The traditional farming model is shifting. While farms will always be an essential food producer, the practice is evolving due to a variety of well-documented issues, such as inefficient use of water, pollution, use of chemicals and pesticides, and greenhouse gas emissions. To avoid these issues, farms are moving indoors — and are growing up, not out. Here in the Portland area, local startup, Forward Greens, has embraced this model and is growing rapidly.
The brainchild of CEO Ken Kaneko and co-founder Will Tabajonda, Forward Greens is an indoor, highly sustainable farm based in Vancouver, Washington. The urban farming company uses innovative technology to create vertical, stacked produce trays that both conserve water and maximize an indoor space.
The concept for Forward Greens originally stemmed from Kaneko, an Intel and Apple alum, while on a work trip to Japan.
“In Japan, I saw a vertical, urban farm inside of a former semiconductor company,” said Kaneko. “I was inspired and wanted to do this in Portland because the region is synonymous with innovation and creativity in food.”
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“We wanted to transform logistical supply chains while supplying a sustainable food source to more people,” added Kaneko. “Our goal was to create a very natural product that is in a recognizable form: a micro-green.”
Of course, launching an indoor farm is challenging enough, but navigating supply chain issues and distribution of a product, particularly a fresh product, is even more challenging.
To meet this challenge, Forward Greens located their farm near central distribution hubs, in this case, in Vancouver. By doing so, they shortened the distance that a truck needs to travel to deliver fresh produce to urban markets.
The farm is also significantly more sustainable than traditional farms. Compared to an outdoor farm, Forward Greens’ urban farm uses 95% less water and 97% less land. The water is continuously recirculated and reused, reducing waste, and the farms are secured 30 feet up into the air, with 12 vertically stacked layers of agricultural products.
As the farming model changes, major retailers are catching on. Forward Greens recently entered into a partnership with Albertsons-Safeway in the Portland region.
“We are currently working with 140 stores here in the PNW as part of our partnership with Albertsons-Safeway,” said Kaneko.
As production continues to ramp up, Forward Greens is growing its team, particularly in customer success and expansion roles.
Next, the company plans to explore expansions in neighboring states, with the goal to make indoor farming more accessible to new markets.
This is part of a regular guest column written by the Technology Association of Oregon. If you are interested in submitting a guest post please email Malia Spencer at mspencer@bizjournals.com.
