American restaurants have been cheated, being fed dyed horseraddish filled with chemicals, caused by the global decline in authentic wasabi production. Max and Shun felt compelled to act. Max had previously worked with his family funding vertical farms across the U.S and Shun comes from a sixth-generation Japanese farming family. The duo instantly knew their unique backgrounds had to be combined to save wasabi from crisis and bring this one-of-a-kind spice to the U.S.

Since launching, Cai Foods has designed an advanced vertical farming system that grows authentic wasabi at twice the speed of traditional greenhouse farming, right here in the U.S. Our fresh wasabi greens are now served in restaurants and kitchens across the country, and our first rhizome harvest is expected in Winter of 2026.