In-store farm concept yields healthy harvest

Kok (left) and her employees packaging the produce to be sold at Vegetory. — Photos: Bernama

NEAR the vegetable section of the BSC Fine Foods supermarket at Bangsar Shopping Centre in Kuala Lumpur stands a rather clinical-looking installation resembling a refrigerator.

It is in fact a 200 sq ft “plant station” where five varieties of lettuce are grown under the glare of LED light and remotely-controlled temperatures, ready to be picked by customers.

This plant station or in-store farm is part of an ambitious vertical farming venture operated by Vegetory, a Malaysian company that is responsible for developing the Plant Factory Indoor Farming (P-F-I-F) system.

The premium supermarket’s plant station came into operation sometime last year – a collaboration between BSC Fine Foods and Vegetory.

Vegetory, founded by husband-and-wife duo Roy Liew and Celleste Kok in 2017, strives to drive innovative and sustainable farming methods by using advanced technology to produce fresh vegetables.

“We emphasise food safety and produce fresh crops with stable quality.

“Aside from offering consumers tastier and healthier vegetables, the in-store farm is much kinder to the environment than traditional farming,” said Liew.

Kok said currently, five types of lettuce – mizuna, romaine, crisphead, red oak and rocket – as well as two types of kale – green and red – are being cultivated in the indoor farm.

The couple, who both have a background in science and technology, are at present conducting research and development on the cultivation of tomatoes, wasabi leaves and basil in the plant station environment.

“All our produce are harvested and packed fresh daily and can be readily consumed as they are grown hydroponically and are 100% free of pesticides.

Kok inspecting the quality of produce grown at Vegetory.

“As there is no middleman, our vegetables retain their nutritional value and taste for a longer period of time.

“Usually, the shelf life of the vegetables is a week, but our customers mostly buy and consume them on the same day,” she said, adding that public response to their produce has so far been excellent.

A medium-sized box of the plant station-grown lettuce costs RM7.20 to RM9.90.

According to Liew, the vertical farming concept is used as it does not require much space and will not give rise to issues such as soil degradation and pollution, which often lead to the formation of wastelands.

BSC Fine Foods’s plant station is based on the modular farm system that Vegetory has developed for supermarkets and grocery stores.

The facility is Vegetory’s first in-store farm in Malaysia.

“Our modular farms can be placed in a variety of customer-facing city locations, such as grocery stores, restaurants, malls and even schools, enabling end consumers to pick the produce themselves,” he said.

Liew added that the idea of embarking on a vertical farming project came about during a business trip to Taiwan where vertical farming is referred to as a plant factory.

“My wife and I got to visit a plant factory where we tasted a big bowl of freshly-picked and crunchy salad.

“We were then not really vegetable eaters nor a fan of greens and salads, but when we tried their salad bowl, we fell in love with its taste.

“We didn’t even realise that we had finished the whole bowl,” he said.

Kok said the company operating the plant factory was very helpful and said it could consult them when told about their idea of starting a similar venture in Malaysia.

Starting the venture was not easy for the couple as they did not have a background in agriculture.

“I previously worked in sales engineering while my wife was a computer science graduate.

“But for us, nothing is impossible.

“We really wanted to share with Malaysians those flavours that we experienced from fresh produce overseas,” Liew said, adding that they started their own plant factory project in a shoplot in Puchong, Selangor, where they also did their own R&D.

In their first year of operation in 2017, they did not do any sales. Instead, they gave away their produce to chefs and restaurants around the Klang Valley to get their feedback.

Kok said: “We learned a lot from the chefs because they really understand the taste and demands of their customers.

“At the same time, we made improvements to our produce through the R&D process at our plant factory.”

Liew said vertical farming allowed them to control the different factors, such as light intensity, amount of water and type of medium, that affect the growth, taste and nutrient level of the produce.

“That’s why our vegetables are tastier, more nutritious, safe from pesticides and herbicides, and remain fresh even by the time they reach the hands of the consumers.” — Bernama