Just two years ago, UP Vertical Farms™ officially started operations as one of the first vertical farms in Canada. Located in Pitt Meadows, British Columbia (B.C.), the goal was to provide consumers in Western Canada with a healthier, more environmentally friendly local food choice. Two years in, co-founder Bahram Rashti discusses how demand for his products has recently transformed. "For us, as growers in Canada it has been incredible to see how the market dynamics have shifted in a very short period of time," Rashti shared. "Due to a changing mindset of Canadian consumers, demand for our products is through the roof." Customers are emailing, calling, and putting pressure on UP Vertical Farms to provide more product options in a larger part of Canada as they prefer to purchase Canadian grown produce.
© Marieke Hemmes | HortiDaily.comShahram Rashti and his brother Bahram Rashti.
Fill to capacity
"We are catering to that need," Rashti said. "Our farm was designed and built to feed Western Canada and the Pacific Northwest region of the U.S. Up until very recently, our vertical farming operations were undersupplied, but the increased demand has allowed us to fill our capacity. The way things are going, we will be at full capacity soon." The facility was built modularly and with the current infrastructure, there is room for additional growing racks. If needed, capacity can be further expanded. "We feel we're in a really good position as we always thought it would take a lot more time to build to full capacity, but things really accelerated."
© OppyFacility of UP Vertical Farms in Pitt Meadows, B.C.
Geographic distribution
Due to their flexibility, UP has been able to fill the gap in the market and meet the additional demand. For some lettuce varieties it takes three weeks to grow, and others are ready in only 12 days. "As a result, we are able to quickly respond to a retailer's request and within a three-week period we can start supplying them." Not only has the number of retail customers grown, so has geographic distribution. "Some of the large retailers that we've been talking to for a couple of years, have stepped up and made the decision to put our blends and salad kits in all their stores in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba. It's not a gradual shift, but all four provinces right now," Rashti said. From being heavily B.C. focused, distribution is now quickly moving further east.
Change in buying habits
While politics drove up demand for UP's blends and salad kits, Rashti mentioned how the quality of the product is the reason for success. "If you go to our social media pages, there are hundreds of positive comments from consumers, recognizing the product is fresh, pesticide free and grown in an environmentally friendly environment." A lot of people never had the chance to enjoy one of UP's lettuce products as they either weren't available in the consumer's region, or it required a change of buying habits. "Changing buying habits is very difficult, but this political development has forced buying habits to change and now consumers are hooked. It's such a good feeling to see the pull in demand, in combination with the feedback we are receiving. It's beautiful to watch."
Packaging
From the beginning, packaging of UP's blends and salad kits emphasized product was grown in Canada. "We've always had the maple leaf on our packaging, but we have recently enhanced the focus on Canada grown, making it more visible. This is a request we've been receiving from retailers, enabling Canadian consumers to identify with locally grown produce more easily."
© Oppy
UP started out with lettuce blends but has expanded into salad kits in the past two years and now offers five lettuce blends as well as twelve different salad kits. The current range of blends includes CRUNCH UP™ - a crisp lettuce mix, STAND UP™ – a baby romaine mix, TOSS UP™ – a tender lettuce blend, POWER UP™ – a power greens mix to elevate salads to the next level, and UP & AWAY™. The flavors for the salad kits include Asian Fusion, Cowboy Ranch, Frisky Whiskey, Good Ol' BBQ, Hail Caesar, Jazzy Blue Cheese, Killer Dill, Los Tacos, Shakin' Bacon Caesar, Summer Vibes, Sunflower Power, and Sweet Poppy Love.
For more information:
Bahram Rashti
UP Vertical Farms
Tel: (+1) 604-461-6679
contact@oppy.com
www.oppy.com
www.upverticalfarms.com