Our Story

There is a saying that “Necessity is the Mother of all Invention”, whilst we certainly are not claiming to have invented hydroponics, we believe we have perfected it, especially for the small to medium size growers.

It all started when Jeff Cullis, a parallel entrepreneur ventured in the F&B industry, initially a bespoke coffee shop serving up all kinds of coffee’s but later it developed into a Bistro styled eatery with regulars using the coffee shop Wi-Fi and wanting a bite to eat. Soon the requests for fresh lettuce, tomato, parsley and microgreens were coming thick and fast. Jeff then decided to grow his own to satisfy the on-demand consumption but been situated on the first floor, with no soil beds posed an obvious challenge. Hydroponics soon became the logical choice until he realised that the market only really catered for large scale systems, primarily sourced from the East and not ideal for the local conditions.

Jeff then build his own system and implemented it with great success, the results were so impressive and observed by wide eyed clients who also wanted systems for private use. As an entrepreneur, Jeff soon realised there was a gap in the market and Urban Organics was founded in 2016.

The journey from there has been exciting and Urban Organics has had phenomenal success with thousands of systems installed all around South Africa, and across our borders in Namibia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Zambia, the Seychelles, Mauritius, New Zealand and Brazil among others.

From a humble one metre system with just three derivatives, Urban Organics now boasts well over 100 models, bespoke systems and has recently entered the greenhouse market with high end quality greenhouses for schools and community growers. The concept has been recognised and has won a number of awards, including Small Business of the Year.

There are plans to roll out a storefront with all the peripherals as well as a seed bank and vegetable nursery to compliment the offering in the near future.