Technology – Orlar

Pure Food That’s Good for You and the Environment

Grown in our own Australian organic certified rock, all Orlar produce is free of contaminants and pollutants commonly found in Asia. Using our vertical growing process, which uses 95% less energy than hydroponics, we grow produce that has net negative greenhouse gas emissions, poses no threat of nutrient or pesticide pollution, and allows 100% water-use efficiency. Not only do you and your family get the cleanest food possible, but you also reduce your carbon footprint, resulting in a positive environmental impact.

Revolutionising the Way Produce is Grown

How we do it

Orlar’s patented technology brings together two key components to make contaminant-free produce accessible and economical: exclusive access to our organic certified mineral–Orlarock–and the innovative use of vertical and horizontal “pods”.

Australian Organic Certified

The foundation of our production, Orlarock, is imported directly from Australia. The unique properties of Orlarock allow it to capture all nutrients added, completely resist disease, avoid crushing in vertical arrangements (preventing waterlogging and disease), and to conduct and retain the perfect amount of water. By holding just enough water to allow for proper growth (but not holding enough water to cause disease), Orlarock allows us to grow pure produce from start to finish. By providing a surface area in each pod that allows for the growth of over 1 hectare of healthy microbes, we can grow healthy, delicious produce. Additionally, Orlarock does not need to be replaced, which leads to a more sustainable growing process.

The Pods

Designed by Dr. Lyndal Hugo, one of the co-founders of Orlar, our vertical and horizontal pods are the result of five years of careful research and optimisation. With special attention to the number of plants in each pod and the capture of optimal light for proper growth, each pod is able to reduce the energy use of traditional hydroponics by over 95%. Specially designed vents allow for maximum airflow, naturally preventing disease. Orlarock holds trillions of applied “beneficial bacteria” in its surfaces, allowing for old root matter to be broken down into nutrients for the next production cycle.

Organic Fertilisers

We use organic certified fertilisers, further eliminating your exposure to harmful inputs common in the food supply chain across Asia. Our proprietary fertiliser contains a blend of organic compounds, such as seaweed extracts, humic and fulvic acids, amino acids, and enzymes.

The Microbes

Over 70 strains of plant probiotics and soil based organisms are used in the growing process, which we refer to as the “secret weapon” of the Orlar growing system. These beneficial bacteria work to convert minerals and nutrients into the most ideal format for plant growth. Digesting the mix of rock, water, oxygen, old root matter, and fertilisers, these microbes create the healthiest soil for growing in Asia. This allows us to effectively grow organic food at scale in locations that have a historic use of chemicals and pollutants.

The Facilities

State-of-the-art facilities allow us to grow 6-12x more produce than a standard solid or hydroponic glasshouse. When combined with our industry-leading technology, Orlar is able to provide accessible organic produce at scale in contaminated environments with no overall negative environmental impact.

Good for the Environment; Good for You

Clean food is an investment in health for you and your loved ones. In Vietnam, finding food free of contaminants and pollution can be challenging. Often, the only choices are imported produce or local hydroponics. Unfortunately, both of these options have a negative effect on the environment and fail to provide fresh, quality produce with a long shelf life.

Orlar was started as an answer to the following questions:

What if you could get clean, organic produce that doesn’t have to be flown in from overseas?
What if that same produce was grown in a way that used significantly less energy and water than traditional hydroponics?

Our answer is environmentally-friendly produce that nourishes your body instead of harming it.

A Commitment to the Environment

When we set out to make clean, organic food accessible, we also knew we had to take care of the environment while doing it. By tracking every metric in our production process, leveraging our team’s experience, and consulting with numerous environmental scientists, we believe that we have the most sustainable food production system on the planet. While competitors make isolated claims about their production process and its environmental impact, we designed our system holistically to ensure complete sustainability. The end result is no net negative impacts on the environment.

All our environmental and social impacts are measured in real time, and reported on The Orlar ESG Dashboard.

Negative Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Our production process creates less than 0.05% of the amount of greenhouse gases that would be generated to import similar organic produce from Australia, the US, or Europe. We use pasteurised, composted food waste that prevents emissions of methane. By eliminating and absorbing emissions, we reduce our footprint by a greater amount than our production creates. Not only are you nourishing your body, you’re contributing to a cleaner environment.

Zero Waste Water

The unique properties of Orlarock allow it to absorb and hold water, without allowing any excess drainage. By slowly dripping water into the pods and allowing gravity to disperse it, our produce gets the exact amount of water necessary, all without creating any waste or nutrient pollution.

Energy Usage Reduction

We use up to 99.995% less energy than our competitors who grow their produce in vertical, controlled, or indoor agriculture facilities. Using thermal mass to control the climate inside our pods, we are significantly more energy efficient than other technologies while ensuring our zero greenhouse gas emissions status.

No Single-use Plastics in our Production

When designing the Orlar Pods, we set the goal to avoid using single-use plastics in our production process. Each pod is engineered to last at least 15 years, with the majority of parts being made from recycled, food grade plastic that can be recycled again after use. We also continue to work to eliminate single-use plastics in our packaging as alternatives become available.

Long Shelf Life to Prevent Waste

Between our growing process that results in healthy hearty plants and producing our food locally to minimise transport time, we supply produce that has a shelf life of up to 10 days. This minimises waste and reduces the frequency of delivery to our customers, including high-end restaurants and hotels. World-renowned chefs have commented on our produce being the freshest, longest lasting they’ve encountered in Asia.