Plant Factories

Plant Factory Operators, Plant Factory manufacturers, manufacturers for materials used in plant factory operations

Waning agricultural population due to aging population and shortage of successors is one of pressing issues for the domestic agriculture. With power-saving and low-cost production structure in large-scale operation being established and the use of utilizing technological abilities of the private sector, ICT/Robotic sensor technologies, IoT and other cutting-edge technologies being recommended, conversion to the sixth industry through aligning with various companies from food, ready-to-eat food, and food service industries is said as imperative.
In such a situation, plant factories enable stable production without being affected by seasons and weather conditions and realizes highly efficient production per area, which is attracting various industries to enter. According to the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, there are 194 plant factories using artificial lights as of February 2023, almost double the number of 106 in March 2012.
On the other hand, there are various issues for the businesses operating plant factories such as "improvement of cultivation techniques" including temperature and humidity management and work management, and "establishment of business relationship" such as driving up the unit prices, and securing stable business partners, which reflects that full-fledged industrial forming is still halfway.
The report compiles research and analysis on how major plant factory businesses and material consulting companies work on the issues, thereby to clarify the current challenges and directions to the solution, giving the perspectives on the future marketability.

I   Perspectives and Noteworthy Trends of Plant Factory Market

1. Outline of Plant Factories
2. Plant Factory Market Demand:
   1) Global needs: Contributions to increasing food demand,
   　 SDGs, and food security
   2) Domestic needs: Contributions to shortage and aging of
       manpower and to efficient production 
3. Plant Factory Regulations and Certifications
4. Measures Against Soaring Costs at Plant Factories
   1) Soaring running costs (electricity, manpower wages,
        agricultural materials)
   2) Initiatives Against 2024 Logistics Issues
5. Plant Factory and Involvement of People with Disabilities in Agriculture, and Utilization of Idle Land -> Regional Contributions, Regional Revitalization
6. Future Perspectives of Plant Factory Market in Japan
7. Future Direction of Plant Factories

II    Trend of Major Plant Factory Businesses

1. Reason for Business Entry by Major Companies
2. Cultivation Overview
3. Trend of Promising Plants for Artificial-Light Plant Factories
   1) Major Promising Plants
   2) Strawberries
   3) Herbs
   4) Soybeans for plant-based meat/seafood
   5) Edible flowers
   6) Wasabi
   7) Others (Melon, Rice)
4. Facilities for Cultivation
5. Usage of Various Subsidies
6. Energy Saving /Cost Saving Initiatives
7. Distribution/Sales Structure
8. Challenges/Issues
9. Business Strategy
10. Trend of Overseas Development by Plant Factory Businesses
11. Trend of Major Plant Factory Businesses Overseas
    1) Trend of Plant Factory Businesses Overseas
    2) Cases of Suspended Plant Factories Overseas
    3) Noteworthy Plant Factory Businesses Overseas
    　　　　1.Alga Farm Tech. (South Korea)
    　　　　2.Badia Farms (UAE)
    　　　　3.Bowery Farming Inc. (USA)
    　　　　4.Crop One Holdings, Inc. (USA)
    　　　　5.CubicFarms (Canada)
    　　　　6.80 Acres Farms (USA)
    　　　　7.Elevate Farms (Canada)
    　　　　8.Farm 8 Co., Ltd. (South Korea)
    　　　　9.FIRMMIT Co., Ltd. (South Korea)
    　　　　10.Fischer Farms (UK)
    　　　　11.Freight Farms (USA)
    　　　　12.Greenspace ESG (Australia)
    　　　　13.GrowUp Farms (UK)
    　　　　14.iFarm (UAE)
    　　　　15.Jones Food Company Ltd. (UK)）
    　　　　16.Leafood (Lithuania)
    　　　　17.LettUs Grow (UK)
    　　　　18.Ljusgårda (Sweden)
    　　　　19.LUFA FARMS (Canada)
    　　　　20.Nexton Co., Ltd. (South Korea)
    　　　　21.N.THING Inc. (South Korea)
    　　　　22.Pink Farms (Brazil)
    　　　　23.Plenty Unlimited Inc., (USA)
    　　　　24.Stacked Farm (Australia)
    　　　　25.SANANBIO-Fujian Sanan Sino-Science
                     Photobiotech Co.,Ltd. (China)
    　　　　26.SATIVUS TECH CORP (Israel)
    　　　　27.Singrow Pte Ltd (Singapore)
    　　　　28.Sustenir Agriculture (Singapore)
    　　　　29.Tower Farm (France)
    　　　　30.Urban Crop Solutions (Belgium)
    　　　　31.Urban Harvest (Belgium)
    　　　　32.VAXA (Iceland)
    　　　　33.Vertical Future (UK)
    　　　　34.Vertical roots (USA)
    　　　　35.YASAI (Switzerland)
    　　　　36.YesHealth Group (Taiwan)
    　　　　37.ZipGrow Inc. (Canada)
    4) List of Plant Factory Businesses Overseas

III    Trend of Major Plant Factory Manufacturers, Plant Factory Material Manufacturers

1. Market Trends of Materials and Systems Related With Plant Factories
   1) Solution Culture System
   2) Light Source for Raising Plants
   3) Environmental Complex Control System
   4) Automation System
   5) Entrant Companies:
       - CANON ELECTRONICS INC.
       - HarvestX Inc.
       - Food & Agri Mechatro Solution. Inc.
2. Major Products Dealing In
3. Product Policy/ Direction of Development
4. Sales Trends
5. Demand Sectors
6. Distribution Flow, Sales Channel
7. Challenges and Problems
8. Energy Saving /Cost Saving Initiatives
9. Trend of Standardization of Materials/Consulting Business
10. Future Corporate Strategy
11. Future Market Perspectives
12. Trends of Overseas Development by Material/Consulting Businesses

IV    Purchase Status of Plant Factory Vegetables

1. Online Consumer Survey
   1) Overview on the online consumer survey
   2) Questionnaire results
   3) AI-powered analytics results
2. Purchase Status of Plant Factory Vegetables

V    Questionnaire to Plant Factory Operators

1. Questionnaire Collection Results
2. Responded Company Attributes
3. Latest Financial Performances (Based on Operating Profits)
4. Years until Business Stabilized (largest number of responses was 4-6 years from the launch)
5. Influence of Rising Production Cost to Corporate Management
6. Rise of Production Costs
7. Current Light Sources for Plant Cultivation
8. Future Intention for Business Expansion (Expanding Production Scale)
9. Others Free Opinions regarding Plant Factories
10. List of Businesses Withdrawn from Plant Factories (The questionnaire has found out that more than 30 companies have suspended the operation or withdrawn from business)

List of 51 Plant Factory Companies using 100% Artificial Light Sources

VI    Profiles of Major Companies

1. Plant Factory Operators: 13 Companies
2. Plant Manufacturers/Related Companies: 18 Companies