The fruit of education is sweet, said Aristotle, and a Calgary philosophy major named Rob Horricks won’t argue.

And so are pesticide-free Asian pears, bursting with juice and flavour, delivered to your door from a garden of earthly delights.

With world financial markets currently peeking out from beneath the bed, it’s a source of relief to get back to the good earth.

As sole owner of Organic Express, which places 400 organic veggie and fruit baskets in the hands of its customers each week, the 28-year-old Horricks can walk into his warehouse and inhale an exotically aromatic blend from Ma Earth’s cornucopia: cauliflower, cukes, beans, beets and bananas.

David Lazarowych, Business Edge
Rob Horricks is catering to a growing demand for chemical-free produce.

And he thanks the deity that he didn’t grow up to be a financial adviser, a stockbroker, a wireless wizard, a software peddler, or an airline executive.

Because whether times are desperate or tranquil, everybody’s gotta eat – every day.

Even the government has acknowledged that more consumers are interested in chemical-free growlies. Alberta Agriculture suggests farmers may be missing a solid opportunity if they persist in snubbing organic produce.

As for Horricks, he prizes his local suppliers. He’s currently retailing Alberta-grown organic carrots and spuds, as well as free-range poultry. Organic Express generally looks to B.C. and California for year-round supplies of other good eats.

An engaging young entrepreneur with a ponytail, earring, and an abiding passion for Asian philosophies, Horricks specialized in ancient ethical thinkers while pursuing his degree. He hedged his bets by minoring in management.

You’d expect an educated philosopher to employ a well-developed BS detector.

He does.

“When I first heard about organic produce, I thought: ‘This is such a scam,’ ” Horricks admitted.

However, further study indicated the contrary.

“In terms of produce, ‘organic’ simply means fruits and vegetables grown without chemical pesticides, fertilizers, waxes, dyes, fumigation or genetic modification,” he repeated the criteria for about the thousandth time.

“I think the issue is that some growers are blanket spraying,” said Horricks.

“It’s a profit-and-production-oriented approach that doesn’t respect quality of the product, or overall quality of life.”

Nice to see the philosophy grad putting his background in ethics to use.

He started with a modest nest egg of $40,000, including his savings and a $15,000 loan from the Youth Business Foundation.

Horricks and his wife, Zen, made their initial deliveries the same day, Jan. 10, 1998.

Rob delivered a basket of goodies to a Calgary household. Zen delivered a bundle of joy named Rama, the couple’s growing daughter.

“My wife jabbed me about 5 a.m., and said: ‘You better get out and do your deliveries, because you’ll have to do another one tonight,’ ” the greengrocer grinned.

That initial delivery – Rob’s, not Zen’s – culminated a long-term plan with roots in the University of Calgary’s Environ-mental Entrepreneurship program, and the New Venture Development Group. With BA in hand, Horricks had registered in the entrepreneurship program, and crafted his business plan under the guidance of a team of instructors.

His expertise only broadened when he put himself through school by working at the local supermarket.

Like a bodhisattva soaking up wisdom from Buddhist masters, Horricks discovered the tao of fresh produce from the sages working in Safeway’s produce section. “You have to work under an expert to learn. It’s not easy to spot the signs that a piece of fruit is just about to go bad,” he explained.

“I have a real love for the product. You pick up a nice Asian pear, you realize it came from the farmer and the tree, you’re completing the cycle.”

But the touchy-feely vibes haven’t kept Horricks from keeping his high-tech options open. The Organic Express website (www.orgexpress.com) allows customers to order online.

During his relatively short time in business, Horricks has watched competitors open their doors, then subsequently close them in defeat.

Why? He’s not sure, although all rookie entrepreneurs have their doubts in the early going. “There are times you work a 12-hour day without making any money. Then a customer comes in with a complaint about spoiled fruit, and you ask yourself: ‘Is this really worth it?’ ”

In retrospect, the answer is yes. Organic Express is growing like a weed, with eight employees, and a fleet of three vans.

And although fans of organic produce represent only about two per cent of consumers, even the most conservative estimates indicate the national market’s growing 15 to 20 per cent annually.

Hey, we all gotta eat. Wasn’t it The Buddha who said: “I have lived on wild roots and fruit . . . ?”