As traditional field-grown agriculture grapples with increasingly erratic weather patterns and systemic supply chain vulnerabilities, a segment of the indoor agriculture sector is emerging with a different strategy. Rather than competing solely on volume, industry leaders like Oishii’s Hiroki Koga and Pure Flavor’s Julia Weber are reframing the conversation around consistency, flavor, and consumer trust.
For Oishii, the strategy involved bypassing the crowded, low-margin market of leafy greens in favor of high-complexity crops: strawberries. While the vertical farming industry has faced significant capital constraints and consolidation, CEO Hiroki Koga argues that the sector’s early failures were rooted in prioritizing operational ease over product differentiation.
“The consolidation we’ve seen largely traces back to companies choosing leafy greens because they were easy to grow, not because the business model worked,” Koga says. “We made the opposite bet from the start: strawberries are harder to grow, but it’s a crop consumers can immediately taste differences in quality.”
Oishii’s approach is defined by “indoor-first” innovation. Rather than simply replicating field conditions, the company focuses on identifying biological levers exclusive to controlled-environment agriculture to optimize yield and flavor. By developing premium varieties—such as the accessible Nikko Berry—and scaling its retail footprint, the firm is building a technological bridge toward long-term price parity. Koga anticipates that by 2030, systemic advancements in automation and breeding will allow indoor-grown produce to shed its “premium” label and become a standard, sustainable alternative to field-grown counterparts.
“Smart farming has structural advantages field-grown never will—no seasonality, no weather risk, no pesticides, and yield that keeps improving,” Koga notes. “Once we close the remaining cost gap, there’s no reason for a quality-conscious consumer to choose field-grown over indoor.”
Parallel to these technological shifts, greenhouse producer Pure Flavor is tackling the challenge of consumer perception. Recognizing that high-quality produce requires a strong brand identity, Vice President of Marketing Julia Weber has spearheaded a brand refresh aimed at shifting greenhouse-grown produce from a commodity into a category driven by purpose and value.
The shift, characterized by the “Simply Good” positioning, is supported by data-driven insights into consumer pain points. Weber emphasizes that for greenhouse growers, the primary challenge is educating consumers about the value of year-round consistency in a market still largely driven by traditional seasonal cycles.
“We’ve received so much positive feedback on our new branding, and I believe that’s because the change is grounded in a deep understanding of the consumer—what motivates them, what they value, and what their pain points are within the category,” Weber says.
To bridge the gap between high-tech production and consumer habits, Pure Flavor utilizes a multi-channel ecosystem. While packaging remains intentionally clean and uncluttered to avoid overwhelming shoppers, the brand leverages digital marketing, social media, and point-of-sale programs to communicate the benefits of greenhouse-grown items.
Both Koga and Weber agree that the market is far from reaching its saturation point. By focusing on distinct consumer motivations and refusing to treat indoor-grown produce as a mere substitute for traditional farming, these companies are positioning themselves to lead a fundamental shift in the produce aisle. For the industry, the goal is clear: creating a food system that is not only environmentally resilient but also deeply aligned with the modern consumer’s demand for quality and transparency.
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