streams. Crops may be produced depending upon local market interest and the interest of the grower” (IndustryARC 2012 ). What statements like this gloss over is the fact that diversification of production always comes at a price. Crop diversification necessarily includes higher levels of knowledge and higher labour demands. The larger the variety of crops, the more difficult it is to meet optimum conditions for all the selected crops. Large-scale commercial production thus looks for constant parameters for a limited number of crops that need similar growth conditions, allowing for large outputs in order to penetrate distribution via large distribution partners such as supermarket chains, and allow for the same storage and potential processing equipment and processes. Such large-scale production is able to use economies of scale to reduce unit costs, a basic principle in economic assessment, which is not usually the case for aquaponics at smaller scales of production.

Finally, the most important statement provided in the report was that “the return of investment (ROI) for aquaponic systems ranges from 1 to 2 years depending on the farmer experience as well as the scale of farming” (IndustryARC 2012 ). Such statements need to be taken with extreme caution. The scarce data that is available on return on investments reports on a much longer time: According to Adler et al. ( 2000 ), it takes 7.5 years of return for an approximately $ 300.000 investment in the hypothetical scenario of a rainbow trout and lettuce system. Recently, Quagrainie et al. ( 2018 ) reported a similar period of 6.8 years for the payback of an investment in aquaponics if the products can only be sold at non-organic prices. Real data on the economics of aquaponics is extremely hard to come by, since the enterprises that have ventured into commercial aquaponics are reluctant to share their data. In cases where enterprises are performing well, they either do not share their data, since it is considered a business secret, or if they do share data, such data needs to be taken with caution since typically these companies have an interest in selling aquaponic equipment, engineering and consultancy. In addition, enterprises that have failed in achieving profitability prefer not to publicly share their failures.

These “myths” are continually circulating online amongst non-experienced aquaponic enthusiasts, fuelled by hope for both high returns and a path towards more sustainable future food production. So there is a need to go beyond the myths and look at individual enterprises and provide an in-depth analysis on the basic and the general economics of aquaponics.

Even if realistic data on aquaponics were available, it has to be considered that such analyses are based on single cases. As aquaponic systems are far from technically standardised production systems, the diversity with respect to marketing concepts is even higher. So, data on every single aquaponics system lacks generalisability and can be regarded only as a single case study. General statements are therefore not valid if the framework conditions and technical and marketing specificities are not made transparent.

Journalistic publications about aquaponics often follow a narrative that elaborates on the general challenges of global agriculture, such as shrinking agricultural areas, humus loss and desertification, and then elaborate on the advantages of aquaponic food production methods. Apart from the above-mentioned mistake that in fact controlled environment system (CES) production is compared with field production, no distinction between agriculture and horticulture is made. Whilst the term “agriculture” technically includes horticulture, agriculture in its more specific sense is the large-scale crop production on farmland. Horticulture is the cultivation of plants, usually excluding large-scale crop production on farmland, and is typically carried out in greenhouses. Following these definitions, the plant side of aquaponics is horticulture and not agriculture. Thus comparing yield and other productivity properties of aquaponics with agriculture is simply comparing apples to oranges.

To state this differently, the horticulture side of agriculture is only a very small part of it. Large-scale crop production in agriculture mostly encompasses so-called staple food production: Cereals like corn, barley and wheat, oilseed like rape and sunflower and starchy root vegetables like potatoes. The agricultural area of Germany covers 184.332 km 2 (Destatis 2015 ). Of that only 2.290 km 2 (1,3%) is used for horticulture. Of the horticultural area, 9.84 km 2 (0,0053%) is protected and under glass. Absolute and relative figures for other countries surely differ, but the example clearly shows that the plant side of aquaponics will only be able to substitute and thereby enhance a small fraction of our food production. Staple foods can theoretically be produced in CES under glass using hydroculture as demonstrated in NASA research (Mackowiak et al. 1989 ) and could surely also be cultivated in aquaponic systems, but due to the high investment needed for such production, it does not make sense to think of aquaponics replacing the production of these crops under the current global economic and resource conditions.

2 Hypothetical Modelling, Small-Scale Case Studies and Surveys Amongst Farmers

Early research on commercial aquaponics focused on evaluation and the development of specific, mostly research institute-led case studies. These first results were highly positive and optimistic about the future of commercial aquaponics. Bailey et al. ( 1997 ) concluded that, at least in the case of Virgin Islands, aquaponic farms can be profitable. Savidov and Brooks ( 2004 ) reported that the yields of cucumbers and tomatoes calculated on an annual basis exceeded the average values for commercial greenhouse production based on conventional hydroponics technology in Alberta. Adler et al. ( 2000 ) performed an economic analysis of a 20-year expected scenario of producing lettuce and rainbow trout and argued that the integration of the fish and plant production systems produces economic costs savings over either system alone. They concluded that an approx. $300.000 investment would have a 7.5-year payback period.

Technologically based dynamic optimization models are commonly used to represent production engineering relationships in aquaponics systems (Karimanzira et al. 2016 ; Körner et al. 2017 ). It is noticeable that so far hardly any different scales are considered, and previous studies like Tokunaga et al. ( 2015 ) and Bosma et al. ( 2017 ) are limited to small-scale aquaponics for the local production of food or are performed on data from research facilities, such as University of Virgin Islands’ aquaponics systems (Bailey and Ferrarezi 2017 ). Furthermore, as Engle ( 2015 ) points out, the literature on the economics of aquaponics is sparse, with much of the early literature based primarily on model aquaponics. Without realistic farm data, such projections often are overly optimistic because they lack details on expenses beyond the obvious ones of fingerlings, feed and utilities and do not include the everyday risks involved in farming. In this research on the economics of aquaponics, production functions are only partially reproduced and questions of process-based optimization addressed only to some extent. Leyer and Hüttel ( 2017 ) demonstrated the potential for investment accounting as part of an initial analysis to capture various parameters of an aquaponics facility. Furthermore, Engle ( 2015 ) points to the difficulties of estimating annual costs to operate in aquaponics farms since many of these systems are quite new. She also points out that modelling is based on hypothetical situations and that more realistic farm data is needed, whereby the unexpected expenses are incurred daily, “from screens that clog, pumps that fail, or storms that cause damage”.

As aquaponics started to grow both as a do-it-yourself (DIY) activity (Love et al. 2014 ) and as an industry (Love et al. 2015 ), research on real commercial farm case studies emerged. Specific case studies of aquaponics production were performed on commercial attempts, for example, in Puerto Rico (Bunyaviroch 2013 ) and Hawaii (Tokunaga et al. 2015 ), including also the case study of a small-scale aquaponics social enterprise (Laidlaw 2013 ) (see Chap. 24 ).

With the continuous rise in the number of aquaponics growers, the first in-depth analyses of the state of the art of the industry emerged, focused primarily on the USA. These studies showed a less optimistic picture of the emerging industry. Love et al. ( 2015 ) performed an international survey amongst 257 participants, who in the last 12 months sold aquaponics-related food or non-food products and services. Only 37% of these participants could be named as solely commercial producers who gained their revenue from selling only fish or plants. Thirty-six percent of the respondents combined the sales of produce with aquaponics-related material or services: Sale of supplies and equipment, consulting fees for design or construction of aquaponics facilities and fees associated with workshops, classes, public speaking or agro-tourism. Finally, approximately one third (27%) were organisations that sold only aquaponics-related materials or services and no produce. The average aquaponics production site of 143 US-based producers was 0,01 ha. By comparing this to the overall hydroponic production in Florida (29,8 ha), Love et al. ( 2015 ) concluded that the size of aquaponics producers is significantly smaller than hydroponic production and is to a large extent still more of a hobby activity than successful commercial enterprises. In terms of water volume, the aquaponics farms reported comparable sizes as typical RAS aquaculture farms in the USA. Yet nearly a quarter of respondents (24%) did not harvest any fish in the last 12 months, and the estimated overall size of fish production was 86t of fish, which is less than 1% of the farmed tilapia industry in the USA.

According to the same study, aquaponics was the primary source of income for only 30% of respondents, and only 31% of respondents reported that their operation was profitable in the last 12 months. For example, the median respondent received only $1000 to $4999 in the last 12 months, and only 10% of respondents received more than $50,000 in the last 12 months. This led Love et al. ( 2015 ) to conclude that aquaponic farms were small-scale farms, which is comparable to agriculture in general, since farms with gross revenues of less than $ 50,000 made up approximately 75% of all farms in the USA and farms with less than $50,000 typically sold only around $7800 in local food sales – making it thus necessary to combine farming income with other sources of income. It is therefore not surprising that aquaponics, like small-scale farming, relies heavily on volunteer work. Typically, there were a large number of unpaid workers, family members and volunteers working on these small units, with an average of six unpaid workers per facility.

Similarly, Engle ( 2015 ) addresses the 2012 census where 71 aquaponics farms across the USA were reported which represented 2% of all aquaculture farms. Of these, only 11% had sales of $ 50,000 or more, compared to 60% of pond-based aquaculture operations that had sales of $ 50,000 or more. Additionally, Engle ( 2015 ) points out to the difficulties of obtaining data from these farms, for example, estimating annual costs to operate in aquaponics farms, since many of these systems are quite new.

In summary, from an economic point of view, there is a research gap in so far that there are no records and analysis available which include statements about economically viable systems. Further research is needed that would take into account (a) the production possibility curves (normative), (b) the combined analysis of fish and plants including feedback between both, (c) the economic efficiency in combination with optimising the business processes and feedback (simultaneous optimization production process and economic efficiency) and (d) the consideration of different scales (scale efficiency) against the background of the environmental sustainability of this agricultural system. In addition, there are no comprehensive and reliable data that combine key factors such as production volumes, factor entitlements and cost structures, scaling and sales strategies derived from existing real investments. Further profitability analyses should consider temporal aspects and risk whilst formulating normative benchmarks that in turn can serve as the basis for investment decisions.

3 Hypothetical Modelling Data from Europe

In Hawaii, Baker ( 2010 ) calculated the break-even price of aquaponics lettuce and tilapia production based on a hypothetical operation. The study estimates that the break-even price of lettuce is $3.30/kg and tilapia is $11.01/kg. Although his conclusion is that this break-even can potentially be economically viable for Hawaii, such break-even prices are much too high for most European contexts, especially when marketing through retailers and conventional distribution channels. In the Philippines, Bosma ( 2016 ) concluded that aquaponics can only be financially sustainable if the producers manage to secure high-end niche markets for fish and large markets for fresh organic vegetables.

