{"href":"http://player.captivate.fm/services/oembed?url=http%3A%2F%2Fplayer.captivate.fm%2Fepisode%2Fb05c9430-38b2-4ba9-ab76-b0b0f9eff037","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Captivate.FM","provider_url":"https://www.captivate.fm","width":600,"height":200,"type":"rich","html":"","title":"S3E35: Hiroki Koga - Vertical Farming at Commercial Scale","description":"Episode Summary\r\n\r\nJoin Harry Duran, host of Vertical Farming Podcast, as he welcomes to the show, co-founder and CEO at Oishii, Hiroki Koga. Oishii grows the best fruit in the world by deploying ground-breaking vertical farming technology that pushes the boundaries of agriculture. Today, Harry and Hiroki talk about the origin story of Oishii and how they became the first in the world to grow fruit in an indoor vertical farm at commercial scale. Hiroki reflects on lessons he\u2019s learned throughout his entrepreneurial journey, speaks to those who have influenced and inspired him and expounds on the importance he places on living up to the quality and standards of the Oishii brand. Finally, Hiroki shares his excitement for future expansion of his business and what excites him the most about the future of Oishii.\r\n\r\nEpisode Sponsor\r\n\r\nCULTIVATD\r\n\r\nKey Takeaways\r\n02:45 \u2013 Harry welcomes to the show Hiroki Koga, who talks about his experience living in Europe as a child, the decision to go into consulting and finding his passion\r\n07:52 \u2013 Hiroki recalls the culture shock he encountered the first time he came to the U.S.\r\n09:36 \u2013 Hiroki\u2019s vertical farming origin story\r\n15:41 \u2013 Hiroki speaks to what inspired him to launch Oishii\r\n23:24 \u2013 Hiroki expounds on why he embraces tough challenges\r\n25:12 \u2013 Harry and Hiroki talk about some of the more popular brands of fruit in Japan\r\n28:00 \u2013 When Hiroki realized there was an opportunity in the vertical farming industry\r\n32:36 \u2013 Hiroki recalls some of the early days of Oishii and what his marketing strategy was\r\n38:19 \u2013 Hiroki describes the Omakase Berry to the audience and shares his plans for growth\r\n43:03 \u2013 Hiroki reflects on lessons and takeaways from his journey thus far\r\n45:41 \u2013 Who Hiroki looks to for inspiration and a tough question Hiroki has had to ask himself recently\r\n50:52 \u2013 Harry thanks Hiroki for joining the show and let\u2019s listeners know where they can learn more about Oishii and connect with Hiroki\r\n\r\nTweetable Quotes\r\n\r\n\u201cI was always trying to look for what my passion in life was. And I kinda struggled to find what I was truly passionate about when I graduated from college. And I went into consulting to try to find my passion.\u201d(05:29)\r\n\r\n\u201cWhen we think about ten or twenty years out, who\u2019s going to succeed in the leafy green space is the company who can raise the most amount of money and who can produce a head of lettuce one cent cheaper than their competitors.\u201d (17:11)\r\n\r\n\u201cAnd that\u2019s really when I started thinking that maybe if I started with a different crop that can overcome all of these hurdles that the leafy green companies have faced, maybe there\u2019s a viable business model, a company, an interesting business model that\u2019s not just about being a cent cheaper than competitors but something more exciting.\u201d(19:11)\r\n\r\n\u201cI think [Japan] has a very interesting culture when it comes to fruits. Instead of gifting wines, people will gift fruits.\u201d (27:08)\r\n\r\n\u201cI think the most important thing for us was not the early revenue, but making sure that we lived up to the quality and standards of the brand that we wanted to build.\u201d(35:46)\r\n\r\n\u201cThe only thing that I have confidence in is my passion for this industry and my xperience in this industry and my knowledge and how I think this industry is going to trend. That\u2019s my strength.\u201d(47:22)\r\n\r\nLinks Mentioned\r\n\r\nHiroki\u2019s LinkedIn\r\n\r\nOishii Website\r\n\r\nOishii Instagram\r\n\r\nSponsor Info:\r\n\r\nCultivatd Website\r\n\r\nCultivatd Instagram\r\n\r\nCultivatd\u2019s Twitter\r\n\r\nCultivatd\u2019s Facebook\r\n\r\n\ud83c\udf99\ufe0f\ud83c\udf99\ufe0f\ud83c\udf99\ufe0f\r\n\r\nPodcast Production and Marketing by FullCast: https://bit.ly/3sxZ34y\r\n\r\nSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300,"thumbnail_url":"https://artwork.captivate.fm/8364fa4c-5f9f-46b8-8328-230dba6fbec3/image.jpg"}