On February 20th, 2019 Fork Farms founder and CEO, Alex Tyink, visited the campus of UW-Whitewater to speak with students about his business and its goals. His message consisted of the explanation of his business model, how he was attempting to grow his company and how he was able to manage the growth. He also talked about the importance of sustainability for businesses and what his company was doing in that realm.
Tyink said, “I saw this an excellent opportunity for me to come and share my story with people that are going to make a difference in the world in the coming years. I was in the same place as these not too long ago so I want them to see that they can make their ideas and dreams into reality.”
Not many students knew what Fork Farms was before this event. It opened the eyes of many people with its interesting product and profitability.
UW-Whitewater student Patrick Rafferty says, “It was very interesting to me to see how this product was basically built for education but actually has a lot of potential to make a lot of money in the future especially as people start to grow their own food more.”
Alex Tyink (middle) stands in front of his in home gardening systems.
Fork Farms product is in home gardening station that uses only water and nutrients put into the water by the user. It is dirt free and allows the user to grow many different types of vegetables but the most popular is lettuce.
Right now, the main customers are schools and food services. Schools use them to educate children on farming and how to grow their own food sustainably. Food services grow their own vegetables in house.
For example, a food service may have 3 or 4 stations in a school they serve. They then grow whatever vegetable they want and use it in their daily operations. This allows them to make more money because they save on the cost of vegetables.
Tyink wrapped up his speech with some words about sustainability and corporate responsibility. He preached the importance of holding businesses accountable even if they are some of the most powerful corporations in the world.
As he continues to work on growing his business, he wanted everyone take his words to heart because as a business owner he sees firsthand what people let businesses get away with in regards to the Earth’s sustainability and corporate responsibility.