Aquaponics on tropical islands (Virgin Islands and Hawaii) and warm, frost-free zones (Australia) contrasts highly to locations further away from the equator. The advantages in warm locations are the lower costs of heating and the seasonally even availability of daylight, thus allowing for potentially low-cost systems to economically survive. A frost-free location close to the equator with little to no seasonal differences makes it cheaper and easier to set up and operate a system year-round, which allows for semi-professional family business setups in those regions. Additionally, local production in these areas is valued higher since leafy green crops are either hard to store (e.g. Australia/heat) or difficult to transport to the customers (Islands) and generally have a much higher contribution margin than in locations such as Europe and Northern America.

Aquaponics can have several advantages in an urban context. Yet, advantages are only effective if the specific urban framework conditions are taken into account and if additional communication efforts are put in place. Peri-urban agroparks are presented by Smeets ( 2010 ) as a technically and economically viable solution for urban agriculture, offering synergy potential with existing industry through residual heat and suitable logistics as well as alternative inorganic and organic materials streams, for example, CO 2 , from cement production. Rooftop aquaponics utilises “empty” spaces in urban areas (Orsini et al. 2017 ). Rooftops are often assumed to be free of cost “because they are there”. Yet every space in the city is of high value. An owner of a building will always seek revenue for the space they offer, even the utilisation of vacant rooftops. A rooftop farm carries a high economic risk and changes may have to be made to the building (vents and logistics). Rooftops are also interesting for solar energy production with less risk to the operator (see also Chap. 12 ).

Whilst aquaponics is often explicitly touted as a production technology suitable for urban environments and even areas with contaminated soil, the real estate cost is often completely underestimated. For example, official real estate prices in Germany can be examined via the online tool BORISplus ( 2018 ), revealing a significant gap between inner city limit prices and agricultural land prices. For example, peri-urban real estate within city limits in Dortmund, Germany, is in the 280 €/m 2 –350 €/m 2 range, whereas agricultural land outside of the city limits is in the 2 €/m 2 –6 €/m 2 range. In addition to that German building codes grant the privilege to farmers to erect agricultural buildings outside of the city limits. This legal and financial situation renders agricultural land in proximity to economic zones attractive for larger-scale aquaponic farms, leading to the above-mentioned concept of agroparks.

The placement of aquaponic farms raises challenges with customer perception. Citizens who have been interviewed about their preference of different urban agriculture concepts for inner city public land use showed a preference for usage that keeps the space accessible for citizens as well as a low acceptance levels for agroparks (Specht et al. 2016 ). The research results on the acceptance of aquaponics revealed a larger variance than the other potential utilisations, suggesting a citizen ambivalence due to a lack of information on the production method. Additional communication efforts are required as aquaponics is a highly complex and new production system unknown to most people in society including urban populations.

The potentials and risks of aquaponics in an urban context become clear from the paragraph above. Distinct strategies and contingency plans have to be developed in an urban context when planning to implement an aquaponics production facility.

Most of the data currently collected on commercial farmers is focused on locations outside of Europe. A sound economic assessment of aquaponics facilities in European latitudes and climates is difficult, because on the one hand only very few commercial plants exist in Europe and on the other hand technical equipment, scale and business models are very different in other parts of the globe, where commercial aquaponics is more widespread (Bosma et al. 2017 ). Whilst Goddek et al. ( 2015 ) and Thorarinsdottir ( 2015 ) provide a very good overview of European commercial plants and their challenges, they present only a few economic parameters such as (targeted) consumer prices, statements on “potentially” achievable income or break-even prices for production. Since these are only valid under the specific conditions of the investigated facilities, only limited statements can be transferred to other locations, even within Europe.

Whilst there are some specific assessments of productivity (e.g. Medina et al. 2015 , Petrea et al. 2016 ), full market potential analysis and well-founded cost-effectiveness assessments are not known at the present time. In addition, there are initial studies on technical dynamic models using the methodology system dynamics such as Goddek et al. ( 2016 ) and Körner and Holst ( 2017 ). This illustrates how essential the availability of comprehensive data is in order to conduct sound profitability analysis.

One of the very few hypothetical modelling cases created with data from within Europe is Morgenstern’s et al. ( 2017 ) model. They provided technical data from the pilot plant of the University of Applied Sciences of South Westphalia, which consisted of a commercial fish farm and a standard horticulture system. In this case, investment and full-cost calculations with comprehensive detailed technical data for systems in three different scales were modelled. Model calculations for operational costs for a start-up period of 6 years and investment costs as well as a simplified cost performance difference calculation have been conducted for three differently sized aquaponic farms rearing European catfish ( Silurus glanis ) and producing lettuce. The calculated sizes were derived from the pilot plant located at the University of Applied Sciences of South Westphalia and the aquaculture scale of the project partner. Modelled aquaculture sizes were 3 m 3 , 10 m 3 and 300 m 3 . A couple of general assumptions and simplifications were made for the calculations, which illustrate the above-presented critiques on the limitations of hypothetical modelling:

Less than average production quality and production losses within the first 5 years have been considered. The profitability calculations are based on a matured and stable production process starting in year 6.

Constant hydroculture production. The complete nutrient stream from the process water was calculated to be consumed by the hydroculture production of lettuce, regardless of seasonal differences and regardless of nutrient availability from the aquaculture.

The hydroculture grow bed size has been calculated to be 60 m 2 , 200 m 2 and 5.500 m 2 .

Heating demand for hydroculture and aquaculture has been approximated with a slightly modified methodology of KTBL ( 2009 ). The modelled location of the farm is Düsseldorf, Germany.

Energy costs per kWh have been approximated for production with a combined heat and power (CHP) system with 15 ct/kWh (electricity) and 5,5 ct/kWh (heat), respectively. For simplicity, a CHP system has not been modelled.

Direct marketing of the products was assumed. Fairly optimistic, but not overly optimistic, market prices have been calculated for the products. No extended marketing costs have been included in the calculation, since the marketing effort required to build a customer base and stable market have not been addressed in the project. Neglecting marketing costs assumes that market prices in direct marketing come at no costs and therefore constitute a major simplification of the calculation.

No costs related to the real estate required for the farm have been included in the calculations. The rationale for this simplification is the vastly different costs for space depending on location and project context.

Labour cost has been calculated at minimum wage, which is a strong assumption with regard to high levels of human capital required to run complex aquaponics systems.

Mortality losses of 5% in the aquaculture system are compensated by overstocking at the start of each production cycle.

An analysis of the cost structure of the modelled production-sized aquaculture system shows that labour, fish feed and juveniles and energy are the main cost drivers, contributing roughly one third of the main costs each. At this point, it has to be emphasised that labour costs are calculated on a minimum wage basis and that costs for the occupied area of the farm have not been considered in the calculations (Fig. 18.1 ).

Cost structure for aquaculture side of an aquaponics system, hypothetical model from technical data from the pilot plant of the University of Applied Sciences of South Westphalia. (Based on Morgenstern et al. 2017 )

Electricity and heating costs offer potential for optimization. Pumps have a lifetime between 2 and 5 years. Inefficient pumps can be replaced with more efficient pumps in the natural machine life cycle. Cost efficiency gains for these kinds of optimizations are simple to calculate, and efficiency gains are also easy to monitor after implementation. Similar measures to reduce heating costs are relatively easy to calculate. For example, the costs and effects of additional insulation panels can be calculated, and also here the gains can be easily monitored.

Labour costs emerge as the main cost driver that shows significant optimization potential with upscaling. Larger-scale systems allow for the usage of labour-saving devices, for example, automated graders or automated feeder-filling machinery. Profitability of these kinds of optimizations has to be calculated on a per-project basis.

Likewise, a cost analysis has been performed for the hydroculture part of the modelled systems. The main cost drivers are labour, seedlings and energy costs for lighting and heating. A higher operational maturity of the production, when the initial start-up learning curve has been mastered, can make room for in-house seedling production. The integration of this production step can offer cost optimization potential. Regarding cost reduction potential of the other cost drivers, energy and labour, the above-described situation is applicable for the hydroculture part as well (Fig. 18.2 ).

Cost structure for hydroponics side of an aquaponics system, hypothetical model from technical data from the pilot plant of the University of Applied Sciences of South Westphalia. (Based on Morgenstern et al. 2017 )

A cost performance difference analysis has been performed for the three system sizes, showing that the microsystem and the small system are not economically viable. There is no exploitable automation and rationalisation potential because of the extremely small aquaculture sizes and the small hydroculture sizes resulting in prohibitively high labour costs. Minimum quantity surcharge and transportation fees for the fish feed and similar effects for other cost categories put an additional financial burden on these two systems.

The production size system has a positive cost performance difference when real estate costs or tenures for the required land are not taken into account (Table 18.1 ).

The analysis additionally sheds light on the job creation potential of the respective systems. The model calculation was performed under the assumption that all the required overhead tasks of the enterprise are handled by regular employees, an assumption that is rather optimistic with regard to the fact that the minimum wage has been used for the calculation.

One further assumption was made regarding the separation of jobs: The employees work on both parts of the sytem, the aquaculture and the hydroculture parts, in accordance to the work that is needed by the respective system. This requires an elevated skill set which puts another question mark behind the minimum wage calculation.

Even in the larger-sized production system, the number of jobs created is limited. The calculated number of jobs is congruent with experience from horticultural companies working with hydroponics, which usually employ between five and ten workers per hectare of greenhouse (Table 18.2 ).

Data on initial investments in aquaponics is on the one hand very difficult to come by and on the other hand even more difficult to compare. Some of the preliminary data collected from other sources on the initial investment needed to set up an aquaponics farm (see Table 18.3 ) below shows high differences between the initial investments in the systems, either real or in hypothetical modelling. Since the systems differ in the extreme amount of factors, it is highly problematic to draw any conclusions regarding the necessary initial investments. However, the initial investment in aquaponics does seem to be relatively high, which is reflective of the early stage of the industry. We estimate that an initial investment in a commercial aquaponics system in Europe starts with at least 250 EUR / m 2 of growth area but can easily require a much higher investment, depending on the outside conditions, the system size and complexity and the length of the growth season aspired to (Table 18.3 ).

The experimental and pioneering status of commercial aquaponics is one reason why the financing of larger commercial-scale projects can be a challenge. Most aquaponic systems have been financed through research grants or through aquaponics enthusiasts. Personal communication with German banks that are traditionally strong in financing agricultural investments and that are therefore familiar with the intricacies of crop production and animal rearing revealed that they would not finance an aquaponics project due to lack of a proven and established business model (Morgenstern et al. 2017 ).

