The demand for clean and healthy starter material is rapidly growing all over the world. The pandemic has certainly ignited massive interest in ornamental houseplants, causing well-documented availability and supply issues. One way Vita Farms and ForemostCo Inc. are looking to satisfy the demand for starter material in the North American and European markets, is by building its own tissue culture lab, Vita Labs.
“Vita Farms ships more than 200 million cuttings a year to the United States, Canada, and Europe, our goal is to always have the best quality product on the market,” said Luis Pacheco, General Manager of Vita Farms. “There is no doubt that the current market demands we continue to improve and develop our production capabilities, Vita Labs will certainly help us do just that by producing high quality, uniform planting material that can be multiplied on a year-round basis under disease-free conditions.”
Vita Labs is an 8,000 square foot state-of-the-art facility that has the capacity to produce 15 million plants annually when the space if fully utilized. Additional expansion is planned over the next 3-5 years to further increase capacity. Vita Labs’ key focus will be on ornamental plants, with over 110 varieties currently in-house.
Joseph C. Roberts, CEO of ForemostCo Inc., is very pleased with the newest member of the ForemostCo Family. “With the addition of Vita Labs, ForemostCo continues to strengthen its supply chain and ability to serve North American and European growers. With Luis and his team at the helm we’re excited for the prospect of what’s to come from this new endeavor.”
ForemostCo