Introducing FlexFarming
Did you know that a third of the UK’s strawberries are imported? Though it is one of the nation’s most popular fruits, strawberry production is struggling within our borders. That’s where FlexFarming comes in.
By growing in a completely controlled environment, we can guarantee an all-year round supply of Class 1 strawberries to our consumers, achieved through a combination of Cleantech and Agritech solutions to aid us on the road to net zero.
But that’s not all. In applying our successful solution to growing other types of fresh foods, we can work towards achieving a more environmentally friendly production system that can be setup anywhere in the world regardless of climate.
Our Unique Solution
At FlexFarming, we are striving to be the first UK net zero strawberry grower and supplier to the mainstream market. Unfortunately, there are several key challenges in the industry, from unsustainable local production to importation methods that prevent the growth of high quality produce. That’s why our work marks the way forward for the farming sector, providing sustainable growing solutions that the whole industry can learn from.
We are focused on our customers’ current needs, as well as their responsibility to do business in a way that is sustainable. That’s why we’re dedicated to helping them on their way to a net zero business model. Our transformational approach involves engaging with stakeholders of the supply chain to convert pain-points into opportunities. With this, we’ve been able to utilise digital systems and business partnerships to work towards developing a highly efficient net zero strawberry production system.
Current local production methods are unsustainable and imports are becoming less attractive because of:
Erratic weather
Regulatory pressure
Strict Laws
Brexit
Consumer awareness
Lack of taste
Erratic weather
Brexit
Regulatory pressure
Consumer awareness
Strict Laws
Lack of taste
About FlexFarming
Striving to be the UK’s first net zero strawberry supplier and grower to the mainstream market via Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA)
Reduced waste
90% less land
95% less water
All-year-round
production
production
Minimum use
of pesticides
Be net zero
Reduced waste
90% less land
95% less water
All-year-round production
Minimum use of pesticides
Be net zero
Our History
FlexFarming was born out of an understanding of the barriers surrounding sustainable strawberry production. But also, with the dedication to apply net zero processes within the agricultural sector to lessen our environmental footprint. The partnership was established to develop technological solutions and an integrated business model that aims to bring net zero strawberries to the mainstream market.
After successful early stage trials of growing Class 1 strawberries in 2020 and studying different energy procurement mechanism, the concept of farm as a battery (FAB) was formed. FlexFarming received £2.5m of funding from Innovate UK to build a 10 tonne strawberry production facility to proof the concept. Our cross-functional specialist team possesses 100 collective years of experience, so it is these experts we have to thank for our innovative strawberry growing solution.