4 Aquaponic Farms in Europe

Thorarinsdottir ( 2015 ) identified ten pilot aquaponic units in Europe, approximately half of which were at the stage of setting up still rather small-scale systems for commercial production. Villarroel et al. ( 2016 ) estimated that the number of aquaponic commercial enterprises in Europe comprised approximately 20 companies. Currently, Villarroel ( 2017 ) identifies 52 research organisations (universities, vocational schools, research institutes) and 45 commercial enterprises in Europe. Only a handful of these, however, sell aquaponic produce and could be considered as an aquaponic farm. In 2016, as a spin-off from the COST FA1305 project, the Association of Commercial Aquaponics Companies (ACAC 2018 ) was founded, currently involving 25 companies from all over Europe, only about a third of which focuses on food production. Others offer mostly aquaponics-related services such as engineering and consulting (Thorarinsdottir 2015 ).

In the remainder of this chapter, we focus on the in-depth information from the few operating aquaponic systems in Europe. Within the time of the COST action (2014–2018), a number of organisations started and tested their first marketing attempts at commercial food production with the goal of making the sales of produce as their main income. We have gathered data with three in-depth qualitative methods: (a) site visits, (b) SME presentations at the COST FA 1305 conference (date, place) and (c) semi-structured in-depth interviews.

4.1 Site Visits

Within the COST FA1305 project, three European pilot aquaponic systems opened their doors for site visits of COST members:

Ponika, Slovenia, Matej Leskovec (site visit made on 23 March 2016).

UrbanFarmers AG, system in the Netherlands, Andreas Graber (site visit made on 6 September 2016).

Tilamur, Spain, Mariano Vidal (site visit made on 20 April 2017).

Within the site visits, we asked questions about the type and size of the system, the initial investment, the types of fish and crops produced and the reasoning behind it and the selling experiences.

4.2 Presentations

COST FA1305 organised a special conference devoted to presentations of aquaponics SMEs in Europe at the International Conference on Aquaponics SMEs at the University of Murcia (ES) (19 April 2017). We only analysed the presentations and answers to questions from SMEs that presented their experiences with their own commercial aquaponics system:

Bioaqua Farm, UK: Antonio Paladino.

NerBreen, Spain: Fernando Sustaeta.

Ponika, Slovenia: Maja Turnsek.

Samraekt Laugarmyri, Iceland: Ragnheidur Thorarinsdottir.

Tilamur, Spain, Mariano Vidal.

Uit Je Eigen Stad, Netherlands: Ivo Haenen.

4.3 Follow-Up In-Depth Interviews

We made additional follow-up semi-structured in-depth interviews with the aquaponics SMEs, contacting also other European aquaponic producers, some of which declined to participate.

The final interviewers were:

ECF, Germany: Christian Echternacht (interview made on 13 February 2018)

NerBreen, Spain: Fernando Sustaeta (interview made on 7 April 2018)

Ponika, Slovenia: Maja Turnsek (interview made on 30 January 2018)

Samraekt Laugarmyri, Iceland: Ragnheidur Thorarinsdottir (interview made on 19 February 18)

Uit Je Eigen Stad, Netherlands: Ivo Haenen (interview made on 8 February 2018)

The average interview lasted approx. 60 min. and included questions on the reasons for choosing aquaponics, type and size of the system, produce and fish type, experiences with growing, distribution and price, future plans and outlook for commercial aquaponics in the future. Below we will present the results together with the literature review on each of the areas of discussion (Table 18.4 ).

5 Horticulture Side of Commercial Aquaponics in Europe

Petrea et al. ( 2016 ) conducted a comparative cost-effective analysis on different aquaponics setups, utilising five different crops: baby leaf spinach, spinach, basil, mint and tarragon in deepwater culture and light expanded clay aggregate (LECA). Whilst the study was conducted in very small systems without taking into account any upscaling opportunity or potential, several aspects of the presented results are worth discussing. The grow beds have been illuminated in different lighting regimes with fluorescent bulbs and metal halide grow lights. The cost comparisons of the electricity illuminates the significant share plant lighting has on overall electricity cost. Furthermore, the analysis sheds light on the importance of sensible crop selection. Whilst tarragon is referenced as what is often called a “high-value crop” earlier in the text, the later economic crop yield analysis shows that other crops, basil and mint, generate a higher economic value per grow bed area (Petrea et al. 2016 , p. 563).

The comparison shows a wide span of economic value ranging from 5.70€/m 2 /cycle (baby leaf spinach) up to 2110€/m 2 /cycle (basil) and 23.00€/m 2 /cycle (mint). Realistically, these figures should not be taken as reference points for upscaled commercial productions, but they illustrate how different the economic output of the crop production can be. Table 8 of the publication elaborates on the seasonal market price variability of the examined crops. The seasonal variations of these crops are rather moderate with slightly elevated prices in fall and winter months. Seasonal market price variations for produce and fruit with higher global market volumes like tomatoes and strawberries are usually much more pronounced, enticing producers to put effort into season extension at both ends. Artificial lighting for season extension is costly both investment-wise and regarding operational cost but might well be worthwhile, especially considering the inherent pressure to utilise process water from the aquaculture in the low light season.

No emphasis has been placed on product quality and marketability of the produced biomass within this study. Experience shows that the cultivation of certain crops is easier than the cultivation of others. Mint is generally regarded as an easy-to-grow crop, whilst the production of marketable basil is more challenging. Petrea et al. ( 2016 ) cultivated the crops in deepwater culture and ebb and flow grow beds with LECA substrate. The latter is particularly uncommon in commercial production, since it has close to zero potential for rationalisation and automation. Basil usually is produced in pot culture as opposed to a cut and come again production of mint which leaves the rootstock in the system with a faster regrowth of a marketable product. In addition to the different growth medium requirements, different crops are produced with differing temperatures, climate and light regimes. Optimal product quality can only be achieved with optimal cultivation techniques. It is important to remember that customers are used to premium quality and show little to zero tolerance for suboptimal products.

The horticulture side of commercial aquaponics faces high risks from infestations of diseases or parasites, which can be difficult to overcome because only biological controls can be used (see Chaps. 14 & 17 ). Large risks are involved also since most aquaponic farms require a market that will pay higher-than-average prices for the crop. Finally, aquaponics seems to be very labour-intensive since even small scale aquaponics systems are complex because of their many components and requirements (Engle 2015 ).

For start-ups, it might be tempting to strive for the production of a wide spectrum of novelty varieties of plant species with fruity aromas or colourful leaves. Melon sage ( Salvia elegans ) or pineapple mint ( Mentha suaveolens ‘Variegata’) are examples for these kinds of varieties. According to small-scale commercial producers in Soest, Germany (non-aquaponics; personal communication summer 2016), the market demand for novelty varieties has long been recognised by retailers and is being supplied for by their large-scale producers. This segment is not a profitable niche any more but rather a market that follows yearly trends. The switch by the Berlin-based aquaponics producer ECF from a wide spectrum of the aforementioned plant species in their start-up phase to a basil monocrop that is being marketed through the German retailer REWE reflects this situation.

Christian Echternacht from ECF, Berlin, reported in the interview about the difficulty to sustainably establish a local direct marketing channel for a wider range of products of limited quantity. Drawing from their first-hand experience, the company decided to shift the plant-side production to one crop, basil in pots, and to market this crop via one single retailer in over 250 supermarkets in the city of Berlin. Interestingly the regionally labelled product (Hauptstadtbasilikum/Capital City Basil) without an organic label is placed directly next to organically labelled basil from non-regional sources and is reported to generate higher sales despite slightly higher prices.

NerBreen based in Spain with its 6000 m 2 size is currently the largest system in Europe. It is more focused on the aquaculture element and includes aquaponics as one of several means of water filtration, but the plant production is still 3000 m 2 and produces enough to create a market. They are currently undergoing the second season of production within the farm, having 5 years previous experiences with a smaller pilot plant (overall size of the pilot farm, 500 m 2 ). In the winter season, they now grow fresh garlic, strawberry plants without fruit (since the plants need to be maintained for 3 years) and four different types of lettuce. In the summer, they replace the garlic with cherry tomatoes and peppers but keep the strawberries and the same lettuce varieties. Since this is only the second season, it is very difficult for them to provide an average amount of produce. The last winter was very cold, and it significantly affected the growth of the lettuce. In the first season, when they were still trying to improve and gain experience, they produced about 3t of strawberries, 5t of tomatoes and 60,000 lettuce heads. Their hopes are to ramp up production, whilst at the same time, their strategy shifted from putting a focus on the quantity to quality and variety instead. In the first year of their production, they had a good season with tomatoes in terms of quantity – but the overall market was flooded with tomatoes, and the price was subsequently too low. They adjusted to this problem with a focus on more selected, niche varieties of cherry tomatoes since the price is better, and they do not to want to compete with quantity but with quality, thus trying to reach a higher price with the retailers.

Locally produced crops and niche cultivars seem to be the main directions for crop selection in the European countries. The Slovenian company Ponika set out to sell fresh-cut herbs in their 400m 2 -sized system since providing niche products in the Slovenian market with no other local producer of fresh-cut herbs. The company based their rationale on three main reasons. The first was that the data available, albeit scarce, from US aquaponics farms showed that fresh-cut herbs seemed to be the crops that succeed well in aquaponics and gained a higher price in the market. The second was the years of positive experience within the small-scale DIY aquaponics garden with these crops. In addition, the third was the positive feedback received from fresh-cut herbs distributors in Slovenia regarding the interest in the crops. The company set out to produce fresh-cut herbs and managed to sell them to Slovenian gastro-distributors for two seasons, narrowing the initial number of crops from six to three: fresh-cut chives, basil and mint. Other fresh-cut herbs they tested proved to be either too sensitive, or there was too small and infrequent demand on the market. The plan was to first sell the fresh-cut herbs to the gastro-distributors and then gradually proceed to selling these to large-scale retail chains. The reality, however, showed significantly large risks in the production (e.g. powdery mildew with basil and yellow tips with chives) and too small a system to be able to secure a steady uninterrupted production as requested by the large-scale distribution chains. Although the margins would be higher, Ponika never started to sell to the retail chains since the contracts with large retail chains included financial penalties in the case where the farm could not deliver the orders. Additionally, the retail chains made weekly orders thus not allowing for appropriate planning, and in some cases, the excess that was not sold had to be collected by the farmer, and this discarded produce was expected to be deducted from the overall order even though the over-ordering was on the side of the retailer.

