By ALEXIA ELEJALDE-RUIZ

CHICAGO TRIBUNE | JULY 07, 2020

Silvia Penaran grabs a handful of spring mix to pack in a container at BrightFarms on July 1, 2020, in Rochelle. (Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune)

BrightFarms is boosting capacity at its Chicago-area greenhouse as the pandemic-driven rise in cooking at home fuels demand for locally grown greens.

BrightFarms’ Rochelle greenhouse, which annually supplies 1 million pounds of lettuce, spinach, arugula, basil and other greens to Mariano’s and other regional grocery stores, is increasing production by 40% by adding more hydroponic ponds to the two-acre facility, CEO Steve Platt said.

BrightFarms was seeing year-over-year sales growth of about 20% before the COVID-19 pandemic hit the U.S., but in March and April growth jumped to 40% as stay-at-home orders set in and customers flocked to grocery stores, Platt said. The at-home cooking trend has remained steady, with growth now leveled out above 30%.

“We’re seeing really great demand,” said Platt, whose company, based in Irvington, New York, has other greenhouses in Northern Virginia, Ohio, and Pennsylvania and is building one in North Carolina. “The pandemic has supercharged that.”

Greens grown indoors, either in sprawling sunlit greenhouses or under artificial lights in vertical farms, occupy a tiny niche of the market. But they have been gaining popularity in recent years in the Midwest as consumers opt for more local, pesticide-free produce that doesn’t travel thousands of miles from California or Arizona farms to reach their dinner plates.

In addition to addressing environmental and freshness concerns, growing year-round in a controlled environment guards against bacterial contamination that lead to illness and recalls.

Local greenhouses had an advantage as demand from grocery stores surged during the rush to stockpile food during the pandemic because they could pivot quickly while some of the large operators of field-grown produce couldn’t get enough product to stores shelves quickly enough, Platt said.

“When the customers needed product we were able to deliver it,” Platt said. BrightFarms added 800 stores to its distribution this year and now has 2,000 customers nationwide, he said.

In Chicago, locally grown greens represented 11.5% of the tender leaf packaged salad market during the first half of this year, up from 9.4% last year and 7.9% in 2018, according to data from the market research firm SPINS provided by Bright Farms. Nationally the share is much lower, at 3.2%.

The growing interest fits with a broader trend toward more premium foods, with people willing to pay more for products they perceive as healthier. A clamshell of BrightFarms romaine or spinach is $2.99, twice the cost of the cheapest option though on par with field-grown organic produce, Platt said.

But Platt attributes the growth not only to consumer demand but also retailer demand, as stores try to avoid the disruption of recalls. Last month certain bagged garden salads from Jewel-Osco, Aldi, Hy-Vee, and Walmart were recalled due to suspected contamination of cyclospora, a bacteria found in human feces, and E. coli illnesses have prompted mass recalls of romaine lettuce in recent years.

Other indoor growers also are expanding in response to increased demand.

Gotham Greens last year more than doubled its capacity to serve the Chicago area when it opened a new 100,000-square-foot greenhouse in Pullman, a stone’s throw from its existing 75,000-square-foot greenhouse on the roof of the Method soap manufacturing plant.

MightyVine, which grows hydroponic tomatoes in a greenhouse in Rochelle, is doubling its footprint to 30 acres.

Alexia Elejalde-Ruiz

Alexia Elejalde-Ruiz covers the food industry for the Chicago Tribune's business section. Prior beats include workplace issues, the retail sector and lifestyle features, plus stints at RedEye, the Daily Herald and the City News Service. Alexia grew up in Washington, D.C., and has her degree in international relations from Brown University.