March 11, 2021

By Lynda Kiernan, Global AgInvesting Media

The aptly named produce company Oishii (meaning ‘delicious’ in Japanese) announced that it has raised $50 million through a Series A round led by SPARX Group’s Mirai Creation Fund II – a fund created by Toyota Motor Corporation, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, and SPARX. 

Additional existing investors in the company include Sony Innovation Fund, PKSHA Technology, Social Starts, and a range of angel investors, who have all been active in bringing Oishii’s total funding since its inception to $55 million.

Founded in 2016, Oishii is not only the first company to successfully grow pollinated produce at scale through vertical farming, but is also the developer of the largest indoor vertical strawberry farm in the world.

“We are striving to change the landscape of the fruit industry and introduce a wildly new concept of what fresh fruit can be in its optimal form,” stated the company on its website. 

Known for its innovative farming methods, Oishii has joined nature with technology, and has accomplished what was once thought to be the impossible in vertical farming – it has perfected one of the most complex crops to grow in such a manner at commercial scale, overcoming hurdles with its proprietary and first-of-its-kind pollination method, carried out naturally with bees. 

“Our mission is to change the way we grow food. We set out to deliver exceptionally delicious and sustainable produce,” said Koga. “We started with the strawberry — a fruit that routinely tops the dirty dozen of most pesticide-riddled crops — as it has long been considered the ‘holy grail’ of vertical farming.”

Oishii’s farmers are highly trained, being taught strawberry cultivation methods that took decades to develop and perfect in the foothills of Japan. These farmers work seamlessly with AI-driven precision automation and machine learning, with the result being hyper-local, clean, fresh, and healthy berries that are also carbon neutral.

“Oishii is the farm of the future,” said Shuhei Abe, president and group CEO, SPARX Group Co. “The cultivation and pollination techniques the company has developed set them well apart from the industry, positioning Oishii to quickly revolutionize agriculture as we know it.”

In 2018, only two years after launching, Oishii was behind another “first” when it introduced its Omakase Berry – an artisanal Japanese strawberry known for its unique sweetness, aroma, and creamy texture that was once only found on a seasonal basis in the Japanese Alps.

Oishii was able to recreate the ideal growing conditions for the Omakase Berry at its indoor farm.  This achievement marked the first time the berry had ever been grown in the U.S., and it quickly gained the attention of Michelin-starred chefs, including chefs at The Chef’s Table at Brooklyn Fare, Masa, Atera, Atomix, L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon, Dominique Ansel Bakery, Café Kitsuné, and Murray’s Cheese.

The company’s innovative approach to food production, its rapid growth, and its unique produce also attracted the attention of a range of prominent investors.

With the capital secured through its partners, Oishii plans to expand into new markets beyond its flagship vertical farm outside of Manhattan in Kearny, New Jersey, and to invest in the R&D that will drive its transformation of agricultural production and expansion into other strawberry varieties and new crops such as tomatoes, melons, and peppers.

“We aim to be the largest strawberry producer in the world, and this capital allows us to bring the best-tasting, healthiest berry to everyone,”  said Hiroki Koga, CEO, Oishii. “From there, we’ll quickly expand into new fruits and produce.”

photos credit : Drew Escriva via Oishii Farms

– Lynda Kiernan is editor with GAI Media, and is managing editor and daily contributor for Global AgInvesting’s AgInvesting Weekly News and  Agtech Intel News, and HighQuest Group’s Oilseed & Grain News. She is also a contributor to the GAI Gazette. She can be reached at lkiernan@globalaginvesting.com.