Microgreen Business Taps Into Growing Market
Small town entrepreneurs Dean and Jayne Bredlau have turned their joy of growing fresh and healthy microgreens into a quickly expanding business that’s now producing more than 150 lbs. of tasty products a month. They operate in an indoor dedicated growing space where Dean maintains temperature and light control throughout the calendar year, even during frigid Minnesota winters.
“Microgreens are ideal for this kind of operation because they grow in an inch of potting soil and are ready to harvest in just 8 days, so we decided to go that route,” says Jayne.
The Bredlaus package their microgreens in 2-oz. plastic clamshells and sell them at farmers markets, grocery stores and in bulk to restaurants. They grow 14 different kinds of microgreens, including sweet pea and sunflower shoots, radish, arugula, mustard greens, broccoli, kale and cabbage that customers use in sandwiches, soups, stir fry dishes and salads. They also offer custom blends including Classy Classic, Zesty Mix, Chef’s Fancy Mix and combination units that contain a mixture of several greens, sometimes coordinating with a microgreen recipe.
While their business has ratcheted steadily forward, it hasn’t been without glitches. Early in 2019 the Bredlaus received a letter from a large New York law firm ordering them to ‘cease and desist’ using their company name, My Sweet Greens.
“We absolutely couldn’t believe that happened,” says Jayne, “especially because our farm business is small and certainly not a threat to a large, multi-state company.” They hired a lawyer who studied their case and subsequently arranged a settlement that allows them to re-brand their company over the next 18 months.
“We spent a lot of money for our logo, packaging, labels, website and other visual materials needed to start our business,” Jayne says, “and now that all has to change. We did a name search initially and didn’t find competitive issues, but the entity that forced us to change is a big company with a lot of muscle.”
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Dean and Jayne Bredlau, My Sweet Greens MN, Zumbrota, Minn. (ph 507 358-2680; www.mysweetgreensmn.com; mysweetgreensmn@gmail.com).
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Microgreen Business Taps Into Growing Market CROPS New Crops Small town entrepreneurs Dean and Jayne Bredlau have turned their joy of growing fresh and healthy microgreens into a quickly expanding business that’s now producing more than 150 lbs of tasty products a month They operate in an indoor dedicated growing space where Dean maintains temperature and light control throughout the calendar year even during frigid Minnesota winters “Microgreens are ideal for this kind of operation because they grow in an inch of potting soil and are ready to harvest in just 8 days so we decided to go that route ” says Jayne The Bredlaus package their microgreens in 2-oz plastic clamshells and sell them at farmers markets grocery stores and in bulk to restaurants They grow 14 different kinds of microgreens including sweet pea and sunflower shoots radish arugula mustard greens broccoli kale and cabbage that customers use in sandwiches soups stir fry dishes and salads They also offer custom blends including Classy Classic Zesty Mix Chef’s Fancy Mix and combination units that contain a mixture of several greens sometimes coordinating with a microgreen recipe While their business has ratcheted steadily forward it hasn’t been without glitches Early in 2019 the Bredlaus received a letter from a large New York law firm ordering them to ‘cease and desist’ using their company name My Sweet Greens “We absolutely couldn’t believe that happened ” says Jayne “especially because our farm business is small and certainly not a threat to a large multi-state company ” They hired a lawyer who studied their case and subsequently arranged a settlement that allows them to re-brand their company over the next 18 months “We spent a lot of money for our logo packaging labels website and other visual materials needed to start our business ” Jayne says “and now that all has to change We did a name search initially and didn’t find competitive issues but the entity that forced us to change is a big company with a lot of muscle ” Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Dean and Jayne Bredlau My Sweet Greens MN Zumbrota Minn ph 507 358-2680; www mysweetgreensmn com; mysweetgreensmn@gmail com
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