Who we are
Come grow with us.
Why?
We’re hell-bent on instilling positive environmental and social habits that make our planet better. Yep, that means for you. And for your kids. And for your grandkids. And for your grandkids’ grandkids.
We love our planet. We love fresh food. We love making produce more accessible. We love community. And we love making our world a greener place.
The Just Vertical Story
Prologue - What we believe.
We’re guided by the philosophy that Green is great. We want to green your home, your planet and your approach to life. That takes growth - both figuratively and literally. We apply that mentality and approach to everything we do.
Chapter 1 - How it all started.
Over lunch in 2017 the two friends were catching up and sharing their work experiences. They decided that in order to make a real impact on the world, and truly help to eradicate food insecurity, they needed to think of a way to enable folks to grow their own food at home. The idea was to provide vertical hydroponic growing systems that fit seamlessly into urban living spaces. They applied their combined knowledge of plant science, engineering, manufacturing and business development and thus, Just Vertical was born.
Chapter 2 - Where the journey has taken us.
We’ve been humbled to receive some amazing press, which you can check out on our press page. But most importantly we’re super proud of the relationships and impact we’ve had on the incredible growers like you who are buying and loving our gardens.
Chapter 3 - What we’re doing now.
112,554,321 food miles saved since launching Just Vertical in 2017
2,337,385 liters of water saved since launching Just Vertical in 2017
24,096 pounds (lbs) of produce grown since launching Just Vertical in 2017
Chapter 4 - Where we're headed (PS. you’re invited).
As we mentioned, there are more than 1000 Just Vertical growers in the world today. But we’re not stopping there…
Imagine a world where our planet's largest farmer doesn’t own a single piece of farmland. Each indoor garden we build is designed to be easy to use, spark a sense of joy, and bring us closer to producing more high-quality, amazing tasting food for everyone in the world to consume - all without owning a single piece of land.
Epilogue - I don’t read. Show me the video.
Our team
Meet Our Team
Our team is full of kale-loving, adventure-seeking, planet-earth-obsessing, vagabond plant-scientists, marketers, designers, retail advocates, engineers, and everything in between.
Our Founders
Conner Tidd
Meet Conner - an avid sustainability strategist, self dubbed ‘King of Kale’, and the good cop of the organization. Conner has a breadth of management experience working internationally in the not-for-profit sector as well as tackling sustainability and innovation challenges in the agricultural industry. Throughout his career, Conner was recognized for his work as a Clean50 emerging leader and a" Top 30 under 30" sustainability and human rights leader. Conner loves kale.
Kevin Jakiela
Meet Kevin - Just Vertical’s resident chemist, plant scientist, and international man of mystery. Kevin has specialized experience in commercial hydroponics as well as addressing national health challenges across Canada. He’s also worked with Oxford County Health Department screening water for potential contaminants, and as an educator with First Nations Cree in Northern Quebec. Kevin also loves the Toronto Maple Leafs. Poor Kevin.