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We live for the moments where food challenges us — when it shatters our preconceived notions, our expectations or our past experiences. When a dish or a special ingredient pushes us out of our comfort zone, that’s where the magic happens. So, we were thrilled to learn that Oishii’s premium Japanese Koyo Berries have officially touched down at Fortinos locations in the GTA — and are already changing the game.
These Koyo berries — which translates to ‘elated’ in Japanese — are unlike any fruit you’ve tasted before. Always perfectly ripe and delivered in pristine condition, they’re pesticide-free, non-GMO Project Verified and grown in smart farms that allow Oishii to produce fresh fruit year-round. As the world’s largest indoor smart strawberry farm, Oishii represents a bold step forward in food innovation, reimagining what’s possible in modern agriculture.
Valentine's Day specials
Try Oishii strawberries at these Toronto restaurants
- Belle Isle:
Oishii strawberry rice pudding (Feb. – Mar.)
- Andrea’s Cookies:
Chocolate strawberry cookie (Feb. 11–15)
- Kwento:
Tea cake set (Feb. 12–15)
- Miku:
Strawberry shortcake (Feb. 13–14)
Pluck one of Oishii’s immaculate Koyo Berries from its protective packaging and sink your teeth in, and you’ll be met with a slightly firm texture, bright aroma, subtle tartness and refreshing sweetness. It’s a strawberry fine-tuned to perfection — and once you’ve taken your first bite, there’s no going back. Oishii’s Koyo Berries reveal just how delicious a strawberry can be.
Though we love them on their own, Oishii’s Koyo Berries are also an easy way to elevate your favourite dishes. Delicately slice them into your favourite breakfast dish, like pancakes, yogurt, cottage cheese or French toast; bake them into a pie or cobbler; or add them to a savoury salad for a show-stopping burst of flavour. They also make a luxurious gift idea for the foodie in your life — dip them in chocolate for a dose of romance, or deliver them as-is. The packaging is so chic that it makes gift wrapping optional.
Oishii’s Koyo Berries are available now at Fortinos locations across the GTA, but you’ll soon be able to find these top-quality berries on menus at select Toronto-area restaurants.
The frontier of farming
While Oishii’s Berries are already next-level delicious, the way they’re produced makes them so much sweeter. They’re a product of the future, sustainably grown in pesticide-free indoor smart farms in New Jersey. The plants are stacked indoors, where light, temperature, humidity, CO2, airflow and the growing medium are precisely controlled by expert farmers.
Protected from fluctuating weather and changing seasons, Oishii can grow its immaculate berries year-round while using only a fraction of the water required by traditional agriculture methods. These farms can operate inside cities, repurposing warehouses or factories, bringing food production closer to consumers and shortening the supply chain. One of the biggest advantages of indoor smart farming is speed. Traditional farms can test one growing cycle per year, often at the mercy of unpredictable climate conditions. Indoor smart farms can run dozens of experiments simultaneously, fine-tuning flavour, yield and plant health in real time.
Advances in AI, robotics and data collection now allow growers to monitor every plant individually, automate harvesting and dramatically extend a plant’s productive lifespan. Each plant is many times more productive than its outdoor counterpart, and can even be pollinated by bees indoors.
Costs associated with indoor smart farming are falling quickly, making it a viable option for farms of the future. It’s already reshaping how fresh food is grown, and creating some of the sweetest, freshest fruit — premium Oishii Berries — on the market today.
How does indoor smart farming work?
Growing up
By operating indoor smart farms in repurposed warehouses, distribution centres or factories, strawberries can be grown just outside of major urban areas.
Fine-tuned flavour
Sensors closely monitor everything from temperature to humidity, CO2, windspeed and light to mimic optimal growing conditions in Japan.
Always in season
Robots, analyzing over 60 million datapoints per year, help to ensure berries are harvested at their peak ripeness.
To find out where you can try premium Oishii Koyo Berries in the GTA, head to oishii.com
Japanese Strawberry Cream Sando recipe
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