The secret of tens of billions of jackpots, a supplier of subway and burger king lettuce

As I went up the stairs from the ticket gate of Sangdo Station on Seoul Subway Line 7, I saw a vertical indoor farm full of pink light-emitting diode (LED) lights. 21,000 bags of 10 kinds of salad vegetables such as Butterhead Letters Kaipira were growing on a 6-tier shelf with an area of ​​231m2 (70 pyeong). Sangam World Cup Stadium (approximately 2800 pyeong) of vegetables is grown in only 1 in 40 space. It is’Metro Farm’, an indoor farm for subways made by Farm 8, the largest smart farm company in Korea and the largest salad seller in Korea.

The quality of lettuce is also in love with the subway burger king As the largest salad seller in Korea

Farm 8 is a leader in the domestic smart farm industry that caused a blast in the salad sales market by doubling production and quality by introducing the 4th industrial revolution technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT), and big data into agriculture. Over 150 varieties of sprout vegetables, young leaf vegetables, paprika and herbs are grown in five metro farms in Seoul and large-scale smart farms such as Hwaseong, Pyeongtaek, Cheonan, and Icheon in Gyeonggi-do and sell 65,000 packs of salads, 30 tons per day. It is popular with consumers because it can be produced regardless of various climate changes or seasons such as severe heavy rain, heatwave, and because it is safe from soil pollution and fine dust through’pesticide-free’ hydroponic cultivation, and can be cultivated in urban areas and eaten fresh immediately after harvest. Dragging.

The name Farm-A is not yet well known to the public, but it is not an exaggeration to say that everyone in general has eaten the vegetables grown and sold by this company at least once. Subway, the world’s largest sandwich specialty store, relies on this company for a significant amount of lettuce on its menu. Farm 8 is the largest supplier. Burger King is also responsible for a significant amount of lettuce. It is supplied not only to large marts such as Lotte Mart, Homeplus, and Costco, but also to catering companies such as Samsung Welstory Our Home, as well as Lotteria, KFC, Starbucks, CU, GS25, etc. In the online salad market that has grown explosively in the wake of the corona crisis, it has already become the number one seller in salad sales at Coupang, the representative online shopping mall in Korea. It is competing with food.

Export of smart farm equipment to Japan… The biggest competitiveness in building big data for each variety for 10 years

Palm 8 sales increased 25% from 47.2 billion won in 2019 to 59 billion won in 2020, and this year it set a target of 90 billion won, up 52%. 85% of sales come from growing and selling vegetables for salads, and about 15% from building smart farm facilities. Palm 8 decided to significantly expand sales in the facility business that incorporates cutting-edge cultivation technology, and became independent last year as a separate company (Planty Farm). The goal is to quadruple related sales from 8 billion won last year to 32 billion won this year.

In terms of smart farm cultivation technology, this company is evaluated as one of Asia’s three largest agtech (agricultural technology) companies. The company’s vertical indoor farm in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, has been praised as one of the world’s top 10 smart farms by a global Dutch seed company. In addition, it exported smart farm facilities to Japan last year, which is said to have the most advanced smart farm know-how in Asia.

The Palm 8 plant factory reproduces ten environmental variables necessary for plant photosynthesis with advanced technology. These include artificial light (LED) and carbon dioxide, culture medium, airflow, temperature, and humidity in place of sunlight, as well as soil electrical conductivity (EC) and acidity (PH) that control nutrient absorption by plant roots. Founded in 2004, the company’s greatest competitiveness is that’cultivation performance’ big data has been accumulated over the past 10 years according to thousands of combinations of different environmental variables for each variety. Dae-Hyun Kang, President of Palm 8 said, “The wavelength of light preferred by plants such as blue light and red light, ultraviolet light and far infrared light is different,” and said, “We are trying to reproduce the light pattern closest to sunlight.” In some production facilities, robots take over from sowing, germination, cultivation, and harvesting. President Kang said, “A completely unmanned factory is possible with the current technology, but due to the issues of efficiency and economy, the process proceeds in a form in which human labor and AI are properly mixed.”

The productivity is 40 times higher than that of general farmland because the optimal environment suitable for each variety is provided through AI and big data analysis. In the case of lettuce, for example, only 30 bags per pyeong can be cultivated on general farmland, and it is harvested twice a year, requiring 6 to 7 workers to produce 15 tons. However, in a smart farm, you can cultivate 180 bags per pyeong (based on 6 layers), harvest 9 times a year, and one manager only needs to work for half a day. In particular, since it provides an optimal cultivation environment such as a temperature of 21 to 25 degrees Celsius and a humidity of 65 to 70 degrees Celsius for 365 days, the period from sowing to harvesting, which takes 80 to 90 days, can be shortened to 40 days.

President Kang said, “Smart farm accounts for less than 1% of the total agricultural production, but after 10 years, smart farms will change the national table.” “Not vegetables, but fruits such as tomatoes and strawberries, and expensive mangoes, are also grown as smart farms. “The era of cheap food will come.”

Expected to release low-cost, low-cost home smart farms… Prospects for attracting additional investment from large companies

According to data from the Ministry of SMEs and Startups and the Small and Medium Business Technology Information Agency, the size of the global smart farm market is expected to grow by about 13% annually to 450 trillion won by 2022 to 352 trillion won in 2020. The domestic market, currently around 5 trillion won, is expected to grow to 6 trillion won in 2022. Palm 8 was able to attract investments of tens of billions of billions from private equity funds (PEF) IMM and Korea Development Bank because of this potential for future growth. The company, which was selected as a spare unicorn with an enterprise value of 100 billion won or more by the Mid-term Ministry in December last year, is currently pursuing smart salad processing plants with the support of Samsung Electronics. In the near future, it is expected to attract additional investment from large companies. It is also preparing to be listed on the KOSDAQ market next year.

This year, the company plans to launch a low-cost, low-cost smart farm suitable for homes and small factories and a mini smart farm for home use. It is expected that vegetables can be grown and eaten at home at an affordable price, and can also be used for education. The strategy is to spread models suitable for apartment complexes and schools. Currently, large-scale facility exports to the Middle East are also ahead.

In the company name of’Farm8′, President Kang put the meaning of “leaving infinite innovation in agricultural technology”. If 8 is laid on its side, it becomes a mathematical symbol meaning infinity (∞). He said, “It will be a year to be reborn as the best agtech company in Asia.”

Reporter Ahn Dae-gyu [email protected]