Sprout Stack: Entrepreneurial Strategies, Marketing, and Resources

This case study examines Sprout Stack, an Australian startup focused on sustainable agriculture through vertical hydroponics. The company differentiates itself by growing fresh produce in controlled environments without harmful chemicals. Targeting health-conscious consumers who prefer locally sourced food, Sprout Stack leverages IoT automation to monitor production and supplies fresh produce to local shops and restaurants. The analysis covers market opportunities driven by the increasing demand for Australian-made, chemical-free produce, while acknowledging competition from other farms. Key entrepreneurial traits of the founding team, such as communication, risk-taking, and market knowledge, are highlighted. The case also details the company's marketing strategies, resource considerations, and commitment to sustainable values, including energy-efficient practices and community well-being through farmer training. The initial investment required is estimated at $40,000-$50,000, obtainable through various funding sources. Sprout Stack's commitment to environmentally friendly practices and high-quality produce positions it as a positive brand in the market.

ENTREPRENEURSHIP

Introduction
 Sprout Stack is an Australian start-up that manages its business idea of
growing fresh produce without creating any harm on the environment.
 The company’s focus has been on the sustainability management to
produce best quality food without compromising the environment
 The thing that differentiates the business from the other companies in
the marketplace is its use of vertical hydroponics within the controlled
environment friendly farmyard (sproutstack.com.au 2018).
 Nowadays, customers need fresh food that are free from any harmful
chemicals or pesticides.
 The company aims to adopt the local culture and understand the needs
of people to deliver fresh produce.

Business idea
 Sprout Stack aims to use vertical hydroponics by maintaining a automated
hydroponic farm that are built within insulated shipping containers.
 This helps in maintaining a proper temperature for growing the crops and
even manage chemical free fresh produce
 The farmyards consist of IoT automation system to monitor the production
consistently
 The company has been supplying these fresh produce to the local shops
and restaurants all over Australia
 The business start-up further aims to expand in other cities in Australia
along with focus on global expansion too (Scarborough 2016).

Market opportunities
 With rapid globalisation, the Australian customers are focused more on
Australian made farm fresh produce.
 The customers mainly prefer these fresh produces for staying health and
safe from any food related risks that may be caused due to the presence
of chemicals in vegetables.
 Australian consumers judged the food based on the better taste of farm
fresh produce and even the company enforced regulatory standards to
maintain food quality standards (sproutstack.com.au 2018)
 There has been gradual shift in consumers trends to buy local items and
this has been a great market opportunity for Sprout Stack to sustain.

 Few of the competitors of the company are Sundrop farms, Cesar
Australia, etc., which makes the marketplace a competitive one
 The customers are mainly the health conscious customers or those who
prefer local fresh produce more as it tastes better and fresh too.
 The customers are reached with the help of managing a website and
even through advertisements and promotional activities on newspapers,
televisions and by using social media platforms too (Martin, McNally and
Kay 2013).
 The consumer market can be segmented into demographic, geographic
psychographic and behavioural segments based on their behaviours
regarding purchase, personal values, family influence, etc.

Entrepreneurial traits
 The founding team members should possess the ability to manage proper
communication between employees and take risks
 Possess self belief skills and good flexible skills to adapt to the new ways of
managing the entrepreneurial venture.
 The group members must have proper product, service and market knowledge
to assess the needs of customers in different market segments.
 Financial management skills and having the right connections are essential to
delegate tasks and handle responsibilities properly too.
 The manager or leader of the team should support the employees by allowing
them to share and exchange their ideas and opinions to make a perfect
decision and manage the start-up wisely (Altieri 2018).
 The agricultural based technology and commitment to environment friendly
vision has gained positive brand image too.

Key marketing and resource
considerations
 The major products and services of Sprout Stack are Lettuce,
Mixed leafs, Pea Tendrils, etc., all of which are rich in vitamins,
phyto nutrients and minerals.
 The price of the products range from $2.99 and it is quite cost
friendly option, which is quite low when compared to its
competitors.
 The location of business is in Sydney, Australia and the
automated hydroponics technology is used to manage fresh
produce with temperature control too.
 The products and services are distributed to the customers via
stores and retail chain supermarkets where the products are
made available.
 Social media marketing efforts and advertisements on televisions
and newspapers could be helpful for raising awareness among
clients (Garnett et al. 2013)
 The total amount of money needed to start the business is around
$40000- $50000.
 Finance can be obtained through investments by shareholders,
venture capital and by taking loans from banks as well.

Sustainable values
 Sprout Stack believes in food production sustainably through growing of best
quality vegetables by creating lesser impact on environment.
 No harmful chemicals and pesticides should be used to keep the crops safe
and maintain healthy food production
 Energy efficient LED lights are used to provide the crops with proper
temperature and light and maintain consistent fresh produce
 The farmers are provided with training to enhance their skills and knowledge
regarding the sustainable farming activities (Conway and Barbier 2013)
 This has provided them employment scopes and contributed to the wellbeing
of the community as well.

Bibliography
 Altieri, M.A., 2018. Agroecology: the science of sustainable
agriculture. CRC Press.
 Conway, G.R. and Barbier, E.B., 2013. After the green revolution:
sustainable agriculture for development. Routledge.
 Garnett, T., Appleby, M.C., Balmford, A., Bateman, I.J., Benton, T.G.,
Bloomer, P., Burlingame, B., Dawkins, M., Dolan, L., Fraser, D. and
Herrero, M., 2013. Sustainable intensification in agriculture:
premises and policies. Science, 341(6141), pp.33-34.
 Martin, B.C., McNally, J.J. and Kay, M.J., 2013. Examining the
formation of human capital in entrepreneurship: A meta-analysis of
entrepreneurship education outcomes. Journal of Business
Venturing, 28(2), pp.211-224.
 Scarborough, N.M., 2016. Essentials of entrepreneurship and small
business management. Pearson.
 sproutstack.com.au (2018). Home | Sproutstack. [online] Available
at: http://sproutstack.co/ [Accessed 5 Oct. 2018].

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