Alberta entrepreneurs bring innovation and grit (no, not dirt) to gardening in small spaces

Ryan and Tessa Agrey with the Eden Tower indoor vertical garden system

Tessa and Ryan Agrey are a determined pair. The brother and sister team behind Hope Innovations (which makes the Eden Tower indoor vertical garden system) are a two-person whirlwind of production and marketing of an innovative vegetable growing system that is finding success with new and established gardeners alike. And they’re doing it in tough economic times, to boot. But, the thirty-somethings who grew up and still live near Edson, Alberta, have even surprised themselves how a side hustle became a growing passion and now, a growing business and a life’s purpose for them both.  

“It’s what I’m meant to do,” acknowledges Tessa of her and Ryan’s foray into hydroponics. “Dad grew up on a farm, so we’ve always had a garden. We took for granted the idea of having fresh produce, of eating healthy. But now, it’s more than that. It’s a re-educating of the market on what technology can do.” 

Starting in their parent’s garage in 2018, (Dad was crucial to the initial product design, the pair say, though he’s now a silent partner in the business), the siblings found a growing consumer interest in space saving, dirt-free vertical gardening. Before long, the Agrey’s were crowdfunding; launching a kickstarter campaign that would set fire to the ember of an idea: a hydroponic growing system, that could be a vertical tower of varying levels, or horizontal shelving with ready-made space for pods and seeds, light and water – basically a plug and play system to grow vegetables in any indoor space, from the basement to a closet to a kitchen corner. 

“Selling through the pandemic wasn’t a problem. People were at home and online, and with global supply chain problems and empty store shelves, there was even more of an interest in being self-sufficient. Folk realized how fragile the food system was,” says Ryan, adding the challenge became convincing consumers the price point for such a system (about $1,000 for a four-tier tower with lights, water pump–the works) could pay for itself in a year or two, based on the typical grocery store price of lettuce (around $5 a head) and other greens. 

“There are misconceptions about hydroponics. People associate it with growing cannabis and having high electricity bills. (Ryan says using efficient lighting means the electricity bill is about $15 a month for a four-level system) But we believe we’ve tapped into what people want in an indoor garden. So the website, blog, newsletter, podcast – talking to consumers at trade shows, expos and live training webinars – it’s all part of the process; answering questions and showing off the technology, and what’s possible.” 

The pair is also playing the long game, Ryan acknowledges, remaining a very lean team (they’re the only two employees), and following a philosophy that sees the company put money in only the most strategic areas. So, social media is huge for the business – with 30,000 Instagram/Facebook followers, and climbing. And the pair remains efficient with a 3,000 square-foot warehouse in a less expensive neighbourhood in town, another element of the lean start-up philosophy.  

“We want to be responsive, so we can get customer feedback, make changes easily and quickly. It takes a while to build trust, but we have good customers, hard core fans who come back to buy nutrients and seeds, and other add-ons like a trellis, or more tiers for the system,” he says. “But we’ve made it universal too, with no subscription model, so you can go to Canadian Tire for seeds and pods and grow as often or as little as you want.” 

"We have a short growing season in Canada – the Eden Tower eliminates that issue. You don’t need a yard or sunny exposure on the balcony."

By the time Hope Innovations did its kickstarter campaign in 2022, it hit a pre-buy goal of $50,000 in sales in just 14 minutes. A third campaign for the Eden Tower vertical system did $200,000 in crowdfunding in two hours, making it the fourth-largest selling kickstarter campaign (for a team of two) in Alberta history. Besides selling direct to consumer, the company is dabbling in having the Eden Tower available at retail level too, currently through Salisbury Greenhouses in the Edmonton region. 

“After the pandemic and with inflation, a lot of businesses have gone belly-up. There are a few players out there now; a handful of companies with systems that can work for restaurants or the home gardener. It’s getting saturated, but we’re surviving right now. We may be able to bring on employees eventually, but the market has to catch up to us.” 

Tessa says once people see how the system works, they understand not only the idea of having fresh, pesticide-free produce any time of year, they begin to see secondary benefits – things like feeling the pride of growing something from seed, yourself, or watching it grow over a few weeks – anything from flowers to herbs to salad greens. 

“Especially during the dreary winter months, it can help with winter blues, mental health,” she says. “For seniors or anyone in small spaces, it’s easy. And you can pretty much neglect the whole thing and still get good results. Fill up the reservoir and go away for a couple weeks, no problem. It’s as easy as it could be.” 

“We have a short growing season in Canada – the Eden Tower eliminates that issue. You don’t need a yard or sunny exposure on the balcony,” adds Ryan, though the siblings both acknowledge they’re often preaching to the choir – hence a strategy for reaching new audiences either online or in person. 

Robbie Burns, a home gardener living in Sundre, jumped onboard early with the Eden Tower and now, three years on, is regularly growing salad greens and herbs in his four-tier unit. 

“Tessa and Ryan are dynamite,” he says. “They’re so excited about what they do and they’re big-hearted too. I’m not a green thumb at all, and I grow kale, lettuce, basil – I’ve even done bok choy and flowers like zinnias – anything but root crops. No frost, no hail, no bugs to worry about. I could be a spokesperson for this.” 

“They are trying to do something cool, these young entrepreneurs. I plant the seed, water it and I’m eating fresh greens in a month.” 

Ryan admits more challenges still lay ahead.  

“It’s the worst inflation in 40 years, and the geopolitics, the threat of tariffs – sometimes it feels like we’re a mouse in a stampede of elephants,” he says. “The biggest challenge is that things become more and more expensive.” 

“We didn’t know at first what this could become. But we knew having the trust of customers, of being ethical in our business – that keeps shaping our purpose,” Ryan adds. “And the technology is exciting – it can be two tiers or tiers stacked to the roof. 

Tessa adds, “We just want to make sure everything works well – that we have a strong foundation to build from; then we can customize it to suit any lifestyle. The sky’s the limit.”