Isaayu Agritech is leveraging IoT-powered home farming solutions to meet growing urban demand for sustainable and space-efficient food cultivation

As India’s hydroponics market is projected to reach a value of USD 2,292.7 million by 2033, agritech startup Isaayu aims to establish itself at the forefront of this growth with innovative, IoT-enabled indoor farming kits tailored for urban homes. Speaking to BW Disrupt on the sidelines of Startup Mahakumbh 2025, Co-founder and CEO Laxmi Preeti Gaddam shared how Isaayu is addressing key challenges of space, time, and knowledge to simplify home farming and make mindful consumption a household habit.

Edited Excerpts:

What inspired the development of these products, and how do they contribute to sustainable urban agriculture?
We wanted to build solutions. A lot of us living in cities today want to grow our vegetables, but we find challenges with space, time, and knowledge. These three challenges are something that we are addressing to enable urbanites to grow nutrient-rich crops within the spaces available to them and to make this entire process easier. To get urbanites to be consistent with this, the only way is to bring in automated solutions to make that entire journey easy, giving them knowledge and guidance through the process. Once they start harvesting and get used to it, they will not let it go.

How has your experience with Startup Mahakumbh been so far, and how do you see it helping you grow in the future?
Startup Mahakum has been very overwhelming for us. So far, we have been operating with clients in Hyderabad. But when we came here and showcased our product to clientele from other parts of the country, people were interested. They are happy to see automation where they can grow. They want to take the solution back to their homes. Now, I just need to go back and figure out how I’m going to service these clients. We will look to scale up, but maybe we will take it a little slow. First, we will start working with dealers and servicing clients, and then try to bring these solutions to other clients in India.

Last December, you signed an MOU with ABI IIOR. Could you elaborate on the objectives of this collaboration and its expected impact on the agritech sector?
Our collaboration with IIOR is basically through AIDA NAM, which is the incubation wing of ICAR. We needed lab facilities, as we are building a bio-organic nutrient to fortify our products. Since we are a start-up and don’t have the required lab facilities, we signed this MOU through AIDA with IIOR, allowing us to use their lab facilities. Under the guidance of the scientists there, we are building our R&D product.
We are working on it, and it’s still in the R&D phase, so we don’t talk much about it yet.

With hydroponics gaining traction as a soil-less cultivation method, what do you consider to be the key advantages of the hydroponic system? Additionally, how does Isaayu Agri support individuals transitioning to this farming method?
Hydroponics is something that’s coming up; it’s not yet fully established. For us in India, it’s a solution for the future. People who are doing it commercially—some are doing well, and some are not.

Where ISAIU comes in with hydroponics is by bringing it to urbanites who don’t have space and are unable to grow vegetables in their home spaces. So, we say, at least start with greens. When we say greens, we suggest hydroponic kits, which make their entire journey of growing greens easier, ensuring they’re harvesting nutritious greens within their home spaces.

We’ve automated the entire system with IoT, so it’s a plug-and-play solution. People buy our kits, set them up on their balconies, and everything runs by itself. They can simply harvest their greens and consume them daily.

Turning to the Isaayu product line, which includes farming kits and indoor farming solutions, how do these products address the needs of urban dwellers with limited space? And what has the customer response been like so far?
We have solutions for apartments. We suggest hydroponic home kits, but for people living in villas and individual houses, we recommend going natural. We set up terrace farms for them, and our IoT devices automate the entire process. When a client approaches us, we visit their home, take measurements, and understand their family’s nutritional requirements.

Based on that, we customise a vegetable-growing plan for their family and set up the entire system for them. It’s all automated through IoT, so they can manage it via the app, including the irrigation systems and everything else. My team, which includes agronomists, guides the urbanite on what fertilizers to use and when, as well as what biopesticides to use and when, until they are harvesting exactly what they need.

Your colleague mentioned that there have been 20 sales so far, if I’m not mistaken. How do you plan to expand and attract more customers to scale your business? Additionally, how do you view the scalability of your model?
Scalability is there. The reason for building IoT is scalability again because if we were just providing services, it wouldn’t attract scalability. But IoT is something that we are focusing on. What we would probably be looking at is having dealers and people offering these kinds of services in every city across India.

We would connect with them and onboard them as partners. Then, we would provide them with our automation systems so they can set it up for their clients in their cities and run the entire system on our automation.

To date, what challenges have you faced in promoting home farming technologies? And what advice would you offer to individuals or communities interested in adopting these practices?
The biggest challenge when I approach clientele is with hydroponics people think it is expensive. It is on the expensive side. Even with terrace farming, when we customise it and give them the entire pricing, they think it is too pricey. But what I suggest to urbanites is not to look at an ROI here. The ROI is that you’re harvesting fresh produce for your family.

One doesn’t look at an ROI when one is purchasing a TV or a refrigerator. These are things that are essential in the house these days. These are devices that one wants in one’s house. I think farming kits are something we need to adapt to, where it becomes a necessity so that tomorrow we grow to be sustainable. Our children will learn how to be sustainable, and they will understand the growing journey. And we can be sure of what we are harvesting and consuming.

What future trends do you foresee in indoor farming, and how are you preparing to meet these evolving demands?
We have built our automation systems and are ready for the boom. But the boom is yet to come. It will take some time in India. Even in other parts of the world, it’s still building up. Some players are doing well, and there are players who are not doing well. If people follow the vertical farming industry, they would probably know that some are doing well, while others are not. In India, it’s still in the early stages. It’s still building up. I think it will take another four to five years for the indoor farming industry to settle.