Just Vertical (Canada), a manufacturer of home-based hydroponic farming solutions, announced its agreement with NexTech’s Aritize (Canada) on the 23rd of April 2019. Just Vertical manufactures hydroponic farming units which are integrated into home furniture to minimize space requirements for farming while also seeking to maximize farming functions in a residential environment. It provides a home-based growing solution with pods, seeds, lights, and the necessary rail systems that are integrated into a single product. The partnership with NexTech’s Aritize is expected to overhaul Just Vertical’s existing infrastructure and provide augmented reality support to its website to help consumers analyze the product in a virtual space in their homes.
MarketsandMarkets™ Viewpoint:
Mr. Chaitanya Rao, Research Associate: Food, Beverage, Animal Nutrition, and Agriculture at MarketsandMarkets™, shares his Point of View as mentioned below:
The strategic partnership will enable the promotion of Just Vertical’s AEVA product in the global market as the resulting partnership can bolster customer prospects. NexTech’s Aritize platform has a proven track record in the creation of augmented reality solutions. NexTech is well established in the Canadian market as a provider of augmented reality solutions, making it an ideal partner for Just Vertical. Its products include ARitize e-Commerce, Hoot 3D e-Commerce, ARitize App, ARitize Retail Showrooms, and ARitize Studios. Thus, the partnership will help Just Vertical gain a competitive edge in providing better customer service through a mobile or tablet application interface, which can help improve the appeal and salability of its products.
Impact of Partnership:
The demand for home-based hydroponic farming in North America is increasing. To seize the opportunity, Just Vertical’s technological partnership with NexTech will help increase the revenues of the company in the future. The software development agreement will increase the competition among the residential hydroponic equipment manufacturers in the region.
The figure below depicts the opportunities in the hydroponic market, in terms of value. The European market accounted for the largest share in 2018. The market in the region is driven by the increasing demand for organic produce and urban farming initiatives, which continue to propel the demand for residential hydroponic equipment. Furthermore, the cold climatic conditions in Europe present ideal conditions for the deployment of residential hydroponic farming units.
FIGURE 1 HYDROPONICS MARKET FORECAST TO 2020
e – Estimated; p – Projected
Source: MarketsandMarkets™ Analysis
Top Competitors:
The key players in the hydroponics market include Koninklijke Philips NV (Netherlands), Argus Control Systems Ltd. (Canada), Heliospectra AB (Sweden), Logiqs B.V. (Netherlands), LumiGrow, Inc. (US), and General Hydroponics, Inc. (US).
Conclusion:
The decrease in arable land and the growing demand for fresh organic produce among consumers have bolstered growth in the hydroponics market. The advantages offered by hydroponic farming, including lower water consumption and higher nutritional value in the final produce, have helped improve prospects for manufacturers of residential hydroponic systems. Just Vertical’s foray into integrating hydroponic farming in living spaces is expected to witness increased consumer acceptance over the next few years as people seek to grow their own produce for consumption.