Farm8

This interview details Farm8, an indoor farming company based in Korea. The interview is with Yong Park, Chief Marketing Officer of Farm8.

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What is the origin story of Farm8?

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Farm8 was founded in 2004 with growing 8 different microgreens. Farm8 in 2023 is the leading fresh vegetable and salad producing company in Korea. In order to develop a steady supply of fresh vegetables, Farm 8 founded PlanTFarm which is a company specialized in Indoor Vertical Farm technologies.

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PlanTFarm is the sole owned subsidiary of Farm8 and it develops IVF systems, builds IVF, and operates IVF to produce high quality vegetables. PlanTfarm has built and manages more than 70 IVFs in Korea.

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What varieties of crops are you most focused on?

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We have recipe for more than 100+ different leafy greens, herbs, and eatable flowers. We also grow crops with functional ingredients and Korean strawberry.

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What are some of the biggest challenges facing Farm8 in the future?

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Same with other IVF companies globally, the biggest challenge is growing costs of utilities. In order to overcome this challenge, we have been investing in R&D to develop more efficient LED, environment control systems, etc. We have been also working with companies to develop IVF which utilizes waste energy.

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What is unique about Farm8 compared to competitors?

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Unlike many IVF companies, our focus is to produce high quality produces at reasonable costs. Our focus is not to develop the state-of-the-art IVF. Instead, our goal is to develop optimal IVF systems to produce high quality produce throughout the year and supply them to Farm 8. PlanTFarm is one of the few IVF companies that has proven economics of producing vegetables using IVF systems.

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How do you measure the impact of your company so far? (Revenue, Employees, Customer Quantity, Production Volume) etc? 

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We completed the largest IVF in Korea last year. The outcome of this farm has been very successful. We have achieved 120% of our target. Our vision now is taking this system to overseas markets such as GCC and Central Asia.

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What role does automation play in your vertical farm? Are there any specific tasks or processes that are automated or not automated?

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Our strategy is developing automation where needed rather than focusing on full automation. We are also selective based on the size of the farm and also costs of labor (various by countries).

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What have you learned that you wish you knew when you joined or started the company?

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I thought IVF is for countries with bad environments for growing vegetables and fruits, but after joining the company, I realized it is for all countries. Each county has different reasons to adopt IVF. Some with cold weather, some hot and dry conditions, some with limited land, some need new varieties, etc.

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How can people connect with you or learn more about Farm8?

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If people need information about Farm8 and PlanTFarm, feel free to contact me at yjp@tfarm.co.kr

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