Imagine eating strawberries that are flavourful and in-season all year round.
That’s what Oishii, an American vertical farming company that grows strawberries, strives for with their luxury Japanese strawberries which have arrived in Central Ontario.
According to the Oishii website, the company is the world’s largest indoor vertical strawberry farm, aiming to introduce Japanese fruit culture to the United States.
Vertical farming means growing crops in vertically and horizontally stacked layers to optimize plant growth.
The CEO of the company, Hiroki Koga, who grew up in Japan was used to quality over quantity but was surprised when he arrived in the States and found the opposite to be true there, according to the company’s website. From there, Koga was inspired to start the first indoor vertical strawberry farm in the States.
He first brought the Omakase Berry followed by the Koyo Berry, which is the one you’ll find in a grocery store near you.
The Koyo Berry is a Japanese strawberry variety that is sweet but tart with a firm texture and means “elated” in Japanese.
It boasts a decadent strawberry that is vertically farmed, non-GMO project verified, perfectly ripe and pesticide-free. It is also hyper-local, meaning it gets to the consumer within 24 hours of harvest, making it always in season.
The luxury strawberries are, so far, only available at Fortinos across the Greater Toronto Area including in Bolton. While not cheap, strawberry lovers can pick up a box for $12.99, which holds eight medium-sized strawberries perfectly placed in individual grooves.
