Herbs are plants which have a special flavour and are often used by chefs as an ingredient to differentiate a dish. In recent years, the use of herbs by consumers has increased significantly.
The Challenge
The traditional supply chain of herb plants starts in open fields in Africa, where a lot of herbs are grown due to the higher light demands of herbs and the tolerance of higher temperatures.
However, due to basic production systems and lower levels of controls quality, there is a significant high waste level of this product, especially during the packaging process. The products also show a shorter shelf life.
With the introduction of vertical farming and the optimal level of control, the yields can be increased and wastage is significantly lowered. The level of control and dedicated lighting recipes, result in more tasty and higher quality plants.
Herbs generally have a higher commercial value, which makes it interesting for vertical farms to include herbs into the product mix.
Harvesting and packaging is a more suffisticated process with herbs, as damage will have a bigger effect on the leafs and products are packed into smaller, higher value packages.
