Young entrepreneur from Støvring finds success in microgreens business

When you order a piece of Danish open-faced sandwich, it often comes with some edible green garnish on top. If you dine at a restaurant, you might be served everything from small reddish radish sprouts to green saltwort on your egg sandwich, with the herbs possibly having grown in anything from a greenhouse to a teenager’s bedroom. Indeed, it was in a teenager’s room that the dreams of building a business centered on microgreens began for 21-year-old Jens Peter Andersen.

His interest in these small vegetables ignited during high school when he was first introduced to pea shoots, which he quickly grew to love and began experimenting with. “I bought some seeds and planted them. My high school friends told me they didn’t taste good, but my curiosity was sparked,” he explains. Once he mastered growing pea shoots and microgreens that tasted as they should, he saw a promising opportunity to sell them to local restaurants near his home in Støvring, Northern Jutland.

Despite still living at home, it wasn’t long before his production moved from his dark teenage room to a large, dim back room with ample space for more vegetables. “Now it’s starting to be profitable, so I can even pay myself a little,” Jens Peter notes, as he works full-time with microgreens, supplying around 30 restaurants.

Microgreens are young leafy vegetables grown closely together and harvested while still small, known for their intense flavor, vibrant appearance, and nutrient-rich qualities. Jens currently has two long rows of shelves filled with various types of microgreens under his business, JP-Grønt, including pea shoots, saltwort, radish sprouts, garlic shoots, and broccoli sprouts.

With ambitions for expansion, Jens is eager to broaden his knowledge and increase production. Having always had an entrepreneurial spirit, he hopes to fill his rented back room with more growth and is contemplating future steps based on his success. “In about a year, it might be time to look for larger premises or perhaps buy the adjacent field. I’m determined to push forward.”