BlueRedGold's plans to build the 'world's first scalable indoor saffron cultivation system' have been boosted after picking up investment of €2.73 million. With demand for reliable, high-quality saffron expected to rise, start-ups are turning to vertical farming using controlled environment agriculture (CEA) to overcome the limitations of traditional outdoor cultivation of 'red gold' or the 'king of spices'.
Saffron Tech, for example, operates a vertical indoor farm in Israel, aiming for year-round production with multiple harvests annually. Veles Farming in Slovakia – originally focused on leafy greens – has pivoted to saffron cultivation indoors in an attempt to tap into the high-value saffron market serving food, pharmaceutical and cosmetic companies.
Sweden-based BlueRedGold's is now eyeing expansion thanks to a €2.73 million investment round. The company launched controlled indoor cultivation and year-round saffron production in the outskirts of Stockholm in 2021.
The company will now move to a bigger facility to scale its production and has hired experts to develop its saffron cultivation system using AI and robotics. It has more than several tonnes of saffron requested already by the nutraceutical, food, and cosmetics industries, the company revealed.
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