The main reasons for the Slovenian-based company Ponika to stop their operation were the combination of high risks accruing from the labour needed to cut, screen and package the produce combined with the average gained price of 8 EUR / kg of fresh-cut herbs (packaged in 100 g bundles) not providing enough of an economic return to cover the extra workload. Since the company was the only Slovenian company in the Slovenian market, the gastro-distributers were willing to take their produce over the imported produce – yet only if the prices were equal to what the prices of international competitors were on the market. With a high percentage of fresh-cut herbs sold in the European market being delivered from North Africa, the high extent of labour costs for aquaponically produced fresh-cut herbs meant that a small-scale system could not compete with the prices as set by the extensive fresh-cut herbs farms in warmer regions with lower labour costs, even when including transportation costs. This shows that even when there is a niche in a local market, there are often specific reasons for local producers not filling the niche. In the case of fresh-cut herbs in Slovenia, this was the high cost of labour for too small a niche market.

6 Aquaculture Side of Commercial Aquaponics in Europe

Starting a business in temperate climate regions of Europe or Northern America requires a larger investment since the systems have to be kept frost-free requiring more electrical energy for plant lighting when operated throughout the year. In Europe, there are two strong horticultural production powerhouses, one in Westland/NL and the other in Almeria, southern Spain. The market concentration is high and contribution margins are slim. As a result, some aquaponic producers presumed that in aquaponics the contribution margin from aquaculture is more interesting than that of horticulture, which is probably why some of the few commercial operators chose to oversize the aquaculture part of the setup. This can lead to technical issues because a larger quantity of nutrients than required by the plant side is being produced in the aquaculture side. The excess process water has to be discarded (Excursion Graber 2016 and Interview Echternacht 2018), putting the sustainability claims of aquaponics in question. Christian Echternacht from ECF reports that the contribution margin of the aquaculture has been overestimated in early calculations, rendering the oversizing of the aquaculture part of the farm counterproductive for the overall profitability of the farm.

Numerous different fish species have been reported to be produced in commercial aquaponics in Europe. Popular species for aquaponics production are tilapia, African catfish, largemouth bass, jade perch, carp and trout. There is no known commercial aquaponics farm currently rearing European catfish, but researchers at the University of Applied Sciences of South Westphalia (Morgenstern et al. 2017 ) found this species to be suitable for aquaponics production. The selection of fish species is influenced by a large number of different project-specific parameters. Most importantly of course are the market needs, price and distribution options. Within Europe, coastal regions have a traditionally strong market for marine fish with a diverse set of species and products. This creates a marketing challenge for freshwater aquaculture production. Ivo Haenen from Uit je Eigen Stad , Rotterdam, and Ragnheidur Thorarinsdottir from Samraekt Laugarmyri , Iceland, talked about this effect in their interviews. Rotterdam customers are used to a rich and diverse supply of marine fish products, making it difficult to market freshwater tilapia and African catfish. The marine wild catch tradition is so ingrained into Icelandic culture that the aquaculture aspect of aquaponics is probably not going to be actively promoted in future aquaponics projects.

Tilapia, one of the most commonly used fish species in aquaponics in the USA (Love et al. 2015 ), is a fish species that is not commonly known in Europe. As the experiences from NerBreen in Spain show, European tilapia aquaponics producers face a double marketing challenge: Their marketing attention needs to be put not only towards building customer awareness on the benefits of aquaponics production but also on the benefits of this relatively unknown fish species.

The suitability of the selected species for elevated water temperatures is another important factor. Fish are poikilothermic; thus their growth and consequently their production yields speed up with higher water temperatures. But elevated water temperatures require more energy, which, depending on the selected energy source for heating the process water, is connected with higher operational costs. Therefore, the positive effect of higher yields has to be balanced with the elevated costs for heating the water. From this perspective, it is desirable to tap into the potential of residual heat usage from adjacently located power plants or industries. These locations, however attractive and sensible they may be from an economical and ecological point of view, might pose a challenge for the overall marketing of the farm and its products. Industry sites are usually not idyllic and emotionally attractive, and worse still in case of anaerobic sewage plants or similar industries, they might even appear to be repulsive. Consequently, the available locations, and the context the farm can reasonably be placed in, is one factor for species selection.

The influence the different fish species have on plant yield and quality has not yet been completely researched. Knaus and Palm ( 2017 ) conducted experiments comparing plant yield in two identical aquaponics systems with identical operating parameters rearing tilapia and carp and found that plant performance with tilapia was better than with carp. These results show that there is indeed a difference in fish-plant interaction, but these have not been researched for a wider range of different species. In addition, the potential for fish polyculture, where two or more different fish species are reared in the same aquaculture cycle, has not yet been systematically researched.

One of the important operational factors for the fish selection is juvenile availability. Most of the commercial aquaponics producers buy juveniles from hatcheries. One notable exception is the company Aqua4C in Belgium that produces jade perch juveniles and uses these fish in their aquaponics system. A common recommendation is to select a species with at least two known suppliers with significantly larger capacity than the projected demand for the aquaponics farm. The rationale behind this recommendation is risk mitigation. If the supplier of juveniles experiences production issues and cannot deliver, the whole aquaponics production is in jeopardy.

As with the horticulture side of aquaponics, similarly the aquaculture part of aquaponics faces high technical risks, such as the death of the fish due to electricity outages, as reported by both Ponika from Slovenia and NerBreen in Spain. Ivo Haenen, former operator of the aquaponics system of the Urban Farm “Uit je Eigen Stad” in Rotterdam, reports that the heating system of the initial system setup was not dimensioned appropriately. An unexpected period of cold weather led to lower than tolerable process water temperatures resulting in losses in the aquaculture part of the operation. These kinds of instances have to be attributed to the pioneering character of early commercial aquaponics operations in Europe. The presented cases illustrate why Lohrberg and his team classified aquaponics in the “experimental” category of the seven identified business models of urban agriculture (Lohrberg et al. 2016 ).

7 Public Acceptance and Market Acceptance

The future of aquaponics production depends on public perception and the associated social acceptance in important stakeholder groups (Pakseresht et al. 2017 ). In addition to potential aquaponics plant operators, players at the wholesale and retail level as well as gastro-distributors and collective catering are important actors in supply chains. Moreover, consumers are key actors as they bring in the money into the supply chain at its end. Even though they have no direct economic stakes in aquaponics production, the general public as well as political and administrative bodies are important aspects to consider. The necessity of involving the aforementioned stakeholders is based on studies such as Vogt et al. ( 2016 ), who show that suitable framework conditions are an important basis for the establishment of innovative processes in food value chains. Technical developments without involving stakeholders run the risk of non-acceptance at the end of the research and development pipeline. In general, they build on a comprehensive understanding of a marketing philosophy with a multi-stakeholder approach.

For aquaponics, there is still no knowledge about the conditions that promote the dissemination of this technology. Although the technology used in aquaponics installations for freshwater fish farming in tanks is also used in aquaculture, until now this is unknown to a large part of society (Miličić et al. 2017 ). With regard to consuming plants from aquaponics, there is scepticism regarding their contact with fish water (Miličić et al. 2017 ). Preliminary studies based on a small sample regarding the acceptance of aquaponics products by potential consumers indicate that the requirements for products from aquaponics facilities go far beyond what the previous purchasing behaviour of fish products suggests (Schröter et al. 2017c ). Based on the results of Schröter et al. ( 2017a ), first hints on the effect of information on the acceptance process are available. These need to be further explored by means of perceptual and impact analyses of various information and presentation variants (e.g. textual facts, images, word-image content) and validation on the basis of representative samples. In addition, previous research has focused on citizens in general and on potential consumers. Studies on the acceptance of other important stakeholders such as potential plant operators, food retailers and public catering as well as political and regulatory actors and the general public are lacking completely.

First analyses of the consumers’ response on aquaponics indicate that consumers showed a positive attitude towards aquaponics, with food safety issues being the major consumer concern in Canada (Savidov and Brooks 2004 ). Initial preliminary work on the willingness to pay for fish products from aquaponics was carried out by Mergenthaler and Lorleberg ( 2016 ) in Germany and Schröter et al. ( 2017a , b ) on the basis of non-representative samples in Germany. Part of these studies show a relatively high willingness to pay for fish products from aquaponics. However, these results are based on small samples and cannot be generalised because the willingness to pay has been compiled from a specialist target group (see Mergenthaler and Lorleberg 2016 ) or in connection with the visit to a greenhouse for tropical and subtropical plants grown using aquaponics (Schröter et al. 2017a , b ).

According to Tamin et al. ( 2015 ), aquaponics products are green products. A product is defined as green when it includes significant improvements in relation to the environment compared to a conventional product in terms of the production process, consumption and disposal (Peattie 1992 ). Based on the “theory of planned behaviour (TPB)”, consumer acceptance of aquaponics products as innovative green products has been examined by Tamin et al. ( 2015 ) with closed-ended questionnaires in Malaysia. From a set of different behaviour-influencing factors (relative advantage, compatibility, subjective norm, perceived knowledge, self-efficacy and trust), two factors have been identified as having a significant impact: Relative advantage and perceived knowledge. The relative advantage describes how far buying behaviour is influenced by superior product qualities compared to conventional products. The aquaponics products were perceived fresh and healthy, and this perception led to a buying advantage. The perceived knowledge relates to how much the customer knows about the production method. The more the customers were familiar with the method, the more likely they were willing to buy aquaponics products. There was no correlation in the category subjective norm, which relates to how much the buying decision is influenced by the opinion of friends and family. Interestingly there was no correlation for the factor of compatibility . This factor relates to how much the product buying experience is compatible with the customer lifestyle. It seems as if the product to market process in Malaysia is not very different for aquaponics products and conventional products. So while it is questionable whether the results of this study can be safely transferred to European markets, a base message is that education about the production method and communicating the beneficial effects regarding the freshness of the food and the benefits for the environment are important marketing activities (Tamin et al. 2015 ).

Zugravu et al. ( 2016 ) surveyed the purchase of aquaponics products in Romania. Customers were influenced by friends and family. This dimension, subjective norm, showed no correlation in the Malaysian survey. The survey finds that consumers have a general good overall image of aquaponics. They think that the products are good for their health and that they are fresh. The paper describes a discrepancy between the perception of fish from aquaculture and wild catch and the perception of aquaculture. Retailers think that farmed fish can have a negative image, but actually aquaculture itself does not really have a pronounced image. The lack thereof is perceived by retailers as a marketing risk, yet it is described in the paper as giving the potential for positive branding through targeted communication. As a recommendation, the paper concludes that the retailers should build on the trust that the consumers showed when purchasing these fish products and should label the aquaculture fish as “healthy and fresh” (Zugravu et al. 2016 ).

