After many years in banking and finance, Morten Blaauw wanted to spend more time outdoors and realize his dream of a small farm. He stepped down, bought the defunct Haug farm in Hurum and planted 700 apple trees. Everyday life was divided between practical work and project-based office work – and it felt meaningful. Until the groundhogs came.
– The first year we lost 150 trees. In total we have lost between 400 and 500. We had to find a solution for that if it was going to be sustainable to continue as a fruit farmer, says Morten.
He tried everything from chicken wire to plastic cages, but nothing worked optimally. It wasn't until an engineer suggested using metal mesh bags that he came up with a solution that actually kept the voles out.
– There were no solutions on the market that worked properly. So I decided to develop this further. I thought there must be many andre who had the same problem, he says.
From research project to patent
The path from idea to finished product was not straightforward, however. They did not receive support for the project on their first attempt, but through good guidance from Innovation Norway , he was referred to the Regional Research Fund, which supported an extensive development project.
Together with the Norwegian Agricultural Advisory Service , NIBIO and NTNU, Blaauw and his team tested different materials and different mesh sizes. In 2020, 130 trees were planted with different solutions, which were dug up and analyzed after one year. Where had the rodents gotten through? What had survived? How much shoot growth was there?
The results showed that the metal mesh effectively stopped the ground rats from attacking the roots. However, during testing in the experimental field at NMBU, the idea came to extend the bag to also
protect above-ground rodents that could damage the trees. Therefore, the solution was further developed to protect both the root and trunk, something no one else andre products on the market offer. A patent application was filed, and the product called 3Bag now has patent pending status. The trunk protector has now also become a separate product: 3Guard .
From hobby project to own factory
Today, Morten Blaauw runs the company Frukt AS from his own newly started factory in Ås. There, three industrial knitting machines produce the metal meshes on a large scale. The customers are both professional farmers and hobby growers, and the products are delivered to over a hundred customers in Norway and Denmark. The orders come directly via the website, often as a result of mentions in trade magazines.
– This started as a hobby project next to the small farm. Now it has become a full-time job, and we see potential far beyond Scandinavia. In Southern Europe, the problem with rodents is at least as big, he says.
The lesson: Start small, solve problems you know about
With a growing customer base and patent process underway, Blaauw has achieved what many entrepreneurs dream of: Building a sustainable business from a concrete problem he himself was in the middle of.
– I started by solving a problem I had myself. Then we tested, collected data and improved the solution. Only when it actually worked did we start thinking about factories and scaling, says Morten.
Frukt AS is an example of how far one can go by solving a concrete problem in one's own garden and how systematic testing and professional collaboration can elevate a simple idea to a sustainable product and a viable business.
Frukt AS er med i Aggrator sitt StartUp program. Møt Morten Blaauw og flere av våre gründere på ESSE vekstporgram.