The East Japan Railway Company (JR East) announced a partnership with Infarm to deliver a range of fresh produce grown and harvested at Kinokuniya retail stores starting summer 2020.
The first such agreement in Asia, the JR East partnership includes a declaration of capital investment in Infarm that will introduce the company's produce to Japanese consumers, freshly-grown and harvested in Tokyo locations of JR East food retail arm, Kinokuniya Co. Ltd.
An additional agreement with national food distributor Muroo Co. Ltd will support a phased expansion for the Berlin-based company across Japan in 2021. Together, the trio of agreements will drive Infarm's growth in Asia's most developed market, and will be supported by Infarm Japan, the company's new affiliate in the region.
"Japan's densest cities represent both the challenge and the potential of distributed, modular urban farming for cities around the world. Our partnership with such strong allies as JR East, Kinokuniya and Muroo Co. not only mark Infarm's entry into a nation known globally for the care and quality of its food culture, but accelerates our ability to build an ecosystem of partners worldwide who together will be able to feed the 7 billion living in cities by 2050, with fresh, sustainable food," commented Erez Galonska, co-founder and CEO of Infarm.
"Infarm offers an innovative, consumer-centered approach to urban farming that can contribute to the dynamic conversation about how we think about the relationship between technology and sustainable food here in Japan. As one of Infarm's early stage investors and managing director of Infarm Japan, I'm excited about the opportunity we have to partner with others across our food industry, as we work together to build a better future," commented Ikuo C. Hiraishi, Managing Director, Infarm Japan.
