“We can offer very reasonably priced vegetables to consumers as we saved a lot on lighting,” says Krisana Tamvimol, founder and CEO of Wangree Fresh. “Now, we’re using different lights than in our previous farm which helps us to reduce operating costs. Therefore, our products can now be sold at a price that is accessible to all.”
Krisana Tamvimol in the new Siam Pun Sun farm
The Siam Pun Sun factory is an 1800 m2 farm that will supply vegetables for near located villages. The construction is nearly completed and the facility will be up and running soon. The farm is located close to the famous ‘Wat Pra Baht Nam Phu’ temple, the owner of the new farm, which is 120km north of Bangkok. Wangree Fresh is to run and supply fresh veggies to resident monks and people treated at the temple.
The Siam Pun Sun farm
Three new farms
Currently, Wangree Fresh is constructing three new farms. The Siam Pun Sun farm is expected to be completed between the 2nd and 3rd quarters next year. Unfortunately, the construction has been slowed down due to a change in management. The second and third farms are opted to be built in larger cities, however, the locations cannot be released publicly yet. Each farm has a size of 650m2 and will be able to grow 700 kilograms of vegetables per day.
Stronger supply chains
Krisana explains that Wangree Fresh provides government-backed training for farmers and children. In this way, they can educate existing farmers, and children, on vertical farming to raise awareness on more resilient and profitable farming in Thailand. As of now, the company has been educating society for three years now and hopes to see more years coming. In the new Siam Pun Sun farm, training will be given to monks and temple residents.
“Now the government is giving full support means that there will be a lot more supply chains domestically. This makes it easier for Thai farmers to start vertical farms. Vertical farming will be a very important part of economical growth as it will improve the quality of life for farmers. Eventually, they'll be able to compete internationally as well,” Krisana states.
Wangree Fresh will provide educational courses in the new property as well to educate locals. “I want to share my knowledge in research and farming experience. Therefore, I can’t wait to train more people and teach them about vertical farming so they can become engineers, scientists, etc.”, Krisana adds.
Clientele
The direct consumer subscription model is available for families, patients and businesses who can order leafy greens. “We have seen growing interest over the past year, because we prove that our greens are completely pesticide-free, unlike the average produce available here,” Krisana notes. Krisana expects to draw a lot of attention to the new city farms and helps to raise awareness on vertical farming in urban areas.
For more information:
Wangree Fresh
Krisana Tamvimol, CEO
[email protected]
www.wangreefresh.com