Who’s behind Bristol Shoots, and how did it all start?

I’m Alasdair and I founded Shoot in 2020. I had always heard about the concept of Vertical Farming – the idea of growing crops vertically indoors without sunlight – but imagined that it was something that may be happening in 50 or 100 years time. After doing some research I realised that the concept was at the stage where I could get involved. I bought some hydroponic equipment, seeds and lights and started growing things at home. We’re now based in a warehouse behind temple meads station, with me running most of the operation and Isaac doing a couple of days a week.

It started with selling our Pea Shoots to just a couple of greengrocers during the first Covid lockdown. Over time as my growing experience expanded, I learned to grow more and more crops. Better Food were one of the first businesses to believe in the product from the get go, and since then our Shoots have become a staple across all of their stores.

I’d say I’m not far off my original vision – although it’s taken me 6 years to achieve what I thought would take 6 months to a year. It turns out that growing things on this scale is a lot more complex than you’d expect! What may look like a load of trays of plants under lights is actually an incredible complex operation with 1000s of tiny yet crucial details.

What has stayed important to you as Bristol Shoots has grown and evolved?

The original vision for Shoot has always been incredibly important to me, and staying integral to the values and mission for the company is something which I’ve stood firm on. I think vertical farming presents an amazing opportunity to produce high quality, delicious and fresh produce locally, with virtually no food miles.

Flavour and sustainability are our two most important values and everything in the operation revolves around this.  We’ve developed many different growing processes all centred around making the most delicious, fresh and colourful shoots we can. As for sustainability we consider this in every sense of the word. We source all our energy from renewables and are constantly innovating to improve our use of resources. We compost all of our waste on site and give this away for free to local allotment holders. We’re steadfast on not using any pesticides as part of our process.

Hydroponics allows us to grow anywhere, with incredible efficiency, and produces really nutrient dense, locally grown food, which can be eaten within hours of being harvested. Growing indoors in this way produces incredible yields compared to outdoor farming – taking pressure off of arable farms. I think it’s really important that we experiment with new ideas regarding food production – building a new food system isn’t about one big idea, it’s about many little ones.

What do you think sets you apart?

Our Shoots are so different to everything else on the shelf – they’re so versatile, fresh, and really do enhance dishes. Some people even snack on them directly out of the pot. It all ties back to growing things in a different way and experimenting with new ideas. Producing this kind of produce all year round just wouldn’t be possible with an outdoor farm, or even with a greenhouse.

Do you have a favourite crop to grow, or one that’s really thriving at the moment?

I am enormously proud of our Micro Salad Mix which is also our best seller. I designed it to be super versatile and work with loads of different dishes. When surveying our customers recently I was blown away by the range of dishes people were using it in. Who would have thought it would go well in mash potato, blended it into hummus, or used to top soup? We’ve started adding some of these recipe ideas to the back of our packaging, and are hoping to add some to our website soon too.

As for crops thriving at the farm, I’ve recently cracked Red Amaranth and Coriander, which I’ve found difficult for years. Micro Coriander is an interesting one, it has a slightly different and stronger flavour. It’s rumoured that even the coriander haters out there might enjoy it!

What do you hope people feel when they pick up your produce at Better Food?

I hope people know how much it means to a maker that people are supporting their business and buying something different to what’s available everywhere. A huge amount of care and attention goes into getting the Shoots as tasty, fresh, and sustainable as they can be.

I hope people enjoy our products and experiment with them in as many meals as possible, and that it expands their horizons a little when thinking about the different ways in which we can produce food.