The market for hydroponics and aeroponics in India was predicted to be around 35 crores rupees and 3100 metric tonnes (MT) in 2019. By 2023, the market is projected to reach 10,500 MT with a CAGR of 26 percent. However, lowcost conventional farms that offer exotic veggies compete fiercely for market share. Over ten startups and major business groups have entered the market in the last three to four years as a result of the technology's increasing popularity, which has increased competition. Compared to divisions that are well-established in nations like the US, Europe, Singapore, and China, the hydroponics and aeroponics market in India is still in its infancy. But because there is so much untapped market potential, there is a level playing field for both existing players and newcomers. In the year 2020, Balcony Crops began their hydroponics quest. With the objective to adopt sustainable agricultural methods that may be applied to both small scale (home gardening) and large-scale (commercial) farming. Compared to conventional farming practices, their distinctive growing process offers larger yields while using up to 90 percent less water.

Balcony Crops is a Hydroponics farming company that builds commercial farms and provides DIY Grow kits to customers. "Balcony Crops is your one stop destination for Urban Farming. Our company's vision is to encourage people to do urban farming and

ensure that they follow sustainable methods", says Adarsh Sridharan, Founder of Balcony Crops. The company's motive is to encourage and introduce farming to the urban crowd, and in that process they created easy to setup DIY Grow kits. The process behind this creates an awareness about farming, and people can easily grow their daily veggies, greens, flowers and others, at their home.

Idea & Market Prospects
In order to grow a range of crops that would please the urban marketplace, many people are interested in hydroponic gardening because there is very little space in urban areas like Chennai, Mumbai, and Hyderabad. Hydroponics is thought to be considerably more desirable in terms of generating the greatest results because it can be grown anywhere, and has more flexibility. Due to its excessive reliance on electricity and ongoing maintenance requirements, aeroponics is not very popular in India. Power outages or any other type of equipment failures, such as a motor failing, would generate a lot of symptoms in the plants and ultimately result in collapse. Therefore, aeroponics is not widely employed in India, but hydroponics has developed significantly over the past few years.

The journey for Balcony crops was inspired by one of their early customers who instead of buying greens asked if they could help grow their own greens on the rooftop. Gradually, they started making DIY Grow Bag kits, considering how expensive the kits available in the market were. The company wanted to create affordable,easy to maintain garden kits to encourage more people to opt for hydroponic farming methods. Balcony Crops's DIY kits are available on their website, The wide range of products include Mini Balcony Kit to terrace gardening kit with range of one planter upto 10 plants, hydroponic nutrients, honey bee boxes, Bee Smokers, Honey Extractors and Coco Coins. The Kits are designed to perfection with breathable fabric material as this helps plants to breathe well, and drain any excess water. "Many people fail in home gardening citing root rot as an issue. We identified the problem, and curated these fabric bags that are breathable as well as sturdy enough to sustain on outdoor areas", says the Founder. These kits are best suited for families of 2 to 4 with the installation process being extremely simple and quick. "The best part of maintenance of your garden is it will take only 15 minutes per week, everyone can enjoy healthy greens and vegetables at their home", said the Founder.

Future Roadmap
With a strong range of products in its portfolio, Balcony Crops is set to expand its operations in the near future across the Globe. The company aims to penetrate more urban regions, and reach at least 100 new apartment buildings for commercial hydroponic kits and at least 1000 more end users within the next year.