FEBRUARY 2019 SEEDWORLD.COM / 53 Robotics play a pivotol role in the Koppert Cress greenhouse. I WALKED IN THIS facility with not much excitement to learn about the business of microgreens, but it was far and away one of the best stops on my trip. Microgreens — those small little garnishes that sit on the side of your plate — are making a big splash. These little greens can pack a punch for your taste buds. Rob Baan, who purchased the company back in 2002 and renamed it Koppert Cress, wants to change the way people look at fresh food and health. His approach hasn’t been just to seek out different microgreens and grow them, but to partner with chefs and high-end restaurants around the world and train them on how they might incorporate these microgreens into their dishes. To entice chefs to come to his facility and learn, he’s got one of three custom-made Molteni ranges, something that has most chef’s jumping at the chance to experience. Who knew that cress is a treasure-trove of flavor for chefs? Baan and his business partners, Theo Cuppen and Altai Lin, all have a background in the seed industry. Baan used to work in marketing for Syngenta. Cuppen and Lin were operating seed companies under the names of Inova Seed and Oriental Seed. Both had been looking for initiatives outside the seed industry but with a connection to their core activities. Within the business Cuppen manages the seed companies and is responsible for the smooth running of logistical mat- ters relating to seed and the international communications and financial hurdles. Lin manages production locations in China and Vietnam, and is always on the lookout for new combinations, and Baan is the communicator and marketer of the trio. Marketing Genius Rob Baan’s sons are active in the family business. These microgreens are inspiring chefs around the world.