Buying Greens Fresh From Supermarket’s In-store 'Farm'

By Soon Li Wei

KUALA LUMPUR (Bernama) – Near the vegetable section of the BSC Fine Foods supermarket at Bangsar Shopping Centre here stands a rather clinical-looking installation that looks like a refrigerator.

It is actually a 200 sq ft-big ‘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 developed the Plant Factory Indoor Farming (P-F-I-F) system.

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

Roy Liew and his wife Celleste Kok. firstclasse.com.my

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

MODULAR FARMS

Vegetory currently grows five types of salad leaves - mizuna, romaine, crisphead, red oak and rocket, as well as two types of kale. --fotoBERNAMA (2021) ALL RIGHTS RESERVED/ Soon Li Wei

Kok said currently five types of lettuce, namely mizuna, romaine, crisphead, red oak and rocket, as well as two types of kale – green and red – are being cultivated in the indoor farm. She and her husband, who both have a background in science and technology, are presently doing research and development (R&D) 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 percent free of pesticides. 

"As there is no middleman, our vegetables retain their nutritional value and taste for a longer period of time. Usually, the shelf life of our vegetables is a week, but our customers mostly buy and consume them on the same day,” she said, adding that the public response to their produce has been “very good” so far.  

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

Vegetory uses the plant factory indoor farming system to grow vegetables. --fotoBERNAMA (2021) ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Liew said they use the vertical farming concept as it does not require much space and does 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 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, shopping malls and even schools, enabling end consumers to pick the produce themselves,” added Liew.

VERTICAL FARMING 

Celleste Kok checking the plants that are cultivated using advanced technology. --fotoBERNAMA (2021) ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Liew said 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 which operated the plant factory was very helpful and said they 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,” said Liew, adding that they started their own plant factory project in a shop lot in Puchong, Selangor, where they also did their own R&D.

The Vegetory Plant Station at the BSC Fine Foods supermarket. fb.com/Vegetory

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 allows 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.

Celleste Kok (left) and her workers packing the vegetables for sale. --fotoBERNAMA (2021) ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

“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,” he said.

Last month, the couple opened a café named Mori Kohi, located off Jalan Tun Razak here, that offers Western-style Japanese dishes featuring fresh greens from its attached 300 sq foot-big plant factory.

“Our aim is to educate people on implementing vertical farming in limited space and at the same time promote healthy eating habits. We want to change the eating habits of city folks by giving them the option to consume vegetables which are not only high in nutritional value but convenient to prepare as well to match their busy lifestyles,” added Kok. 

Edited by Rema Nambiar

BERNAMA