Indoor vertical grower Oishii said in a news release it launched a new berry, Nikko, the third strawberry varietal to date. Meaning “sunshine” in Japanese, Oishii said Nikko has a lively tartness, crisp texture, balanced sweetness and juicy center.
Nikko berry joins Oishii’s existing offerings including berries Omakase, Koyo and Rubi tomato. Oishii said each of its varieties features a unique color, flavor, texture and aroma and every tray of its varieties offers premium consistency, quality and flavor standards.
The Nikko berry grows more berries per plant than its other varietals, which allows the brand to launch packages as low as $7.99, its lowest price product to date.
This release comes on the heels of Oishii’s acquisition of Tortuga AgTech’s key teams, IP and assets, which the company said will grow 20 times more strawberries and help the company expand into East Coast markets and lower harvesting and product expenses.
“The new Nikko berry is a prime example of our commitment to reinvent agriculture,” said Hiroki Koga, CEO and co-founder at Oishii. “Over the last eight years we’ve worked tirelessly to improve our technology and cost efficiency, and with the launch of our third product, our most affordable berry yet, we are delivering on our promise to make fresh, delicious, pesticide-free produce accessible and available all year long. This breakthrough reflects the scale, automation and continuous research happening inside our vertical farms, where we’ve conducted a few hundred years’ worth of experiments in just the last year alone. From launching our first product at $50 in 2018, to now retailing berries in the single digits, we’re excited to see how far we can go at this pace.”