Interestingly both Tamin and Zugravu had a significant higher questionnaire return count from women (Tamin et al. 2015 ; Zugravu et al. 2016 ). This raises the question about gender differences in aquaponics marketing. Although quantitative studies include gender as an independent variable in their analyses, no systematic and consistent patterns have been found yet. This asks for more research explicitly addressing gender aspects.

According to Echternacht from ECF in Germany, whose main business model is to set up aquaponics systems, marketing is the component that is usually most underestimated by their potential clients. ECF Farmsystems builds on this experience and surveys their potential customers for their intended marketing and distribution goals. If they have an existing business with actual production and established marketing channels, then the customer is very interesting. Idealistic customers who think that the products are going to market themselves are treated with caution.

Depending on the intended target group, different scales of production units might be favourable. Whilst some consumer segments prefer small-scale production possibly linked to short transportation distances and local production, there might be other consumer segments more interested in resource efficiency and low-cost production which can be realised in rather large-scale production units linked to waste energy and waste heat sources. Results from Rostock show (Palm et al. 2018 ) that small-scale systems with simple technology can make sense. Medium-scale systems require all the maintenance and the operational expenses of larger-scale systems, but do not have the benefit and output of large-scale systems. Conclusions from their experience show that you should either go small and achieve high prices in local markets or go to larger-scale systems with respective exploitation of economies of scale allowing for price reductions. Bioaqua from the UK is one of the rare European aquaponics companies that decided to follow the path of small-scale production with simpler and cheaper systems and providing the added value via catering and finding niche products for direct distribution to restaurants.

There might be other consumer segments displaying high preferences for fish welfare who therefore have to be targeted with fish from production units that conform to these ideals. As Miličić et al. ( 2017 ) show, consumers can express unexpected aversions, such as vegans expressing highly negative attitudes towards aquaponics. As pointed out in the literature, some facets of aquaponics may arouse high emotional involvement, such as the aesthetics of the aquaponics system (Pollard et al. 2017 ), level of mechanisation (Specht et al. 2016 ), soilless crop production (Specht und Sanyé-Mengual 2017 ), fish welfare (Korn et al. 2014 ), concerns about health risks due to the water recirculation system (Specht und Sanyé-Mengual 2017 ), or negative emotions bordering on disgust, because fish excrement is used as fertiliser for vegetables (Miličić et al. 2017 ). In this context, the perception and evaluation of aquaponics and its products may be based on unconscious processes rather than on careful consideration of logical arguments.

For some consumer segments, plants from aquaponics are innovative and interesting, and for others the link between fish and plant production might not be acceptable. This is also shown by ECF in Berlin: ECF decided to modify their initial production and marketing strategy. In the beginning, they attempted to produce a wide range of crops and market them directly on location. Nevertheless, according to Christian Echternacht (Interview Feb 2018) the marketing effort is simply too large. From their experience, the customers do not want to visit too many locations with only a few products at each location. Therefore, ECF decided to produce only one crop, basil, that is being marketed through a supermarket chain. Their experience as well as more comprehensive literature reviews shows that depending on the degree of meeting customer expectations, different levels of willingness to pay can be achieved and therefore achievable market prices are highly context specific.

Similarly, Slovenian-based company Ponika first attempted direct distribution of their fresh-cut herbs to restaurants in Ljubljana. But, just as with individual customers, restaurants were also averse to direct ordering even if the price was lower. For the restaurant managers, the time and effort needed to order individual products was much too high a price to pay, and they were not willing to order directly. They preferred to stay within their own gastro-distributors, whereby they could make their overall purchase in just one order.

The experiences of ECF from Berlin and Ponika from Slovenia described above are in line with previous experiences in the marketing of organic food products. To sell these products locally through direct distribution will only be possible for a small part of the products. Even though many consumers want to buy local and/or organic products, they often want to make their purchases as conveniently as possible. This means that shopping has to be efficient in order to fit into their daily schedule. As shown by Hjelmar ( 2011 ) for organic products, the availability of these food products is important for consumers because most of the consumers are pragmatic. They do not want to go to several stores in order to get what they want. They want to buy their products conveniently in a nearby supermarket and if the supermarket does not have a wide selection of organic products, many consumers end up by buying conventional products (Chryssohoidis and Krystallis 2005 ). Similar experiences can be described for consumers buying regional products in Germany (Schuetz et al. 2018 ). The same will presumably apply to aquaponics-grown products. If these products will not be available in supermarkets, aquaponics will probably remain niche production.

Organic food shoppers constitute a special potential target group of aquaponics. Indoor production of vegetables might require less or no pesticide applications, but soilless cultivation of plants is not an option in today’s legislation on organic agriculture (cf. Chap. 19 of this book). Therefore, aquaponics in its strictest sense will not provide the necessary characteristics to be eligible for certification as organic production and no organic labels would be allowed on aquaponics products. Therefore, either policymakers have to be lobbied to induce changes in organic legislation, or organic shoppers have to be educated in this rather complicated issue. This aspect is also important in the regard that organic classified products usually achieve higher market prices than conventional products, and such certification would make the aquaponics systems more economically viable. If aquaponics-grown products can be sold at the same prices as organic products, under certain conditions, the payback period of aquaponics systems can be reduced by less than half (Quagrainie et al. 2018 ).

Besides product marketing, services surrounding aquaponics production can generate additional income streams. The high level of innovativeness of aquaponics generates high levels of interest, which can be exploited in different service offers which included paid-for aquaponics visits, workshops and consultancy services around the establishment of new aquaponics systems. There are several examples of aquaponics facilities venturing in this direction:

ECF provides business consultancy for the establishment of new aquaponics systems.

UrbanFarmers, Den Hague, offered paid visits to the facility as well as an event location. (Note: The project has now ceased).

Besides adjusting production systems to customer expectations in a comprehensive marketing concept, communication strategies also play a role. Up to now, knowledge about aquaponics in the society is weak (Miličić et al. 2017 ; Pollard et al. 2017 ). When acquiring information, different variants of information and of information representation will significantly influence the public perception of this innovative technology. To satisfy the stakeholders’ information demands, different channels of communication and different information materials can be used. Diversification strategies are required that include workshops, visitor guides and other services. There are opportunities for new and alternative business ideas. Examples of innovative communication approaches by some commercial aquaponics operators show the specific challenges associated with aquaponics:

ECF, Berlin: Choosing red variety of tilapia. Branding as “Rosébarsch” at the beginning of sales. Inspired by a customer’s branding in a restaurant, ECF rebranded to “Hauptstadtbarsch” (capital city perch) in the meantime (Interview Echternacht 2018). Thereby regional branding is put in the foreground of communication rather than the inherent product quality oriented at the colour of the fish meat.

Aqua4C, Belgium: They introduced jade perch from Oceania into the European market. Aqua4C developed a branding as “Omega Baars” thus taking a novel food approach. They implicitly market the regionally unknown fish species as healthy while carefully avoiding to make any health claims.

Ponika, Slovenia: Marketing of produce from aquaponics has been difficult. The situation was complicated as the aquaponics farm was located far away from the market which was too far for a quick visit and also no other attraction was nearby. They concluded that without the possibility of visits, it would be difficult to secure the farm additional revenue sources or marketing directly to consumers. In their marketing approach, they thus first targeted gastro-distributors with a focus on quality and local production for a competitive price. They did not dare to target individual consumers via supermarket chains due to having too small of a system and subsequent inability to secure a steady, large enough volumes of production. Thus they sold fresh-cut herbs directly to gastro-distributors, whereby the price and local production played the most important role. Their experience showed that gastro-distributors liked the story of innovative food production and they liked helping young people in their start-up business. So they were supportive in the sense that they adopted their purchasing process by taking up the produce when it was available and ordering from foreign sellers when it was not. In general, however, they were not very interested in the sustainability character of aquaponics – in other words, they did not care how the fresh-cut herbs were produced but rather that they were locally produced and had appealing packaging (1 kg and 1/2 kg) where the local character of the production was emphasised. Thus in their experience with retailers, a company story of young innovators worked the best. Customers at the retail level furthermore did not like the connection with hydroponics as they mixed aquaponics and hydroponics. In Slovenia, the customers are wary of hydroponics, and the Ponika company needed to tackle the challenge of changing the consumer’s perception from hydroponics, which has a negative image as being “unnatural”, into aquaponics and create a positive image of aquaponics. Additionally, the selection of fresh-cut herbs for the individual consumers proved to be problematic, since the health benefits were not important enough in fresh-cut herbs as people just do not eat that much of those to care enough about, for example, pesticide-free production.

NerBreen, Spain: NerBreen is focused more on the aquaculture element of their business, since 70% of their business model represents the revenue from selling the fish. Yet they provide extensive marketing of both the fish and the vegetables. In both cases, they try to target the individual consumers via retail chains, preferably those retailers that target consumers who are willing to pay the premium price for higher local quality, aiming for approximately 20% higher prices than average. They face challenges in the marketing of both vegetables and tilapia. With vegetables they focused on fresh garlic and cherry tomatoes because they could reach higher prices due to smaller competition in those areas. Their marketing efforts include well-designed packaging with leaflets, whereby they explain the sustainability benefits of aquaponics. Here, they focus both on securing premium quality and adding additional story to their branding. When selling tilapia, they face a bigger challenge. The Spanish consumers currently have a negative perception of tilapia since they either mistake it with pangasius which is considered as a cheap and low-quality fish or they think it is imported from intensive aquaculture from the Far East and similarly ancd supposedly to be lower in quality. Within their marketing efforts, NerBreen thus needed to change this negative image and is focusing on providing information on the fact that this tilapia is locally produced, whereby both the water quality and the fish feed quality are of highest consideration, resulting in a high-quality fish product.

Urban Farmers, Netherlands: In an effort to generate additional income streams, they established visits of aquaponics production facilities. It is, however, currently questionable if the visitor business is economically sustainable. Questions arise whether the visitor stream will wane when the hype around aquaponics settles or once “everyone” has already seen it. Apart from visitors, other income streams are already tapped: Rooftop Farms offer gardening workshops. (It should be noted that Urban Farmers in the Hague ceased to trade.)

