Empowering Women in Agrifood: Interview with Yulia Logvinovska, Co-founder at LUCA

Editor’s Note: This article was produced in partnership with and with financial backing from EIT Food.

The Empowering Women in Agrifood (EWA) program by EIT Food gives an unmatched system for women business owners to drive advancement in developing a lasting food system. Sustained by the European Institute of Advancement and Innovation (EIT), a body of the European Union, this effort champs females in farming by outfitting them with the devices, abilities, and networks required to be successful. Female’s payments to lasting food systems and country neighborhoods are indispensable, yet usually ignored, and this program looks for to link that void by promoting management, self-confidence, and service acumen amongst individuals.

The 2024 version of the EWA program noted its 5th effective year, involving 120 women business owners from 12 nations, consisting of Bulgaria, Croatia, Czechia, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Portugal, Spain, Turkey, and Ukraine. Throughout 6 months, individuals took advantage of a thorough collection of mentoring, service mentoring, and networking possibilities, along with been experts training provided in neighborhood languages. Incredibly, the effort has actually caused the development of 35 start-ups and the raising of EUR13 million in financing, showing its transformative effect on the industry.

As component of this collection, we will certainly include meetings with 3 impressive champions from the 2024 EWA program. Each meeting will certainly supply a special look right into the means this program equips females to drive purposeful adjustment in the agri-food industry. Allow’s solve into it!

Meeting with Yulia Logvinovska, Founder at LUCA

We are enjoyed share our meeting with Yulia, the creator of LUCA and among the individuals and champions of the 2024 EWA program! Yulia’s cutting-edge upright farming task concentrates on supplying fresh, top quality environment-friendlies while prioritising sustainability and metropolitan farming. In this meeting, we’ll explore her business trip, the development of LUCA, and the duty the EWA program played in her development.

Can you begin by sharing the ideas behind LUCA and exactly how your trip right into upright farming started?

LUCA began as a concept deeply rooted in my youth memories. I utilized to market veggies at the marketplace in my home city with my grandparents, where I found out the worth of fresh fruit and vegetables and the effort behind it. Rapid ahead to transferring to the city, I understood exactly how detached metropolitan life can really feel from top quality, fresh food. That’s when the concept clicked– why not bring farming right into the city? With Serhiy, my companion and the design brilliant behind LUCA, we integrated our abilities to produce a ranch that might match metropolitan life and supply (for the start) environment-friendlies that are as fresh as if you chose them on your own.

What encouraged you to concentrate on upright farming, and exactly how do you think this method adds to a much more lasting food system?

We really did not study upright farming due to the fact that it was a pattern or a glossy brand-new point. We intended to produce top quality, fresh items, and after mindful evaluation, we became aware that upright farming was the very best method to accomplish that. In addition, it’s lasting, it reduces using sources like water, and it enables us to expand year-round, also in metropolitan settings. What we discovered is that this method isn’t simply great for our ranch; it’s additionally a smarter method to expand food for the future.

LUCA is experts in expanding fresh, top quality salads and environment-friendlies. Can you stroll us with your cutting-edge farming procedure and discuss what establishes it apart?

We expand hydroponically, indicating the plants obtain their nutrients from water, not dirt. This enables us to regulate every variable– light, temperature level, moisture– to produce the ideal atmosphere for them to flourish. Consider it as a health facility day for environment-friendlies each and every single day. What truly establishes us apart, however, is our interest to preference. Our environment-friendlies aren’t simply healthy and balanced; they’re scrumptious. I securely think food that benefits you need to additionally be a happiness to consume.

What were a few of the greatest obstacles you dealt with in introducing LUCA, and exactly how did you conquer them?

Oh, where do I begin? Past the apparent economic difficulties and functional missteps, among the greatest troubles is the nature of the item itself. Environment-friendlies are fragile– they do not have a lengthy service life, and a whole lot can fail in the expanding procedure. And also, the battle in Ukraine brought an included layer of changability, with power failures, supply chain problems and high dangers. However we simply maintain progressing, adjusting and finding out as we go.

When did you initially find out about the EWA program, and what encouraged you to take part?

I initially became aware of it while discovering possibilities for females business owners, and I assumed, “ That’s what I require” What truly got me was the concentrate on farming, which is such a details industry. It’s not almost basic service understanding– it has to do with deep, specialized understanding. And also, the mentorship over 6 months? That’s gold. I understood it would certainly offer me the added assistance I required to scale LUCA and make it much more impactful.

Exactly how did the mentorship and training throughout the EWA program affect your service method for LUCA? What would certainly you determine as the 3 most considerable lessons you found out?

The mentorship was indispensable. Because we introduced the ranch equally as the program began, we had the ability to form our method while in fact in the procedure of constructing business. It was the ideal timing. Below are 3 essential lessons:

1. 1. Do not undervalue the power of a solid network. It’s necessary to have the best individuals around you.
   2. Purchase establishing a strong item instead of fancy advertising and marketing. An excellent item will certainly constantly promote itself.
   3. Start-ups are everything about theory screening. One of the most vital point is not to be worried, not to go for excellence, yet to simply begin and maintain going and doing.

Sustainability goes to the core of LUCA’s objective. Exactly how do you guarantee your items and techniques line up with this dedication to the atmosphere?

Upright farming is the bridge in between cities and lasting food systems. It enables metropolitan locations to generate fresh food in your area, minimizing reliance on lengthy supply chains. And as the worldwide populace expands, we’ll require clever options such as this to feed even more individuals without tiring our world’s sources.

Lastly, what recommendations would certainly you supply to various other females business owners curious about beginning their very own business trip?

Activity is one of the most vital money for any type of business owner. Do not hesitate to take actions, also if they appear tiny. In some cases you can not also envision exactly how one little step can set off a chain of occasions that results in something larger.

Commemorating success and looking in advance

The EWA programme proceeds showing the power of targeted assistance for females business owners in the agri-food industry. Supplying mentorship, networking, and hands-on training, this program allows individuals to bring their cutting-edge concepts to life while promoting a much more comprehensive and lasting food system. The success tales from the 2024 version emphasize the program’s significant effect, from safeguarding financing to scaling companies and going into brand-new markets.

Keep tuned for our following meeting, where we will certainly highlight an additional motivating individual from the EWA program. Each tale emphasizes the transformative possibility of equipping females in agrifood and advises us of the essential duty they play fit the future of lasting food systems.

The article Empowering Women in Agrifood: Interview with Yulia Logvinovska, Co-founder at LUCA showed up initially on EU-Startups.