A team led by Frankfurt partner Dr. Markus Käpplinger has advised Veganz Group AG ("Veganz") in connection with the acquisition of the worldwide licensing rights for the innovative OrbiPlant® and OrbiLoop® vertical farming technology from the Fraunhofer Institute.
The highly flexible OrbiPlant® system can provide a wide variety of plants completely independent of weather, time of day and season. Growing conditions such as light or nutrients can be flexibly adjusted for each plant species, which can positively influence the taste and nutrients of the harvested products and also increase productivity. In addition, OrbiPlant® contributes to cost-efficient and sustainable production of plant-based foods, since resources such as water and fertilizers are only minimally used.
For Veganz, this licence acquisition has a special significance: the company already holds the rights to produce protein-rich plants in the OrbiPlant® Vertical Farming System. The combination of both licensing rights grants Veganz the ground-breaking technology, that, for the first time, will make it possible to grow protein-rich foods in a regionally and economically profitable way even in those regions that have so far been dependent on expensive imports of staple foods due to their unfavourable climatic conditions.
"Vertical farming is not a new business area – but currently it is mainly used for the cultivation of salads and herbs. Due to the comparatively low sales price of these plants in the industrial environment, it is difficult to work profitably in this field. However, with this now acquired technology, Veganz has for the first time, and probably uniquely worldwide, the possibility to produce protein-rich plants, especially peas, industrially in vertical farming. When it comes to the question of how to ensure the nutrition of a growing world population in the future, this is likely to be a game changer," said Käpplinger.
Veganz Group AG is a vegan brand and is headquartered in Berlin. Veganz was founded in 2011 as the first vegan supermarket chain in Europe. Currently, Veganz offers around 165 products in 26 countries as well as in online shops. The company offers its customers a range of over 4,500 products from more than 30 countries.