Lili Dufeux
Cassie Duport
Toulouse Business School
LOPEZ DELPHINE
Keep this story going! Share below!
This innovation is a new way of farming: Bioponics much better. It is the farming of the future because you can farm in the city center, close to the customer. You can also produce more because plants are grown vertically.
Antoine Fuyet gathered various types of people to start this company. He discovered bioponics during a course of sustainable development in his engineering school. He had a moment of clarity and thought that building a business on this technique could be a great idea. He talked about it around him and, by word of mouth, a team of motivated students was created. The firm was officially founded in 2017.
Champerché is a mix of 3 innovative things. First, the farms are located in the city center, very close from the consumer. This is in itself an innovation, it is called urban farming. This is a great solution to respond to the second UN SDG. With the growth of the global population, it will be very complicated to feed everybody. This is furthermore the case in countries like Japan where space is scarce. That’s why farming in abandoned urban places is revolutionary. It could help places to become more self-sufficient. The second innovation, is that the farming is vertical, this is also a way to save space and produce more on the same area. Finally, the breakthrough is bioponics. Antoine spent 7 years in Asia where he could study different kinds of farming and confirm his wish to create something based on bioponics. Bioponics is a mix between organic farming and hydroponics. In hydroponics, plants are grown in a neutral substrate irrigated with water, liquid compost and nutrients. This method saves a lot of water because it is organized in a closed circuit. It is also a way to eat better products.
Antoine Fuyet first heard about bioponics in a sustainable development class in his engineering school. He made some research and thought that this way of farming was great. Then, he moved to Asia. There, he discovered new ways of farming. For a very long time, China has been practicing aquaponics: plants are placed in water full of nutrients produced by the excrements of fish placed in the system. Also, he saw real farms based on the bioponics method. He could see what he cooked up in the real life. He figured that this style could be adapted to the western world and it could be a huge hit. So, when he came back, he decided to give it a shot and founded Champerché. Antoine Fuyet describes the creation of his firm that way: At the beginning, Champerché is a lot of trips and pains. Specifically, in Laos, a motorcycle with flat tires. People who have nothing except a big heart and who helped us, sheltered us and fed us. Even if they didn’t have much. So, with my brother, we wanted to build a business with a positive impact, that could give them access to quality fruits and vegetables. »
The business is still at an early stage. Today, Champerché has built only one farm of 452 square foot in the 16th arrondissement of Paris. The result is great. The farm provides high yield, producing approximately 120 kilos per square foot per month, which is greater than traditional agriculture. The products are farmed approximately at 6 kilometers from the consumer. Moreover, the farm consumes little resources. The water is used in a closed circuit. Therefore, the only water consumed is the same being absorbed by the plants. This technology is completed by state-of-the-art technology. The farm is completely controlled by a computer that manages all the resources the plants need. Everything can be adjusted according to what plant species is grown. You can control if there are insects and find a solution, control the exposure, the temperature, absolutely everything. The project is thriving. That’s why they decided to build a new farm, much bigger, to produce more. The new farm will be around 14 000 square foot. The goal is to be able to be self-sufficient, without any deficiency. It will also be a way to collect more data and to improve the system always more. In this new farm, they will grow more vegetables, leguminous plants and of course aromatic plants.
Even if, the business is not money-making yet, the building of the new farm will bring in a large income that will solve the issue. Because of the development of Champerché, 15 employees are already working there and they plan to double this number before the end of the year. Everybody is very involved because all of them are shareholders of the company. This is a way to federate everybody around a common goal. The work atmosphere seems very nice and the employees are very glad to work there. The atmosphere is very innovative, young and dynamic. Everybody brings his personality to help the project and be part of the team.
They recently raised 2.2 million euros to finance the new farm and found new investors to endorse the project. In addition, Champerché was the laureate of a national competition of urban agriculture. With the creation of their new farm, Champerché will produce new vegetables and aromatic plants and in bigger proportions.
Finally, the Covid-19 pandemic was an opportunity for Champerché as they managed to take advantage of the crisis. Champerché sells 50% of their product to supermarkets, 30% to restaurants and 20% directly to the consumers. With the crisis, the demand from the consumers increased and they sold more in supermarkets. The business rose during this period thanks to small adjustments of their strategy. In the end, the business could be adapted to a lot of other cities and be a real hope to feed everybody.
This innovation is really beneficial at several levels. The innovation is very helpful at a small scale to feed the local population. Now, we are around 7 760 000 human beings on Earth. But everyday, we are 230 000 more. In 2030, specialists forecast that we could be 8.55 billion. But the available resources are not infinite. So, how can we feed 8.55 billion people whereas 10% of the current global population is already underfed? The Champerché innovation could be a solution. Champerché can produce way more than traditional agriculture. The production capacity is 216 times more important at Champerché than in a traditional farm! It could be a way to feed more people. The innovation allows people to be self-sufficient which can be a huge advantage in remote places. But Champerché’s farm also benefits the environment. The farming industry is one of the most consuming and polluting industries. 70% of the soft water available on Earth is used by the farming and breeding industries. With Champerché’s innovation, you can consume 97% less water. Today, water is called the 'blue gold,' which refers to oil's nickname, 'black gold.' Water will become more and more precious. That’s why it is mandatory to save it. People are already fighting for it in the Middle East for instance. Moreover, because of the organic farming side of Champerché, they don’t pollute the ground and the water with pesticides. Champerché is a real benefit for the planet and society.
Get stories of positive business innovations from around the world delivered right to your inbox.
Antoine Fuyet, Founder
The business produces aromatic plants and vegetables. The breakthrough is that they produce it in the basement of a building in Paris’ city center, with the bioponics technique. Bioponics is a mix between organic farming and hydroponics.