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Scaling Emerging Agriculture with New Agri-Tech Software with RUBISKO

Updated: 5 days ago

Smiling person in an orange raincoat surrounded by hanging kelp. Green and brown seaweed fill the scene, creating a lively, natural setting.

RUBISKO, a Kent-based agri-tech start-up, used support from Growing Kent & Medway to develop a new data management platform for emerging agricultural industries. One of our medium-sized grant programmes funded R&D to build two modules for seaweed nurseries and insect farms, saving farms 50% on admin time and attracting international customers.

At A Glance: Project Quick Facts

  • Project Lead: RUBISKO (Will Varcoe)

  • Collaborators: SAMS, Marivate, Fly2Feed (Pilot Farms)

  • Total Funding: £24,900 (Grant Awarded: £12,450 / Co-investment: £12,450)

  • Key Findings: Reduced data admin time by over 50%; progressed software from early concept (TRL 2) to operational commercial use (TRL 7).

  • Food System Area:

The Challenge: The Data Problem in Emerging Agriculture

Man in red coat and blue hairnet in a pink-lit indoor farm. Shelves with plants in background.
Will Varcoe, co-founder of RUBISKO, experienced the traceability and complience issues faced by emerging agriculture first-hand while working at a vertical farm in Clapham. He and his co-founder set about to solve these issues by founding RUBISKO, a software company based in Sevenoaks, Kent.

Emerging agricultural industries, like seaweed and insect farming, are crucial for a sustainable future, yet they often lack the digital tools required for efficient production. As RUBISKO founder Will Varcoe explains, "These emerging industries spend a lot of time administering data... when they could be working on the farm".

This reliance on spreadsheets and paper forms creates a significant barrier: "a real lack of traceability and compliance," which prevents these businesses from entering new markets. RUBISKO was founded to solve this data bottleneck and enable these sectors to compete with large-scale traditional agriculture.

The Innovative Idea: A Software Solution for Traceability

RUBISKO’s mission is to "enable emerging agriculture to out-compete traditional agriculture". Their innovative idea was to create a simple, affordable software platform (KORA) that standardises data management, solving immediate problems of traceability, compliance, and administration.

Beyond efficiency, the software creates a massive commercial opportunity. As Will puts it, "When you have a software that manages all of your data... you can then do something with that data. You can activate the data... you can really accelerate the growth of a company".

The Approach: Deploying and Iterating with Pilot Farms

Man in blue sweater presents on insect farming to seated audience. Screen shows images of insects, substrate, and farming notes. Bright room setting.
Will Varcoe presented the results of this project, funded by one of our medium-sized grant programmes, at the annual Controlled Environment Users' Group conference in East Malling, Kent.

This project was supported by one of our medium-sized grant programmes, enabling a hands-on, iterative development process. The team partnered with three pilot farms – two seaweed nurseries (SAMS and Marivate) and an insect farm (Fly2Feed) – to build and deploy bespoke versions of their KORA software.

The R&D involved conducting at least four cycles of development and testing with each farm. This allowed the RUBISKO team to build and refine modules for everything from crop tracking to operational task scheduling, based on direct user feedback in a real-world environment.

The Results: From Concept to Commercial Revenue

The project exceeded expectations, successfully advancing the technology from an early concept (Technology Readiness Level 2–3) to a fully operational commercial system (TRL 7). The primary goal of efficiency was surpassed, with all pilot farms estimating a reduction in data admin time of over 50 per cent.

Commercially, the impact was immediate. The seaweed software module is now in daily use by four commercial hatcheries, generating approximately £4,800 in annualised recurring revenue. This validation proves that the platform delivers actionable insights, helping farms optimise everything from feedstocks to growth timelines.

See it Differently: Agri-Tech Software for Sustainable Farming

Looking Forward: Activating Data with AI

This project has provided the foundation for the next stage of RUBISKO’s mission: activating the data. As Will explains, the goal is to "create things like predictive models, whether it's through machine learning and AI... you create the perfect production line".

The proven success of the standardised hatchery system has already unlocked follow-on opportunities, including proposals for adjacent software and data projects within the seaweed sector. The company is also building a new relationship with Canterbury Christ Church University to collaborate on data science skills for the agri-tech sector.

Our Support: Facilitating a Fast-Growing Agri-Tech Hub

This ambitious R&D project was supported by one of our medium-sized grant programmes, which provided £12,450 in funding. This capital enabled the in-house development and iterative testing with the pilot farms that was crucial for achieving commercial readiness.

Will highlighted that the support went far beyond just the funding: "The team at Growing Kent & Medway offered a lot of really good advice, which I wasn't expecting... they were extremely helpful".

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