Canada-based The Star Group is set to add substantial greenhouse capacity dedicated to growing fresh strawberries.

The fresh produce grower, importer and distributor said this added capacity will come via additional planting of its greenhouse in Delta, B.C. with the first berry shipments expected in March, 2022.

“We are very pleased with how the crop is progressing,” said Colin Chapdelaine, President of BC Hot House, the Star Group company that oversees the facility.

“I think we are about to put some very special berries in the hands of Canadian consumers. We’ve got some of the most talented growers on earth overseeing this crop, and some of the most advanced greenhouse technology around to help ensure its success.

"We are excited to be bringing a unique and delicious B.C.-grown berry to the market, especially so early in the season.”

The facility started producing test crops in 2019, then progressed to smaller-scale commercial production throughout 2020 and 2021, and is now ready to scale up substantially to meet the elevated consumer demand for fresh strawberries, adding nearly 25 acres (more than one million square feet) of production floor in the Closed Environment Agriculture (CEA) facility.

“Our early crops produced some truly wonderful berries,” continued Chapdelaine, “bright red, sweet and juicy throughout with just a hint of tartness to balance out the sweetness. We think these will be some of the best strawberries many Canadians have tasted in a very long time – just how you remember them, fresh from Grandma’s garden.”

Shipments are expected to begin to grocers in the U.S, and Canada in March 2022.