Print media and social media are suitable for public education, as well as thematic workshops, guided farm visits and tastings of aquaponics products (Miličić et al. 2017 ). However, information provision will be successful only if it meets the information needs of the target audience. Stakeholders, such as representatives of national governments, different associations (e.g. organic farming associations), plant operators or plant manufacturers are probably more interested in comprehensive factual information. For citizens’ and consumers’ information, focusing on emotion and entertainment could be more attractive. With regard to this target audience, pictures combined with concise text messages are particularly suitable for information transfer. For these stakeholders beyond conscious information perception and information processing, also unconscious effects play an important role. Different frames, that mean different presentation formats of the same information, can influence the recipient’s behaviour in different ways (Levin et al. 1998 ). For a better understanding of the unconscious processes that may influence the stakeholders’ behaviour, neuroeconomic research methods in association with traditional methods of market research are useful tools. Eye tracking makes it possible to answer questions regarding visual perception in an objective way. Combined with other empirical methods of communication research, especially qualitative and quantitative surveys, it is possible to conduct complex perception and impact analyses. As a pilot study by Schröter and Mergenthaler ( 2018a , b ) shows, attitudes towards different aquaponics systems are related to the gaze behaviour of the study participants whilst viewing information material about aquaponics.

This underlines the importance of a careful and target group-oriented design of information material about aquaponics. The possible solutions are that either production planning has to accommodate and to add the additional revenue sources or direct marketing by growing a large variety of different crops, thereby further complicating the production process. Yet as, for example, ECF in Germany shows, they started with a variety of vegetables but decided to focus only on basil and sell it through one large retail chain. Another possibility is to build strategic alliances with other regional producers in order to achieve innovative marketing and distribution strategies. In general, however, we can conclude that the marketing aspect of commercial aquaponics is one of its most important challenges and one in which European aquaponics farms had to undergo a number of changes in attempts to try and find the right product-market fit. It remains to be seen, however, whether this product-market fit has been found and how stable it will remain.

8 Conclusion and Outlook

As discussed in this chapter, economic evaluations of aquaponic systems are still a very complex and difficult task at present. Although aquaponics is sometimes presented as an economically superior method of food production, there is no evidence for such generalised statements. Up to now, there is hardly any reliable data available for a comprehensive economic evaluation of aquaponics. That is partly because there is not “one aquaponics system”, but there exist a variety of different systems operating in different locations under different conditions. For example, factors such as climatic conditions, which mainly affect the energy consumption of the systems, wage levels, workload required for operating the systems, and legal conditions have to be considered on the cost side. On the revenue side, factors such as the chosen fish-plant combination with its specific product prices, the option to manage the systems as organic production as well as the long-term public acceptance of the aquaponics systems and their products have an impact on the economic assessment. Not least, the economic evaluation of aquaponics in its strictest sense should be done in comparison to recirculating aquaculture systems and hydroponics systems as stand-alone systems.

Aquaponics constitutes a major communication challenge as a rather unknown food production system with high innovation levels and in most cases with high technological inputs. As food consumption in advanced societies is increasingly linked to some form of naturalness, major challenges in the communication of aquaponics systems and products can be expected. The limited evidence available suggests that this challenge can be managed under certain framework conditions but this needs high time, as well as financial and creative inputs. It has to be acknowledged that the reported high prices for aquaponics products only come at considerable costs of brand establishment. As any economic viability of aquaponic systems will critically depend on achievable prices, more research is needed to understand the different determinants of the customers’ willingness to pay for aquaponics products.

Location decisions for aquaponics farming are a key determinant of economic viability as many production factors related to aquaponics production are not flexible in terms of space. This relates particularly to land. Aquaponics as a land-efficient production system can only count on this advantage in land-scarce regions. Comparatively, rural areas with relatively low land prices therefore cannot generate sufficient incentives unless there are other site-specific advantages, for example, waste energy supply from biogas plants. Though being land-efficient in general, aquaponics in urban contexts still competes for highly limited land resources. In functional markets, land would be allocated to those activities with the highest profits per unit of land and it is highly questionable if aquaponics will be able to compete with very efficient industrial or service-oriented activities in urban contexts. Therefore, aquaponics seems to fit only in urban areas that provide aquaponics with a competitive advantage over competing potential activities.

Extending the definition of aquaponics and including aquaponics farming as introduced by Palm et al. ( 2018 ) might align aquaponics much closer to traditional economic farming analyses. This wider definition of aquaponics refers to process water that is used for fertilisation combined with irrigation on fields. With this wider interpretation of aquaponics, it becomes possible to produce staple foods in aquaponic production systems. Since the nutrient absorption capacity of the agricultural area might be limited in some regions, this definition implicitly positions aquaponics as a competitor to pig, beef and poultry production. Since aquaculture uses less resources than pigs, beef and poultry with respect to the final output, this could become a viable option.

In traditional economic farm analyses, there is a strong technological and conceptual separation of animal and plant production. With less technological interaction in aquaponics farming as compared to aquaponics in its stricter senses, there will also be less complex economic evaluation as the two systems of fish and plant production can be modelled separately. To link the systems economically, system internal prices would have to be determined, e.g. prices for nutrients brought from fish production to fields of plant production.

Another issue is the prices obtained for final products from aquaponics farming. Evidence on achievable prices from such kind of production systems are completely lacking thus restricting reliable estimations on the economic viability as yet. With a stronger separation of fish and plant production, it might be feasible to use prices for conventional aquaculture products and conventional prices from plant production. This would assume that there is no price premium for aquaponics farming. To test whether this really is the case, price experiments combined with different communication tools have to be implemented.

From a communications perspective, there is the question of the perception of aquaponics farming as being superior to traditional farming approaches. At first glance, aquaponics farming might look like conventional livestock keeping only using a different type of animal. Communication efforts will have to focus on the higher efficiency levels of aquaculture as compared to other types of livestock production. Advertising plant products from aquaponics farming as being superior to products from conventional plant production might be a challenge and requires further in-depth analyses. However, one advantage with regard to communication might be the fact that a stronger separation of fish and plant production in aquaponics farming could facilitate organic certification. Organic labelling is expected to be a further advantage in communication efforts related to aquaponics. (It should be note that in the UK, at least, organic certification is tied to growing produce in soil and thus a different and special type of certification may need to be identified. For more on the issue of aquaponics and organic certification, see Chap. 19 ).

Finally, it is important to note that the interviewed European aquaponic companies, even those who abandoned their commercial aquaponics farming, remain hopeful for the future of aquaponics. They opted for aquaponics because of its sustainability potential and they still see that potential. They, acknowledge, however, that adoption of aquaponics is a gradual and long-term process, which cannot be just simply repeated in different locations but should be adapted to the local environment. As such, aquaponics remains one of the potentially sustainable technologies of the future, one which cannot (yet) be said to be able to properly compete on the market with its competitors, but one that will continue to need more public support and one whose adoption is determined not only by its commercial advantages, but much more on the public determination and goodwill. As stated in Chap. 16 of this publication, asking the question “under what circumstances can aquaponics outcompete traditional large scale food production methods?” is not the same as asking “to what extent can aquaponics meet the sustainability and food security demands of our age”.

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Authors Maja Turnšek and Rolf Morgenstern have equally contributed to this chapter.

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Faculty of Tourism, University of Maribor, Brežice, Slovenia

Maja Turnšek

Department of Agriculture, University of Applied Sciences of South Westphalia, Soest, Germany

Rolf Morgenstern, Iris Schröter & Marcus Mergenthaler

Institute of Food and Resource Economics, Chair of Production Economics, Faculty of Agriculture, Rheinische Friedrichs-Wilhelms Universität Bonn, Bonn, Germany

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Institute of Business Administration, Rostock University, Rostock, Germany

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Turnšek, M., Morgenstern, R., Schröter, I., Mergenthaler, M., Hüttel, S., Leyer, M. (2019). Commercial Aquaponics: A Long Road Ahead. In: Goddek, S., Joyce, A., Kotzen, B., Burnell, G.M. (eds) Aquaponics Food Production Systems. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-15943-6_18

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Aquaponics Fish Systems

aquaponicsfishsystem.com

Commercial aquaponics business plans.

This method is a fantastic way to grow organic fruits and vegetables and has gained popularity in the media in recent years as a way to start your own sustainable commercial business. Part of this increase in popularity is because aquaponics systems create a self-sustaining closed freshwater fish tank that produces clean healthy fish, in addition to providing nutrient-rich organic fruits and vegetables. It is easy to scale up most home aquaponics systems into a commercial business, and once you achieve biological balance, the system requires little, if any, maintenance at all.

With a system in place, both the freshwater fish and the fruits and vegetables provide benefits to that the other that is needed to grow and flourish. Traditional vegetable gardens lack a constant supply of nutrients, and closed freshwater fish systems lack the ability to clean and filter the water. Aquaponics solves both problems in a lasting and sustainable way.

The reason why aquaponics is known as a self-sustainable system, is because the plants sustain the environment of the fish and the fish supplies the food and nutrients for the plant life. As the plants absorb the nutrient-rich waste products of the fish, they also clean and purify the water, which provides the fish with a natural and healthy ecosystem to live in.

By using these aquaponic techniques, people all over the world have created sustainable systems that constantly provide delicious, healthy fish and nutrient-rich organic fruits and vegetables.

What It Is All About

Aquaponics is a new way of growing food. It is based on fish farming methods (aka aquaculture) and traditional ways of growing food without soil (aka. hydroponics).

Aquaponics was developed by scientists nearly 40 years ago, and is a way of creating an ecosystem that includes the fish and plants. Aquaculture is the fish farming method that has been used for many years all over the world. With aquaculture, you have a fish holding tank where fish are maintained and fed on a daily basis.

Hydroponics is a method used by farmers to grow organic produce without any polluted soil. Most of the soil is contaminated with different chemicals and pesticides, and this method takes these pollutants out of the equation. Basically, hydroponics sprays water on the plants that has the nutrients that they need to grow.

With the newer aquaponic techniques, you combine these 2 antiquated methods to have the fish in the system providing the food for the organic produce.

The public awareness about the pollutants that have crept into their food supply is expanding, and many folks are opting to try the completely organic aquaponic method for several reasons:

it only takes a couple of days to set up a fish holding tank and growing beds.
Aquaponics costs just a few hundred dollars to get up and running, and then runs itself for the most part.
With an aquaponics business, you simply make the fish holding tank and growing beds larger, for a larger harvest.
Creating a commercial business from a home system is easy to do.
The organic food from aquaponics is healthier than the food on the shelves at the health food store.
There are experts all over the planet that are willing to share the tricks and techniques that they use to maximize the output of their systems. You can contact most of these people on the internet, or in your local area.
One the system is balanced, the fish, the bacteria, and plants support each other. Scaling up a system that is in balance is simple to do, and only requires a day or two of additional work.

