Vertical-farm strawberry brand Oishii is on track to close 2026 with more than 500 U.S. retail locations across 25 states — more than double its prior-year distribution footprint — after a Q4 push that brings it into Walmart, The Fresh Market, and Giant Food for the first time. The expansion marks one of the more aggressive retail scaling moves in the premium produce segment this year.
The New Accounts
The Q4 rollout adds 226 net-new doors across four retail banners. Walmart is absorbing 78 locations in New Jersey and Pennsylvania; The Fresh Market is taking on 84 stores across the Southeast, including first-time entries in North Carolina, South Carolina, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama; and Giant Food is listing Oishii in 30 Maryland and Virginia locations. Sprouts Farmers Market, already an Oishii partner, is expanding from 20 to 65 doors — a 225% increase — with the latest tranche covering additional Florida and Georgia stores.
The primary vehicle for mass-market distribution is the Premium Grade Nikko Berry, priced at a manufacturer's suggested retail price of $7.99 for a 7.5-ounce package. The Nikko sits below Oishii's Reserve Grade Koyo Berry and Connoisseur Grade Omakase Berry, positioning it as the brand's entry point into conventional grocery channels. A redesigned Stay-Fresh top-seal pack uses 80% less plastic than a standard clamshell and extends shelf life by 33%, a material improvement that the company says enables longer-haul shipping to markets it could not previously service efficiently.
Production Scaling
The retail push is backed by meaningful supply-side investment. Since January, Oishii says it has grown Nikko Berry production volume by 282%, improved sellable yield per plant by 100%, and increased the total count of robotically harvested berries by 50%. Upgraded conveyance systems at its New Jersey smart farm and parallel R&D programs in the United States and Japan are credited with driving those gains. For a produce brand attempting to serve 500-plus retail locations from a controlled-environment agriculture footprint, sustaining those output metrics will be as critical as landing shelf space.
Why the Distribution Math Matters
The move into Walmart is particularly notable for the indoor-farming sector, which has struggled with unit economics at scale. Several well-capitalized vertical-farm operators have curtailed or shut operations in recent years as energy costs and capital intensity pressured margins. Oishii's decision to engineer a lower-price-point SKU with reduced-plastic packaging specifically for broader retail access signals a deliberate pivot toward volume distribution rather than exclusively premium specialty retail — a strategy that could inform how other controlled-environment agriculture players approach mass-market expansion.
Rita Hudetz, Oishii's Chief Commercial Officer, framed the retail build-out around shifting consumer expectations. "With our Nikko Berry, we are better able to meet those needs while making the Oishii experience part of more consumers' everyday shopping habits," she said, referencing consumer demand for consistency in flavor, ripeness, and freshness.
The company, founded in 2016 and backed by investors including SPARX Asset Management, NTT, Yaskawa, McWin Capital Partners, and Resilience Reserve, has not disclosed revenue figures. Analysts tracking the premium produce and specialty grocery segment will be watching whether the mainstream Walmart placement sustains the brand equity cultivated through higher-end retailers such as Whole Foods Market. Oishii says its near-term focus is supporting current retail partners and deepening penetration in existing markets rather than aggressively adding new state-level distribution.
Written by Michael Politz, Author of Guide to Restaurant Success: The Proven Process for Starting Any Restaurant Business From Scratch to Success (ISBN: 978-1-119-66896-1), Founder of Food & Beverage Magazine, the leading online magazine and resource in the industry. Designer of the Bluetooth logo and recognized in Entrepreneur Magazine's "Top 40 Under 40" for founding American Wholesale Floral, Politz is also the Co-founder of the Proof Awards and the CPG Awards and a partner in numerous consumer brands across the food and beverage sector.
