If you live in a building and have always wanted to have a garden where you can grow fresh vegetables, we may have good news for you. Thanks to the Croatian startu Gruntek, residents of several Croatian cities have a unique opportunity to rent a garden near the village of Prokljuvani near Chazma, about 60 kilometers from Zagreb.
The startup started working two years ago, in 2020, but they started the first seeding in the spring of 2021. In the first year, they managed to reach a number of 250 rented gardens, and the next goal is to reach 900. Currently, over 300 users have their own gardens on an area of 22 hectares, writes Netokracija. At the beginning, the platform was available in Zagreb and its surroundings, but due to the great interest, Rijeka and Opatija were added to the delivery list.
How does Moj Gruntek work?
The concept is quite simple. The user who rents/buys a garden pays a monthly fee in which, in addition to the space, the user also pays for the maintenance of the garden by professionals. For now, there are two subscription levels: “Common garden” for 320 kuna per month (~2,600 denars) and “My garden” for 420 kuna (~3,400 denars).
Subscribers receive 10 kilos of vegetables each week throughout the season, from May to October. The cart may vary, depending on the subscription chosen by the user.
In the “My garden” model, the users rent their own garden of 50m2 and select what they want to plant on it for 8 garden beds. Then, depending on what they planted, they will also receive the contents of the deliveries. Quantity for vegetables and deliveries are the same, 10 kg of vegetables in 20 deliveries. However, for these subscribers, the startup also offers a board with which they can mark their garden; workshops and lessons; barbecue package and table reservation in a designated picnic area; free watermelons and melons. Additionally, at any time of the day, the subscriber can log on to the website and check how their vegetables look.
The “Community garden” subscription is a novelty that has become available this year. As part of this subscription, the users choose what they want to plant in the garden. In addition, the users receive 10 kilograms of vegetables per week, with 20 deliveries during the season.
As for the vegetables that can be planted in the garden: subscribers can pick: swiss chard, beets, peas, various cabbages, onions, green beans, spring onions, peppers, eggplant, tomato, lettuce, cucumbers, spinach, zucchini. The biggest appeal for most of the users is that the vegetables are organically grown.
Subscribers also contribute towards less pollution. Packaging is reduced by 85% and thanks to the wooden crates that are being used, plastic usage is reduced to 0.
Created during the pandemic
The platform was created during the pandemic, at a time when tourism and event organization completely died down. The founder of Gruntek is Tino Prosenik, director of the company Yachtmaster Group, which develops platforms for the yacht charter industry. Unfortunately, the pandemic had a great impact on this sector, and they had to quickly move on to new challenges. They found the technology will work on in agriculture and organic production, but Gruntek also organizes fascinating events.
The team is currently divided into two parts. One part of the team works on harvesting and growing the vegetables, and another focuses on the administrative duties. The administrative team, as well as all the management positions, customer care, marketing and communication teams are based in Zagreb.
Gruntek also tries to educate citizens about the importance of an ecological lifestyle.
One of our missions is to be an educator in this field. With this innovative project and helpful workshops, we promote ecological living, consumption of healthy vegetables, reduction of plastic waste. Our users claim that they now spend 20% more time in nature, and the consumption of organic food has increased by 30%, says Marinka Tadic from Gruntek.
The startup’s mission for now is to continue expanding further. The company has found potential for future expansion in Austria, which is likely to be the focus of this ecological nutrition platform in the future.
BTW, euro is Croatian official currency since 01.01.2023