The Road to Profitability in CEA Berry Production
March 20, 2025 Berries aren’t an easy crop to grow in greenhouses and vertical farms. Ophelia Sarakinis, founder of Gush (a vertical strawberry farm in Montreal), and Rodrigo Santana, co-founder and CEO of Beritech, Inc. (a Canadian ag tech company that creates systems for year-round raspberry and blueberry production), addressed the challenges associated with berry production during their panel at Indoor Ag-Con last week. While the market for CEA berries has profitability potential, both panelists agreed that progress needs to be made before growers can tap into it.
“There’s no ‘berry’ profitable in CEA, just profitable,” Santana said. “We’re on the road to profitability, but we aren’t there quite yet.”
Here are six key takeaways from the session:
- You can’t compete with commodity-based berries. Because field-grown berries can be produced in large quantities, Sarakinis cultivates higher-quality berries and sells them at a higher price point. “Strawberry flavor is much better indoors than outdoors, so I focus on growing more flavorful varieties at lower yields at Gush,” she said.
- Run your operation like a farm. In CEA, some businesses prioritize implementing the newest, most cutting-edge technology in their facilities over perfecting their final product. It’s better to optimize growing conditions to make your berries as flavorful and nutritional as possible, Sarakinis said.
- Many R&D questions need answers. Work still needs to be done on the research and development side of CEA berry production. Once the growing process is more streamlined, particularly in the greenhouse sector, the market will be much more profitable.
- Focus on lighting. The amount and quality of light CEA operators use in their facilities significantly affects the yield and flavor profile of berries. “Lighting might be the biggest factor in growing berries indoors,” Santana said. Sarakinis added how using the right lighting recipe has improved antioxidant levels in Gush’s strawberries and has given them more color.
- Vertical farming is ideal for CEA strawberries. According to both panelists, vertical farming has an edge on greenhouse production when it comes to berry cultivation. Since lighting is fully controlled in indoor farms, growers can adjust it to improve the taste and appearance of their berries, which isn’t the case for greenhouse growers. “Canada is a leader in greenhouse production, but we still need to find the best way to grow strawberries in greenhouses,” Sarakinis said.
- CEA government funding is needed in Canada. Considering 80% of fresh food in Canada is imported, both panelists emphasized the need for the Canadian government to support CEA in light of President Trump’s imposed tariffs. “I raised $3 million when I started Gush in 2022 which simply wouldn’t happen today,” Sarakinis said. “We need the government to step up now more than ever.”
The biggest piece of advice Santana and Sarakinis gave attendees was to focus on cultivating a high-quality product – flavor and nutrition distinguish CEA berries from those that are grown outdoors. By capitalizing on the quality of their berries, Sarakinis said, CEA operators can trust consumers to pay a higher price at the grocery store.
