"At this stage, Oishii is transitioning from proving the business model in the US to scaling globally," says Hitoshi Kawashima, Senior Vice President of Engineering at Oishii. "A key enabler of that shift is the standardization and turnkey-ization of the production modules that underpin farms such as Amatelas Farm."
The partnership Kawashima is describing was announced on March 16 by MISUMI Group Inc., the Tokyo-headquartered mechanical components manufacturer, which has entered a strategic agreement with Oishii Farm Corporation to supply components and pursue joint research and development. The partnership is one of several moves Oishii has made in quick succession. The company recently restructured its US retail portfolio, introducing new formats and price points across its three signature strawberry varietals, and set a target to double its store count from more than 300 locations by the end of 2026.
At the center of the agreement is Amatelas Farm, Oishii's 237,500-square-foot vertical strawberry facility in Phillipsburg, New Jersey, which the company is now engineering to function as a replicable, modular production system. MISUMI supplies components through its US-based subsidiary Fictiv, acquired in June 2025. Fictiv operates four global manufacturing centers across India, Mexico, China, and the US, and has delivered more than 40 million parts and assemblies to date. MISUMI itself serves more than 323,000 businesses worldwide. The relationship with Fictiv predates the formal agreement, though Kawashima describes prior engagement as limited. The MISUMI partnership, he says, represents a step change in deepening and accelerating that relationship.
© Oishii
Layered automation
The agreement adds another dimension to Oishii's automation strategy, built incrementally over recent years. In March 2025, the company acquired the key intellectual property and assets of Colorado-based harvest robotics startup Tortuga AgTech, integrating its AI-driven harvesting technology alongside an existing partnership with Yaskawa Robotics. A fleet of robots now works around the clock at Amatelas Farm, moving through rows of strawberries, detecting ripeness, capturing what the company says are more than 60 billion data points annually, and adjusting the environmental variables of each farm unit over time.
MISUMI's role sits at a different layer. "MISUMI's role is not centered on robotic harvesting, but rather on the broader mechanization and standardization of the production modules used in Amatelas Farm," Kawashima says. "Their capabilities help us industrialize the underlying infrastructure, making systems more modular, repeatable, and easier to deploy at scale. In that sense, MISUMI complements our robotics partners by strengthening the foundation on which automation operates."
The partnership also includes a joint R&D component, though specifics have not yet been disclosed. The two companies intend to combine MISUMI's strengths in general-purpose technologies and standardization with Oishii's deep, industry-specific expertise to develop components for agricultural automation. Kawashima indicated the scope is intentionally broad at this stage, with focus areas to be defined as the collaboration develops.
Building a portable farm
As Oishii pursues expansion across the US and Japan, the ability to reproduce Amatelas Farm efficiently across geographies is a stated priority. "MISUMI's global supply network, combined with their ability to deliver standardized yet customizable components, allows us to accelerate deployment timelines while maintaining consistency in quality," Kawashima says. "This is critical to scaling our operations in a disciplined and capital-efficient manner."
For MISUMI, the agreement reflects a broader push into high-growth industries through digital manufacturing. The company has positioned Fictiv as its primary vehicle for US manufacturing and supply chain expansion since the June 2025 acquisition.
"Scaling a sustainable agriculture platform requires not only advances in biology, but also in engineering, manufacturing, and supply chain design," Kawashima says. "Partnerships like this reflect our long-term approach, bringing together best-in-class partners to systematically build the infrastructure required to scale Amatelas Farm globally."
For more information:
© Oishii
Oishii
Hitoshi Kawashima, Senior Vice President of Engineering
[email protected]
www.oishii.com
