Now Up and Running: Saffron Tech’s Pilot Facility in Israel
May 16, 2024 Saffron Tech opened its pilot site in Ganei Tal, Israel on May 8, 2024. It’s a one-room vertical farm run by five full-time employees and daily subcontractors. CEO of the company, Tal Wilk-Glazer, looks forward to growing saffron year-round by cultivating it in an indoor environment.
“We’re basically fast-forwarding the different stages of the saffron life cycle,” she says. “By growing saffron indoors, we’ll be able to cultivate it much quicker than the regular outdoor cycle.”
Saffron Tech’s Pilot Facility in Ganei Tal, Israel | Photo: Saffron Tech
Saffron Tech partnered with different organizations to develop the site, including DreamTech, a Korean tech company, and the Israeli Innovation Authority. The pilot site will harvest saffron four times per year, but each part of the farm will flower at different times. “We’re going to have graduated flowering in each part of the farm,” she says. “We’ll have four cycles per year, but each part of the farm won’t flower at the same time.”
With its new indoor vertical farm, Saffron Tech reduced the need for labor, as it can harvest the flowers in increments rather than all at once; typically saffron flowers must be harvested within a very short window in outdoor production. This is a huge win for nutraceutical and cosmetic companies who use saffron in their products and require a reliable supply.
Saffron Tech’s new facility aims to boost these industries up by providing them with the saffron they need, when they need it. While the site is currently a one-room vertical farm, the company plans to open a mass production facility by the second half of 2025.