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Author: From Vertical Farm Daily

Oishii and Vertical Farm Daily

Oishii Bids to Double US Retail Doors with New Tiered Portfolio and Lowest-Ever Price Point

From Vertical Farm Daily…

Oishii has restructured its strawberry lineup, introducing new formats, price points, and packaging as it works to double its retail footprint from more than 300 locations by the end of 2026. The rollout introduces a Reserve and Premium grade distinction across its three signature varietals, the Omakase, Koyo, and Nikko Berry, and brings its lowest-ever retail price point to market.

Rita Hudetz, Chief Commercial Officer at Oishii, said the tiered structure came out of consumer research with a clear finding. “Our goal has always been to expand access to our products over time. We deeply studied the strawberry category to understand the challenges consumers faced,” she says. “Taste consistency was definitely a challenge, and something we feel we have always overcome, but we also learned that strawberries were a very stressful purchase due to the expense and risk of buying berries, which might go bad before they get eaten.”

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OIshii

Oishii Bids to Double US Retail Doors with New Tiered Portfolio and Lowest-Ever Price Point

From Vertical Farm Daily

Oishii has restructured its strawberry lineup, introducing new formats, price points, and packaging as it works to double its retail footprint from more than 300 locations by the end of 2026. The rollout introduces a Reserve and Premium grade distinction across its three signature varietals, the Omakase, Koyo, and Nikko Berry, and brings its lowest-ever retail price point to market.

Rita Hudetz, Chief Commercial Officer at Oishii, said the tiered structure came out of consumer research with a clear finding. “Our goal has always been to expand access to our products over time. We deeply studied the strawberry category to understand the challenges consumers faced,” she says. “Taste consistency was definitely a challenge, and something we feel we have always overcome, but we also learned that strawberries were a very stressful purchase due to the expense and risk of buying berries, which might go bad before they get eaten.”

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Bosch at Indoor Ag-Con

‘If you’re not doing data collection today, you really need to start’

From Vertical Farm Daily:

When Garrett Wagg first walked into Indoor Ag-Con in early 2025, he wasn’t there to sell anything, just to listen and gather as much information as possible. “I’m not the expert in that space. I want to hear from the grower what their needs and wants are, what they don’t like, what they want,” says Wagg, the Automation and Electrification Product Manager at Bosch Rexroth.

What he heard shaped everything that followed. A year later, Bosch Rexroth returned to Indoor Ag-Con with a booth, a partner ecosystem, and a clear point of view on what the CEA controls market was getting wrong.

A gap worth filling
Bosch Rexroth is best known as a leading supplier in motion control and drive technology, but when the company launched its ctrlX AUTOMATION platform in late 2019, it opened a much wider aperture. “When we rolled out ctrlX, our device had the capability of doing data collection, environmental control, a lot of PLC functionality that you’d find in smart building automation,” Wagg explains. “When we were looking at markets, we learned that there aren’t really products out there that can do environmental control and also do data collection, and also do motion control. We saw that there’s kind of a nice market here.”

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Area 2 Farms

Area 2 Farms Launches Second Location in Fairfax City, Virginia

From Vertical Farm Daily: Fairfax City Economic Development (FCED) and Area 2 Farms have announced a new partnership to bring a sustainable urban farm to Fairfax City. The Northern Virginia-based startup, which is reimagining the future of agriculture through hyper-local, soil-based farming, will open its newest location at 9571 Fairfax Boulevard by the end of the year.

Made possible through a zoning amendment approved by City Council in 2024 and a support grant from FCED, this project includes a 10-year lease for the property, $25,000 in Fairfax City Economic Development Authority (EDA) funding, and a commitment to transform the space through adaptive reuse. As part of the agreement, Area 2 Farms will invest in exterior improvements, including a public-facing mural that will enhance the visual identity and vibrancy of the Fairfax Circle intersection. The city’s support builds on a foundation of strategic investment in sustainable agriculture and food system innovation, as exemplified by the EDA’s $7,000 matching contribution to secure an AFID Planning Grant in 2024. This initiative not only revitalizes a long-vacant commercial site but also advances the city’s goals to promote sustainability, pedestrian activity, and innovative investment in a key commercial activity center.

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