Fable's Pitch from SCAD StartUp
February 2022
By 2050, Earth’s population will reach 10 billion people. That means in the next thirty years, we need to improve food production by 70%. And yet at this moment in time, we have less farmable soil than ever before. We only have 60 years of farmable soil left— so where can we look to in order to increase our food production if not conventional agriculture? We do it ourselves in our own homes.
What you don’t know is that by the time the produce makes it to your table, it is severely nutrient deficient. Produce is actually healthiest during the first 24 hours after it’s harvested. The journey from farm to table can take up to an entire year, with your food traveling over fifteen hundred miles and requiring chemical after chemical to prevent spoilage.
To combat the inaccessibility of nutritious, fresh, and affordable produce, we’re giving you the power to shorten the distance your food travels from 1500 miles to 5 feet.
Meet Fable: an all-in-one fridge and garden appliance. Fable functions as a regular fridge and freezer with the added bonus of a vertical hydroponic farm called the Growing Cell. The Growing Cell works as a tall vertical pull-out that allows for the easy harvesting of plants. The hydroponic system is set up with a Nutrient film technique at the top, which is best for lightweight crops such as lettuce, microgreens, or herbs. The bottom half uses a wick system that is more conducive to heavy plants, like berries, cucumbers, or lemons. The shelves come with customizable top panels for you to choose what you want to grow where. And the best part, the growing cell is almost completely self-sustaining. With a climate controlled environment, users get the rewards of growing their own produce without all the work.
Compared to other products on the market, Fable is priced as a mid range refrigerator at about $2,500. The average American spends $751 on fruits and vegetables every year, most of which gets thrown away before it is eaten. That means Fable would pay for itself in about three years.
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There are several more benefits to hydroponics, including that you can grow any type of crop any season, anywhere. And because the plants’ needs are perfectly met, they grow faster, too. Hydroponic farming doesn’t require pesticides or weed killers because there is no soil, which also means soil diseases can’t spread through your crops and there is no water waste from drainage or runoff. When you use Fable, you’re also reducing your carbon footprint. Because your food doesn’t have to travel thousands of miles to reach you, you’re minimizing air pollution and fuel usage from planes and trucks.
It doesn’t have to stop at a farm in your fridge. The future of Fable is a new appliance dedicated solely to the production of crops, or it’s a smaller, more accessible version that can be housed in an office space, college dorm, or a cramped apartment. Imagine if we could use Fable to reach into food deserts and provide a tool to food insecure communities so they can have nutrient rich meals at their fingertips. The future of farming is hydroponic, and it’s in your home.
Shortening the distance from farm to table.