VIDEO: Top 5 Benefits of Container Farming At Your Co-Op

Stephanie May 26, 2020

The Yellowknife Co-op added a Growcer container farm to their co-op to provide year-round produce to their members.

Are you looking for a fresh addition to your co-op grocery store? Adding a container farm allows your store to be the source of some of the freshest, locally-grown, resource-efficient produce. 

Here are five benefits to adding a hydroponic container farm steps away from your store:

1. MORE ROI FOR PRODUCE YEAR-ROUND

Growing your own produce reduces your reliance on suppliers and allows you to avoid supply chain mark-ups. You can sell fresher produce year-round at better margins than what you can with supplied produce. 

What can you grow? Lots. Anything from kale, spinach, lettuce, bok-choy, herbs, and more, can be grown within a Growcer system and you can switch it up based on consumer demand.

We’ll help you create a brand that your members will recognize and keep them coming back to your store!

2. MEMBER SATISFACTION AND RETENTION

Container farming allows you to create a unique experience for your customers. Customers can:

• request what produce is grown;

• purchase store-brand produce or prepared goods; and

• at the Yellowknife Co-op, customers can see the produce being grown through a screen - a special experience not typically seen in chain stores.

These special touches build engagement and help with member retention.

3. EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT

The Growcer system is made to “plug and play” and it takes one week of on-site training to have employees comfortable with the system. Your co-op’s container farm becomes a source of pride and oasis for employees who enjoy participating in the growing process from beginning to end. 

Justin Nelson, general manager of The Yellowknife Co-op, put it best: “On a cold dark day in Yellowknife, there’s no better place to be than inside the Growcer unit. When you’re actually harvesting the product that you’re selling it’s a great feeling”.

For co-ops, Growce’s units can be operated by existing employees who see it as an opportunity to take pride serving their community.

4. REDUCED ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT

Container farming grows a variety of produce in a controlled environment that is time, space, and resource-efficient. The best part? Your container farm can be located steps away from your store eliminating the need to transport produce long distances. 

At the Yellowknife Co-op, produce is harvested immediately before it’s sold and this method eliminates the need for plastic packaging.

Growcer’s container farms are an innovative way to stand out from competitors and provide quality produce to your members.

5. DEMONSTRATE INNOVATION

Embrace efficient growing systems that bring fresher produce to your customers and cement your store as a leader who is embracing agriculture technology. 

Your membership invests in you - repay their loyalty by pushing the boundaries of what’s possible. The real value is not only the produce grown, but the ability for a container farm to offer your business a local source of produce, a source of diversified employment, and an additional stream of revenue.

Take the first step and plug in your specifics into our ROI calculator to evaluate the feasibility of a container farm for you.

Italy: 90 Tons of Basil Plants Produced Using Hydroponic Techniques

Italy: 90 Tons of Basil Plants Produced Using Hydroponic Techniques

Il Bettolino is a cooperative producing basil and aromatic herbs employing the Floating System. It sells its produce directly to retailers and owns 10,000 sq m of state-of-the-art greenhouses managed professionally. In 2017, it produced 90 thousand tons of produce.

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"We're a cooperative that has decided to focus on high-quality and technology. We are one of the few, if not the only ones, to produce basil in Emilia-Romagna in such a large area. We have both the traditional and organic ranges but, at the moment, organic basil is only sent as potted plants. In 2017, we produced 450,000 pots. Coop Italia recognised the Vivi Verde Bio certification to our basil," explained president Francesca Benelli.

"The cooperative currently employs 27 disadvantaged members as well as 40 people part of a social inclusion programme. Cultivation represents 80% of the turnover generated by all activities. A couple of years ago, we became part of Agribologna."

"We grow excellent-quality produce with state-of-the-art techniques and pay great attention to the environment thanks to cogeneration and integrated control. The energy for the led lighting and heating for the greenhouse are supplied by the public body at a lower price. Our company also holds the ISO 1401 certification for basil cultivation in pots and water tanks and for its packaging."

Basil sowing is carried out automatically on the top part of the plateau so as to also add sterile material. At the end of each cycle, plateaus are sterilised and reused in compliance with out quality and environmental management and Haccp systems.

In addition to selling plants and packaging them in trays, basil is also processed to make pesto and packaged in pots. Around 70% of the production is destined to be sold in ports but, a few years ago, the business has started collaborating with a company from Liguria to make pesto under the "Amici in Campo" brand. 

Archive photo

Greenhouses are heated thanks to bio-gas produced by the decomposing of waste from municipal plants. This reduces the consumption of fuel and helps lower environmental impact.

Contacts
Cooperativa sociale il Bettolino sc
Via S. Veneria 90/A
42046 Reggiolo (RE)
Tel.: (+39) 0522 650000
Email: presidenza@ilbettolino.it
Web: www.ilbettolino.it
 

Publication date: 6/4/2018

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