In this exclusive interview with CanadianSME Small Business Magazine, we chat with Jeremy and Sarah Van Maar, the proud founders of Beekist Growers, a family-run indoor vertical farm that is redefining sustainable agriculture. Jeremy and Sarah, who come from long lines of farmers, discuss their passion for producing fresh, locally grown produce year-round while minimizing environmental impact. They share insights into their innovative farming techniques, the challenges and benefits of hydroponic systems, and how their business fosters community engagement. Their commitment to both sustainability and customer relationships offers valuable lessons for other small businesses in the agri-food sector.
We’re Jeremy and Sarah Van Maar, proud owners of Beekist Growers! We both come from long lines of farmers and are proud to carry on that tradition in a new and sustainable way! We’ve been married since 2015 and have two wonderful children who love to help with the plants. We’re passionate about providing our community with fresh, clean, locally grown produce year-round! There are so many ways that Canadian agriculture is changing, and we are excited to be among the pioneers of new growing methods to produce food efficiently and reduce environmental impacts.
Beekist Growers is known for its family-run, indoor vertical farm model. What inspired you to start this venture, and how has your background influenced your approach to sustainable agriculture?
From the moment we were first introduced to indoor farming, we were completely hooked! We both come from long lines of farming families, and the idea of continuing in a sustainable way was very appealing to us. Communities in Canada have become very reliant on shipped-in produce and we wanted to be a part of changing that. Being able to provide our local community with fresh, nutrient-dense produce year-round all while reducing any environmental impacts is incredibly rewarding. And we get to do it together at home while raising our two incredible kids.
Your operation uses innovative vertical grow walls and hydroponic systems. Can you describe the benefits and challenges of this technology, and how it impacts the quality and yield of your greens and herbs?
Our Harvest Today vertical walls use a closed loop system that is incredibly water efficient. Water is pumped from a reservoir up to a channel at the top of the walls that then trickles down the back of each plant and excess drips back to the reservoir. This method uses around 90-95% less water than field-grown irrigated crops. The LED grow lights we use, Better Grow Lights, produce less heat than many options on the market, meaning we don’t have to expend as much energy cooling or pumping out heat thereby reducing our overall energy consumption. For the growing medium, we use coco coir which is ground up coconut husks, a fantastic use of a readily available by-product. The main challenge to growing indoors is controlling all aspects of the environment. We have an arsenal of dehumidifiers, cooling units, and a C02 machine to achieve perfect conditions. All these elements work in concert to produce healthy plants that, combined with our cut-and-come-again harvesting, give us weekly harvests for up to 10-12 weeks without replanting – 6 months in the case of our baby kale!
Community and sustainability are core values for Beekist Growers. How do you engage with your local community, and what steps do you take to ensure your practices remain environmentally responsible?
Supporting local vendors and producers is so important to us. From the beginning we have always made it a priority to source our materials from Canadian businesses, with a special focus on local small business. In addition to that, we love going out to events to talk to people about our greens and sustainable growing. The microgreens we grow are not as well known to people and being able to share their benefits and get people trying them is always fun for us.
On the environmental front, we are careful to consider options for every aspect of our business. And that doesn’t always mean making the “green” choice. For example, biodegradable containers have become popular, but most don’t actually degrade unless they are in the right conditions. Our area does not have the proper processing for them, so it made more sense to use a recyclable plastic. Some other growers use cardboard, but then the produce goes bad more quickly, and all the energy, water, and materials that went into growing them go to waste. We try to consider all the impacts. On top of that, we have upgrades planned to increase our sustainability, like a large-scale solar project.
As a business distributing both wholesale and direct-to-consumer, what strategies have helped you build strong relationships with local markets and customers?
One of the best things you can do as a small business is to engage with your customers in a personal way. Whether its with our large wholesale customers or individuals, we keep a personal touch in all we do. Word of mouth has been essential to our growth, so we strive to be the kind of business people want to share and rave about.
When it comes to the management side, we use Local Line which is an Ontario-based e-commerce platform specifically designed for farmers. It has been fantastic for taking online orders and payments, managing weekly orders, and coordinating deliveries. I highly recommend it!
Finally, what advice would you offer to other small and medium-sized business owners looking to innovate in the agri-food sector or adopt more sustainable practices?
Connect with people already doing it! The sector is still in its early stages, so the folks developing these technologies and us growers putting them into practice are still very much pioneers. We’re all incredibly passionate and happy to share our insights on what we’ve learned at the front lines. And if you’re just trying to be more sustainable, don’t overlook the impact small changes can have. It doesn’t have to be a big and expensive project, simple changes like finding a local producer for materials makes an impact.
