Why strawberries?

Have you ever been disappointed by a strawberry? 

Why strawberries?

If you answered “yes”, you’re not alone. 

We all know what a strawberry should be like: bright red, juicy, sweet, flavourful, fresh, and good for you! Too often though, strawberries are unripe, flavourless, old, and perhaps worst of all: contaminated with pesticides! In fact, strawberries have consistently ranked in first place on the “Dirty Dozen” list of the most pesticide-contaminated produce, nine years in a row!

For most of the year in Canada, strawberries must be imported from afar, often travelling 5,000km or more by truck. To survive that journey, those berries are bred for durability, not flavour, and must be harvested before they can fully ripen. After a trip like that, there’s no wonder why the strawberries in the supermarket often lack taste and look old or even rotten.

At GUSH, we know there’s a better way. After years of research and development, we repurposed an old textile factory and transformed it into an indoor vertical strawberry farm. Through clever methods and innovative farm design, we can grow our strawberries 365 days a year using less fertilizer, less water, and zero pesticides. Since our farm is located in the city, we can reduce transport emissions and offer strawberries that are freshly picked and perfectly ripe. In fact, our strawberries are often enjoyed by our customers on the day they’re harvested! We call it “strawberries at their best”.