Aquaponics – Your Size

Once you have an aquaponics backyard system that has obtained biological balance, you can quickly scale it up or down to meet your goals. Many people who have built a small system, have found that it will produce nearly 200 pounds of fruit and vegetables every six months. The other main benefit is that a small system will also provide over 100 pounds of tasty, delicious fish such as tilapia, catfish or salmon during that time period.

If you have an interest in growing a larger stock of fresh fish, vegetables and fruit, you may want to build a larger system that will require more space and an initial one-time investment. Folks that want to sell fish and vegetables typically decide to go with a more powerful water pumping mechanism that will support a larger harvest from the outset.

To successfully develop a system that will consistently produce a large harvest of fish and vegetables, it is important to maintain the system on a daily basis at the beginning to ensure that the fish, fruits, and vegetables are all getting what they need to grow and thrive. Probably the most important thing you will want to pay attention to is to make sure the water is clean enough for the system to work properly, at least from the outset. Once the amount of fruits and vegetables being produced is large enough to clean the water, the daily maintenance requirement is reduced significantly.

Anyone can easily set up a home aquaponics system or a business, even folks with no experience at all. If you have the drive to accomplish small tasks and you are looking to be self-sufficient, then aquaponics could be the perfect solution for you!

Aquaponics USA
Open Source Ecology – Aquaponics
Wikipedia – Aquaponics
USDA Organic Food Library
Benefits of Organic Food

If you enjoy eating clean fresh fish, then a fish system might be the perfect…

Tilapia may be the best option for your aquaponics tank, but maybe it is not.…

When you are designing a commercial aquaponics business plan, it is important to remind yourself…

Getting Started With Aquaponics Designs and Plans
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Commercial Aquaponics Business Plan

$59.00 $39.00 3 reviews

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Description

Executive Summary

Products & services, market analysis, marketing plan.

Management Plan
Financial Plan

Aqua Harvest is addressing the need for sustainable and locally produced food in the San Francisco Bay Area market. Currently, consumers are seeking healthier, more sustainable alternatives to traditional farming methods. Additionally, traditional agriculture is not optimized for urban areas where space is limited and environmental impact must be minimized. Aqua Harvest is filling this need by providing high-quality products grown using aquaponics, an efficient and sustainable farming technique. With our focus on providing a reliable and consistent supply of locally grown food, Aqua Harvest is poised to become a leader in the sustainable farming industry and expand to other cities across the US.

Aqua Harvest will provide a solution to the growing concern of the detrimental environmental impact of traditional farming methods by offering a sustainable and efficient alternative through aquaponics farming techniques. Our aquaponics farm will produce a variety of high-quality, fresh produce and fish that will be sold to local markets, restaurants, and grocery stores in San Francisco and the surrounding area. By offering locally grown food, we aim to provide our customers with a healthy and environmentally conscious option for their dietary needs.

Target Market

Our target market consists of local markets, restaurants, and grocery stores in San Francisco and the surrounding area. These businesses prioritize offering high-quality, fresh produce and fish to their customers, with a focus on sustainability and locally grown food. By providing an alternative to traditional farming methods, Aqua Harvest offers a unique value proposition to customers looking for high-quality products that are both environmentally and socially responsible. Research has shown that consumers are increasingly interested in purchasing local, sustainably grown food, giving us a competitive advantage in the marketplace. We will work closely with our target customers to ensure that we are meeting their needs and providing them with products that they are proud to serve to their own customers.

Competition

As a producer of fresh produce and fish, Aqua Harvest will compete with traditional farming methods and other aquaponics farms in the San Francisco area. Traditional farming methods rely heavily on pesticides, herbicides, and other chemicals that can have negative effects on the environment and human health. As consumers become more interested in sustainable and locally grown food, Aqua Harvest offers a competitive alternative that is both environmentally friendly and efficient.

Other aquaponics farms in the area may also compete for the same customers, but Aqua Harvest differentiates itself by focusing on high-quality and locally grown produce, as well as by partnering with the local markets, restaurants, and grocery stores to offer a reliable and consistent supply of products. As we expand our operations to other cities across the US, we will continue to differentiate ourselves by offering fresh and sustainable produce, while also reducing the environmental impact of traditional farming methods.

Financial Summary

Our financial plan for Aqua Harvest covers the costs, sales, and profitability for the first three years of operation. Here are the key highlights:

Initial investment of $1.5 million to launch Aqua Harvest
Funding expected through a combination of equity financing and loans
Break even expected by the end of year two
Net profit goal of $500,000 by the end of year three
Main costs include equipment, labor, and marketing
Other costs include rent, utilities, and supplies
Revenue streams will come from sales to local markets, restaurants, and grocery stores

We believe that Aqua Harvest has the potential to become a profitable and sustainable business. By providing high-quality, locally grown food using aquaponics farming techniques, we can meet the demands of our target customers while reducing the environmental impact of traditional farming methods.

Funding Requirements

Our total investment requirement for launching Aqua Harvest is $1.5 million.

We plan to secure funding via equity financing and loans from investors
Our initial funding requirement is $500,000 to cover equipment, labor, and marketing costs.
We estimate an additional $1 million will be required for expanding our operations to other US cities in the future.
Our financial projections show that we will break even by the end of year two and achieve a net profit of $500,000 by the end of year three.

Investors can expect a reasonable return on their investment in a sustainable and environmentally conscious business that provides high-quality, locally grown produce and fish to the local market.

Milestones and Traction

At Aqua Harvest, we have a clear roadmap of where we are and where we plan to be in the near future. Our milestones include:

Currently, we are in the set-up phase of our aquaponics farm in San Francisco, California. We have secured initial investment and are in the process of purchasing equipment and finalizing permits. Our team has extensive experience in aquaponics farming and marketing, and we are confident that we can achieve our milestones and become a successful business that provides high-quality, locally grown food while reducing the environmental impact of traditional farming methods.

Problem Worth Solving

One of the major problems that Aqua Harvest aims to solve is the environmental impact of traditional farming methods. Conventional agriculture practices are responsible for significant amounts of water pollution, greenhouse gas emissions, soil erosion, and deforestation. Additionally, traditional farming requires large amounts of pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers, which can negatively affect soil health and pose health risks to humans.

Furthermore, many consumers are increasingly concerned about the origin and quality of their food. They want to know where their food comes from and how it was grown or raised. By offering high-quality, locally grown produce and fish, Aqua Harvest addresses this consumer demand and provides a solution that is both environmentally sustainable and health-conscious.

Our Solution

At Aqua Harvest, we offer a sustainable and highly efficient alternative to traditional farming methods through our aquaponics farming techniques. We will produce a variety of fresh produce and fish using a closed-loop system that recycles water and nutrients, resulting in higher yields and reduced environmental impact.

Our locally grown products will provide our customers with high-quality, fresh produce and fish that are free from harmful chemicals and pesticides. By partnering with local markets, restaurants, and grocery stores, we aim to provide convenient access to our products to the local community in San Francisco and the surrounding area.

Our aquaponics farming system allows us to produce a large quantity of fresh produce and fish in a small amount of space, making it an efficient solution for urban farming. By reducing transportation costs and carbon footprint associated with importing produce and fish from other regions, our business model promotes local production and supports the local economy.

With our sustainable and efficient approach to farming, we believe our products and services will alleviate the growing demand for high-quality, locally grown food while reducing the environmental impact of traditional farming methods.

Validation of Problem and Solution

Product overview.

Aqua Harvest is a commercial aquaponics business that will produce a variety of fresh produce and fish using sustainable farming techniques. Our products are for local markets, restaurants, and grocery stores in San Francisco and the surrounding area.

Our produce includes a range of vegetables such as lettuce, kale, tomatoes, and cucumbers, while our fish will include tilapia and catfish. Our products are grown and harvested using aquaponics farming techniques, which have several benefits over traditional farming methods.

Aqua Harvest's products offer high-quality, locally grown food that is fresh and sustainable. Our aquaponics farm uses less water and land than traditional farming methods while reducing the need for chemical fertilizers and pesticides. Our produce and fish are grown without the use of harmful chemicals, making them safer and healthier for our customers to consume.

Our products are intended for customers who are interested in supporting sustainable and environmentally friendly farming practices while enjoying fresh, high-quality food. Our customers will benefit from the convenience of having access to locally grown produce and fish, which are often fresher and tastier than imported products.

In summary, Aqua Harvest's products offer a sustainable and efficient alternative to traditional farming methods. Our customers benefit from access to fresh, locally grown produce and fish that are safer and healthier to consume, while also supporting environmentally friendly farming practices.

Currently, the local produce and fish market in San Francisco and the surrounding area is dominated by traditional farming and commercial fishing operations. However, there are a few small-scale aquaponics farms that offer similar products to ours. Our key differentiators include our focus on producing high-quality, locally grown food in large quantities to meet the demand of local markets, restaurants, and grocery stores. Additionally, our aquaponics farming techniques offer a more sustainable and efficient alternative to traditional farming and commercial fishing operations. We also pride ourselves on our innovative use of technology and data analytics to optimize our production process and ensure consistent quality and supply of our products.

Roadmap: Products & Services

At Aqua Harvest, we are committed to offering high-quality, locally grown food using sustainable and efficient aquaponics farming techniques. Here is a table outlining the steps we have taken so far and our plan to establish and grow our business:

Our goal is to establish a successful aquaponics farming business in San Francisco and eventually become a leader in sustainable farming across the US. By providing high-quality, locally grown food, we aim to offer consumers a sustainable and efficient alternative to traditional farming methods.

Market Segmentation

The market segments for the aquaponics business include local markets, restaurants, and grocery stores. These segments are separated by specific characteristics such as size and location, as well as their interest in sustainable and locally grown food. The potential size and market potential for each segment varies, with local markets and restaurants having high potential due to their focus on fresh and unique food sources. Grocery stores have a slightly lower potential, but still represent a valuable market opportunity for the aquaponics business.

Target Market Segment Strategy

Our ideal customer segment would be health-conscious individuals who seek high-quality, organic and locally grown produce and fish. These customers are willing to pay a premium price for food that is both nutritious and sustainable. We also aim to target restaurants and grocery stores that emphasize locally sourced and fresh ingredients, as they value the quality and reliability of our products. By catering to these segments, we can create a loyal customer base that appreciates the value of our aquaponic farm and supports our mission of providing sustainable and ethical food choices.

