Oishii strawberries are a true delicacy that has now conquered the U.S. market. From the meticulous cultivation to the flavors and aromas, an entirely new, overseas experience is promised: a journey of the senses that takes you straight to the Japanese Alps .
It is easy to scoff at the idea of paying $4 for a single strawberry or, better yet, a box of 11 strawberries for $50. It seems too luxurious, elitist and unaffordable. That was my reaction when I first saw Oishii strawberries popping up on my Instagram and TikTok feeds, more like succulent jewelry than fruit. I found their perfection endearing and disturbing at the same time; I did not want to be seduced by expensive strawberries.
Yet when my first box of Oishii strawberries arrived, the differences between them and other strawberries were immediate.
Starting with the aroma. Oishii has strategically poked holes in its boxes to let out the scent of strawberries, and the smell is intoxicating: fruity, sweet, and inviting. Then there is the texture and taste. A typical strawberry is biting and crisp and is often picked before it is ripe, leading to an unpleasant sour taste. Oishii strawberries give at first bite: they are pulpy and juicy, with a tantalizingly soft, chamois-like texture. The flavor is sweet and robust, and the taste is as good as the smell.
A VERTICAL CULTIVATION FROM THE JAPANESE CLIMATE
But before Oishii became the hottest strawberry on the Internet, it was just a vision of co-founder Hiroki Koga. "Hiroki is Japanese and grew up in Japan, where fruit is really something to celebrate," explains Lesia Dallimore, Oishii's vice president of brand and marketing. "Strawberries are his favorite fruit, and if there were strawberries on the table when he came home as a child, he knew something special had happened that day."
Oishii strawberries are grown on vertical farms in New Jersey and California. When Koga finally arrived in the United States, he was excited to try all the fruits grown under the sun and temperate climate of California. The first bite of a strawberry, however, was disappointing: watery, crunchy and not very sweet. It did not resemble Japanese strawberries at all. Koga, who has a background as a vertical farming consultant, knew he could be the solution to this problem.
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A JOURNEY OF THE SENSES TO THE JAPANESE ALPS
The first Oishii farm landed in New Jersey in 2019. The second growing facility arrived in California in 2021. Then came an even larger farm, also in New Jersey, in 2022. New Jersey, it can be said, is nothing like the mountains of Japan, where Omakase strawberry varieties traditionally grow.
Koga, along with Oishii co-founder Brendan Somerville, has been able to manipulate the atmosphere within the walls of the indoor farm to ensure ideal growing conditions. "Wecall it an environmental recipe: we recreate a perfect day, every day," Dallimore says of the seemingly utopian process that suspends, for a brief moment, the reality of climate change for traditional agriculture. "The sun comes up with lights and there's the right amount of moisture, the bees fly and propagate all our berries, and it's just like the perfect day in the Alps in Japan, but in New Jersey."
THE PERFECT STRAWBERRY, BUT IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE FRESH
Oishii is trying to meet the demand for strawberries, but due to their delicate nature, they are currently only available in New Jersey, New York and California. The brand, however, continues to find clever ways to distribute the heady flavors of its strawberries nationwide. It has partnered with several popular food brands, including West~bourne for a strawberry butter, Brightland for a strawberry vinegar, and Open Market for a strawberry oat milk exclusive to the Family Style Festival in Los Angeles. "Our strawberry is so unique that the more people can appreciate it, the better," Dallimore says.
It may seem like sacrilege to turn the delicate flavors and creamy texture of Oishii berries into a spread or vinegar, but it is actually a way for Oishii to recycle berries that may not be aesthetically pleasing or may have slight dents in them and thus are not suitable for their typical packaging.
The price of Oishii strawberries is not as high as it was when the fruit first debuted (you can now buy a box of 11 strawberries for $20, instead of $50, at Whole Foods outlets), but it is still enough to give people pause. There is a solution in the works: new strawberry varieties are being developed that are more robust and suitable for smoothies or children's lunchboxes. They also hope to launch a line of deliciously succulent tomatoes, continuing to demonstrate how vertical farming can improve the way we enjoy produce.
But the Omakase strawberry, in its current form, is deliberate in its price. The strawberry is methodically grown, hand-picked, and designed to be the best strawberry possible, perfect for a hostess gift, graduation present, or any kind of celebration.
"It's worth it," Dallimore says. "You get an experience instead of just consuming."
Source: trhillist
Photo: Oishii
