A MELBOURNE green thumb has grown the world’s first heart-shaped strawberry.
Josh Engwerda, a Melbourne University horticulture and commerce student, spent $20,000 seeing the project through to fruition.
The perfectly formed strawberries, with the patented name Seduberries, grew in 10,000 plastic moulds the he designed and then exported from China.
He experimented on his own strawberries in his Canterbury back yard before launching his crop in two states.
Mr Engwerda’s first batch, meant for promotional purposes, will be used by restaurants and hotels for Valentine’s Day.
He hopes to grow commercial quantities to export. A tray of a dozen seduberries will sell for $12.

-Herald Sun, January 7, 2010

Inventive university students Josh Engwerda and Leyla Acaroglu are about to transform two of Melbourne’s newspaper pillars into profitable eco businesses.

They are the City of Melbourne City Pillars Challenge 2009 winners and their innovative business ideas will transform the pillars that previously operated as newspaper kiosks into new CBD business opportunities.

Josh Engwerda, from Melbourne University, will ‘grow’ his business by targeting inner city residents, offering a ‘Green Wall Garden’ product for urban dwellers, while Leyla Acaroglu from RMIT University will create a retail space for local eco-conscious designers and artists.

Economic Development and Knowledge City Committee Chair Councillor Carl Jetter granted the students with a 12 month street trading permits to operate their businesses, and they each received a cash prize of $1200 to transform their allocated pillars into mini business incubators.

Cr Jetter said the City Pillar Challenge was designed to mentor emerging business ventures developed by local students with an emphasis on originality, creativity, business vitality, and environmental sustainability.

‘This challenge provided a unique opportunity for emerging business leaders to demonstrate initiative, experimentation and innovation,’ Cr Jetter said.

‘The pillars were originally built in the 1990s to accommodate traders in the CBD selling newspapers and magazines. Over the past two decades, the emergence of convenience retail stores has seen the demand for newspaper stands decrease.”

“Josh and Leyla have been rewarded for their original concepts and credible business plans. Now we are giving them the opportunity to translate their ideas into a real-life business situation by providing them with a high-profile CBD location.”

The Green Wall Garden will be located on the corner of Swanston and Collins Streets, The Pillar will retail a hydroponics system that produces plant crops in a short space of time. With 90 per cent water savings and little maintenance required, the Green Wall Garden is an alternative to conventional gardening and can be installed in dense urban environments such as on high rise balconies and rooftops.

‘Seduberry’ is a product designed through the Green Wall Garden system which modifies standard strawberries into the shape of a love heart. ‘Seduberry’ strawberries will also be marketed from the Green Wall Garden city pillar.

Eco Innovators pillar will be located on the corner of Swanston and Collins Streets, providing a retail space for Melbourne’s eco conscious designers and artists. The city pillar will operate for six months primarily trading in environmentally sustainable products that are designed and produced locally.

Both businesses intend to be up and running before the end of 2009.

Students Josh Engwerda and Leyla Acaroglu will operate businesses from the pillars after winning the City of Melbourne City Pillars Challenge.
They will transform the pillars, which previously operated as newspaper kiosks.
Engwerda, of Melbourne University, said he would target inner city residents, offering a Green Wall Garden product for urban dwellers.

Acaroglu of RNIIT said she would create a retail space for local eco-conscious designers and artists.
Engwerda will use his pillar, on the corner of Swanston and Collins streets, to sell a hydroponics system that quickly grows plant crops.
He said the product, an alternative to conventional gardening that can deliver up to 90 per cent water savings, was perfect for dense urban environments including high rise balconies and rooftops.

Engwerda hopes to sell other products including seduberries, head-shaped strawberries. – SHANNON DEERY