Key Customers

Our ideal customer archetype is the health-conscious individual who prioritizes fresh, nutritious food that is locally sourced. They are typically environmentally conscious and value sustainable farming practices. They are likely to shop at local markets and support restaurants that prioritize fresh, locally sourced ingredients. They also have an interest in the farming process and appreciate the unique and innovative approach of aquaponics. We believe this customer archetype will be the main advocate for our business and help spread the word about the benefits of commercial aquaponics.

Future markets

Based on our analysis of the local markets, restaurants, and grocery stores, we anticipate significant growth in demand for locally produced and sustainable food. Our production-based model for commercial aquaponics offers a reliable and efficient solution to meet this demand.

In addition, as consumers become increasingly conscious of the environmental impact of traditional farming methods, we expect to see a shift towards sustainable alternatives like aquaponics. Our high-quality, locally grown products align perfectly with this trend, positioning us for long-term success in the market.

In the market analysis, it is important to identify the potential competitors for the commercial aquaponics business. Below is a HTML table outlining some of the potential competitors and their offerings:

Each of these competitors offer their own unique value proposition and target different customer segments. It will be important for the commercial aquaponics business to differentiate itself through its high-quality, locally grown produce and fish, as well as its sustainable and efficient farming practices.

Marketing and Sales Plan

Our marketing strategy will focus on creating awareness about our aquaponics farm and the high-quality, fresh produce and fish we produce. Our target customers are local markets, restaurants, and grocery stores that value locally grown and sustainable food products.

We plan to use a combination of digital and traditional advertising to reach our target market. Our main advertising channels will be social media platforms, such as Facebook and Instagram, local newspapers, and radio ads. We will also attend local farmer's markets and food fairs to promote our products and create brand awareness.

The estimated cost of our marketing and advertising plan is $10,000 for the first year, which will cover the cost of designing and printing marketing collaterals, online advertising, sponsorships, and event attendance fees.

Our main marketing goal for the first year of operation is to establish our brand and increase sales volume by 30%. We will track our progress through sales reports and customer feedback and adjust our marketing strategy accordingly.

Location and Facilities

Aqua Harvest will utilize cutting-edge aquaponics farming technology in our operations. This system combines aquaculture (raising fish) and hydroponics (growing plants in water) in a closed-loop system where the waste produced by the fish provides the nutrients needed for the plants to grow. This highly efficient system minimizes water use and eliminates the need for chemical fertilizers, making it a sustainable and environmentally friendly alternative to traditional farming methods. Our aquaponics farm will also use sensors and automation technology to monitor and regulate water temperature, pH levels, and nutrient levels to ensure optimal growing conditions and maximize production. By utilizing these advanced technologies, Aqua Harvest will be able to produce high-quality, locally grown food in a highly efficient and sustainable manner.

Equipment and Tools

Setting up a commercial aquaponics farm requires a significant investment in equipment and tools. The following table outlines the required equipment and estimated costs associated with purchasing or renting them:

The cost of equipment may vary depending on the size and scale of the aquaponics farm. It is important to invest in high-quality equipment that is suitable for commercial production and can handle the demands of the business.

Management and Organization

Organizational structure.

The Commercial Aquaponics Business Plan will have a hierarchical structure with clear roles and responsibilities for each employee. The following table provides an overview of the organization structure:

Communication will flow from the founder/CEO down to the farm manager, sales and marketing manager, production workers, and administrative assistant. Any major decisions will be made by the founder/CEO, with input from the rest of the team.

Management Team

As the commercial aquaponics business plan is established, the company will require a strong and experienced management team to ensure its success. A table of potential candidates will be compiled and evaluated based on their skills and experience in aquaponics farming, business management, and marketing.

The management team will be responsible for overseeing day-to-day operations, managing finances, setting and achieving production goals, and developing and implementing marketing strategies to attract and retain clients. Each member of the team will bring their unique skills and expertise to the table, ensuring that the business operates smoothly and profitably.

The company will prioritize hiring individuals who share the vision and mission of the business, and are committed to making the aquaponics farm a success. The management team will work closely with the owner to establish and maintain a strong brand identity, and to ensure the highest level of quality in all aspects of the business.

Management Team Gaps

At this stage, our Commercial Aquaponics Business Plan business plan does not have candidates ready to fill certain positions or areas of expertise. We have identified gaps in our management team, particularly in the areas of financial management, supply chain management, and business strategy. We are actively seeking qualified candidates to fill these roles and ensure the long-term success of our business.

Management and Organization: Personnel Plan

Running a commercial aquaponics business requires a team of motivated individuals committed to this innovative approach to food production. The following table lists the potential positions that we expect to require in order to run our business effectively:

Company History and Ownership

Aqua Harvest is a newly formed company based in San Francisco, California. The company was founded by a team of experienced farmers and business owners who are passionate about sustainable agriculture and providing high-quality, locally grown food to their community.

The idea for Aqua Harvest grew out of the founders' frustration with the limitations of traditional farming methods. They saw an opportunity to use aquaponics to create a more efficient and sustainable way of producing food that could meet the growing demand for local, fresh, and healthy food.

The founders have invested their own capital in the company and are seeking additional funding to launch Aqua Harvest. They bring a wealth of experience in farming, marketing, and business management, and are committed to building a successful and sustainable business that will benefit their community and the environment.

To ensure success and effective management, Aqua Harvest will follow a detailed roadmap of specific goals and objectives to achieve in the first three years of operation. The following HTML table presents a sample of our milestones:

These milestones will help Aqua Harvest stay on track, monitor progress, and adjust strategies if necessary to achieve our business goals.

Key Metrics

As with any business, it is important to have key performance indicators (KPIs) to help gauge the overall performance and health of your commercial aquaponics business. Some KPIs that may be useful include:

Revenue: Measure your sales and overall revenue to ensure you are meeting your financial goals.
Cost of Goods Sold (COGS): Calculate the cost of producing your products, including equipment, labor, and materials, to ensure profitability.
Customer Satisfaction: Collect feedback from customers to ensure their needs are being met and to identify areas for improvement.
Production Output: Monitor the quantity and quality of your produce and fish to ensure a reliable supply to customers.
Market Share: Track your business's share of the local market to stay competitive and identify potential growth opportunities.

By regularly monitoring these metrics, you can make informed decisions and adjustments to improve the overall success of your commercial aquaponics business.

Financial Plan and Metrics

Sales forecast:.

Projected sales for the three years (2023, 2024, 2025) are as follows:

We project a steady increase in sales over the next three years as we establish our presence in the local market and expand our customer base. Our goal is to achieve a net profit of $500,000 by the end of year three.

The following tables outline the expected and incurred costs necessary to start and operate the Commercial Aquaponics Business:

Startup Costs

Operational expenses.

The startup costs include investments in equipment, labor, and marketing to establish the Commercial Aquaponics Business. The operational expenses include ongoing costs of maintenance, utilities, supplies, and labor, necessary to keep the business running.

Projected Profit and Loss

Our projected profit and loss for Aqua Harvest for the years 2023, 2024, and 2025 are as follows:

Based on our financial projections, we expect to break even by the end of year two and achieve a net profit of $500,000 by the end of year three. Our revenue is expected to increase each year as we expand our operations and increase our customer base. Our costs will include expenses such as equipment, labor, and marketing, and we will be focused on keeping our COGS low to maintain a healthy gross margin percentage.

Projected Cash Flow

Here is a table showing the projected cash flow for Aqua Harvest over the next three years:

Our projected cash flow indicates that we will break even by the end of year two, and we will achieve a net profit of $250,000 by the end of year three. We will continue to invest in our equipment, labor, and marketing efforts to ensure the continued success of Aqua Harvest.

Projected Balance Sheet

Below is the balance sheet statement for the next three years (2023, 2024, 2025).

As seen in the projected balance sheet, the Commercial Aquaponics Business Plan hopes to increase its assets and equity in the next three years while keeping its liabilities at a manageable level. The increase in assets and equity will come as a result of an increase in sales and higher demand for locally grown food.

Personnel Plan

For the Commercial Aquaponics Business Plan, we intend to hire a team of experienced aquaponics farmers, along with knowledgeable individuals in marketing and sales. Our workforce will comprise of full-time employees who will work round the clock to ensure smooth operations.

Regarding compensation, we plan to offer salaries that are competitive within the industry, along with other benefits such as health insurance and paid time off. We believe this will help us attract the right talent and also motivate our employees to work hard and contribute to the success of the business.

Our aquaponics farm will require a dedicated team of individuals who will be responsible for ensuring the health and wellbeing of the fish and plants. They will have to monitor the system's pH levels, nutrient levels, and water quality. On the other hand, marketing and sales personnel will help to promote our business and develop relationships with potential clients, such as local markets, restaurants, and grocery stores.

Overall, we believe that a strong, highly skilled, and motivated team will be critical to the success of our business model, and we are committed to investing in our employees to ensure their happiness and fulfillment within their roles.

Use of Funds

Below is a breakdown of how the $1.5 million investment will be used:

This breakdown was presented to our investors and lenders to show how the funds will be allocated towards equipment, labor, marketing, rent and utilities, and supplies. We believe that this allocation will help us achieve our financial goals of breaking even by the end of year two and achieving a net profit of $500,000 by the end of year three.

Exit Strategy

As the commercial aquaponics business grows, our eventual exit strategy could involve one of several options. The first would be to seek acquisition by a larger company or investor who is interested in expanding their operations within the sustainable agriculture industry. Alternatively, we could explore the possibility of selling the business to an interested party or passing ownership along to a family member or trusted employee. Ultimately, the decision will be based on the state of the business and the best option for all involved parties.

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Aquaponics Business Plan Template

Executive Summary

Product Offering

Customer Focus

Management Team

Success Factors

Financial Highlights

Company Overview

Growing Green Aquaponics History

Growing Green Aquaponics Services

Industry Analysis

Customer Analysis

Customer Segmentation

Competitive Analysis

Healthy Grown Aquaponics

Salem Aquaponics

Sustain-Able Aquaponics

Competitive Advantage

Marketing Plan

Promotions Strategy

Operations Plan

Milestones:

Financial Plan

Funding Requirements and Use of Funds

Financial Projections

What are the Main Types of Aquaponics Businesses?

How Do You Get Funding for Your Aquaponics Farm Business Plan?

What are the Steps To Start an Aquaponics Business?

2022 Top Article - A Guide To Planning A Commercial Aquaponics Greenhouse

1. Can you be the head grower of a Commercial Aquaponics Farm?

2. What is your growth strategy for your aquaponics greenhouse?

3. What are your top priorities?

Identifying your Scale: Putting it All Together

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