Arabfields, Ingrid Anker, Correspondent, Norway — The promise of growing strawberries year-round inside high-tech vertical farms is facing a tougher test as one of Europe’s most closely watched projects moves further away from commercial production.

Dutch agtech company Smartkas had once positioned its indoor strawberry operations in the Netherlands and Britain as an example of what controlled-environment agriculture could achieve. Its Harlow facility in the UK featured a 12-layer growing system covering about 27,000 square metres, with an initial target of producing 500 tonnes of strawberries a year.

The project attracted attention because it offered an answer to one of the fresh produce industry’s biggest challenges, how to produce consistent supplies of delicate fruit despite weather, land and labour constraints.

For consumers, the idea was simple. Strawberries could be grown closer to the market, throughout the year and under tightly controlled conditions. For retailers, it promised greater predictability in supply. But the reality proved considerably more difficult.

Production began at the Harlow site in early 2023, with Smartkas working with British berry supplier BerryWorld to grow Eve’s Delight strawberries. Trials were also conducted at the company’s research and development facility in the Netherlands.

The two indoor farms were later taken out of operation and largely dismantled, triggering a dispute over the technology used to operate them. That dispute reached an important stage in June 2026, when the Amsterdam District Court ruled that VariPar Distribution, trading as Parus Europe, had breached its contract with Smartkas over production systems supplied to the farms.

The court rejected a claim by Parus for more than $680,000 in outstanding payment and ordered the repayment of amounts already paid by Smartkas. It also allowed Smartkas to pursue damages in a separate assessment procedure.

The case offers a revealing look at the difficulties behind the vertical farming boom. Court-appointed experts found problems involving water, ozone, ultraviolet disinfection and carbon dioxide systems. In their assessment, fixing the farms would effectively require major redesign and reconstruction.

Parus has appealed the ruling and disputes the technical conclusions. The company says operational records and video evidence show that the Harlow facility was capable of operating and supplying strawberries to major retailers. Smartkas has rejected that interpretation, arguing that the evidence does not demonstrate commercially viable production.

For the founders of Smartkas, David Meszaros and Wim Roosens, the legal dispute is now becoming part of a broader change in strategy. Rather than continuing to focus exclusively on futuristic indoor strawberry production, the entrepreneurs are moving towards fruit trading and investment in conventional orchard businesses.

Their next project, Hive Capital, is expected to focus initially on Central and Eastern Europe, with Hungary and apple production among its first targets.

The shift reflects a wider question facing controlled-environment agriculture in 2026. The technology remains attractive, particularly for crops where proximity to consumers, predictable quality and year-round supply can justify high production costs. But strawberries are technically demanding, and the economics become difficult when sophisticated infrastructure fails to deliver reliable commercial yields.

The industry has not abandoned the concept. Other operators continue to invest in protected and vertical production, while research into automation, robotics, crop protection and energy efficiency is advancing. Companies such as Oishii are expanding vertical strawberry production in North America, while projects in South Korea are exploring ways to extend strawberry production across all 52 weeks of the year.

That suggests the next phase of indoor farming is likely to be more selective. Investors may increasingly favour technologies and crops with clearer economics rather than large facilities built around ambitious production targets.

For Smartkas, the change could prove less an end than a repositioning. Its founders say their experience in indoor farming has given them knowledge of fruit production, markets and supply chains that can be applied elsewhere.

The future of vertical strawberries will therefore depend less on the novelty of growing fruit in stacked layers and more on a basic commercial question, whether the technology can consistently produce fruit at a cost retailers and consumers are prepared to support.

The Harlow project was designed to demonstrate that possibility. Its dismantling suggests the industry still has some distance to travel before that vision becomes a mainstream business model.