Crops

Vertical Farms and Fruit: The Possibilities and Real-World Challenges of Strawberry and Melon Cultivation

Growing fruit in vertical farms is a topic where expectations and misconceptions often go hand in hand. For some crops, such as strawberries, a workable fit is starting to emerge. For others, such as melons, the economics are much harder to justify in a PFAL (plant factory with artificial lighting).

The question is not simply “can it be grown.” Light cost, growing period, plant height, selling price, and how much added value you can build through environmental control—all of these matter. Fruit is one of the next frontiers for vertical farms, yet if you pick the wrong crop, the cost structure quickly becomes a problem.

In this article, using strawberries and melons as examples, I work through what it means to grow fruit in a vertical farm, and where the limits lie.

Why fruit is drawing attention in vertical farms

In recent years, more vertical farms are starting to grow fruit. Until now, leafy greens have been the lead crop in vertical farms. In Japan, vegetables from vertical farms are now a regular sight on supermarket shelves, and building on that track record, interest in “the next crop” is rising both inside and outside the industry. On the farm, too, you often hear the question, “Isn’t there anything besides lettuce?”

Fruit is emerging as one answer.

Vertical farming compared with open-field farming

In vertical farming, up-front and running costs are higher, while environmental control enables stable quality and opens the door to added value. And because the location is flexible, production becomes an option even in regions where fruit cultivation has traditionally been difficult. Year-round supply plus premium positioning is what makes vertical farms a good fit for high-value crops.

Why lettuce is the mainstream

In practice, lettuce accounts for the bulk of production volume at vertical farms. Strong environmental control does not automatically make fruit cultivation viable. The main reason lies in the cost structure.

The following article covers the background in detail.

Why Lettuce Dominates Vertical Farms: The Cultivation and Economic Case

To sum up the key points: in vertical farms, facility cost and the constraints of the growing conditions narrow the range of crops that can be grown profitably. The ideal crop is short, grows under low light, fetches a high price, and cycles quickly. In a PFAL in particular, electricity for lighting is a major cost, and any crop that needs strong light starts out at a cost disadvantage. With a sunlight-based system, the electricity cost of lighting is no longer a binding constraint, but such a system works on different assumptions than a PFAL.

Which fruits can work in a vertical farm

One crop broadly meets all the conditions above—short, tolerant of low light, high unit price, and fast-cycling—and that is strawberries.

Serious research is now under way in the United States as well. In 2026, a research team in the south-central U.S. launched a study evaluating the feasibility of strawberry production under controlled environment agriculture (CEA). Strawberries are the most popular fruit in the U.S., and that scale of demand is pushing the research forward, with hopes rising for year-round supply in North America.

Melons and similar crops, on the other hand, are hard to make work in a PFAL. The plants grow tall and have a high light requirement, so power costs tend to get heavy. That said, this applies only to PFALs; with a sunlight-based system, the picture changes.

Fruit that can be grown in a sunlight-based greenhouse

Defined broadly, vertical farms also include sunlight-based systems. In that case, the range broadens beyond strawberries to melons, tomatoes, blueberries, grapes, figs, and more.

High value-added through environmental control

One strength of vertical farms is that you can tightly control the growing conditions that drive quality—sugar content, functional compounds, and so on. Several directions for premium crops that build on this are drawing attention.

• High-sugar melons: Tight Brix control creates a differentiated product that commands a high price
• Functional tomatoes: Tuning the growing environment can raise bioactive compounds such as GABA and lycopene. (Japan’s “Foods with Function Claims” framework sometimes applies, though regulations differ by country.)
• Low-pesticide blueberries: A closed growing environment keeps pesticide use low, which appeals to health-conscious consumers

Growing fruit in vertical farms is becoming a realistic next phase after leafy greens. That said, cost structure and profitability vary sharply by crop, so matching the facility type (PFAL or sunlight-based) to the right crop is the starting point.