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Bowery Farming Lettuce Now In 275 Acme, Safeway Stores
The company now serves almost 800 grocery stores and major e-commerce platforms after this partnership with Albertsons Cos. Inc.
By AMY SOWDER
03/23/2021
New York City-based vertical grower Bowery Farming has placed its products in 275 Safeway and Acme stores in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic.
The company now serves almost 800 grocery stores and major e-commerce platforms after this partnership with Albertsons Cos. Inc., which oversees the Acme and Safeway banners, according to a news release.
“Whether our customers shop with us in store or through our websites and apps, they expect to find fresh and sustainable produce for delicious meals at home,” Ricardo Dimarzio, produce sales manager of Albertsons’ Mid-Atlantic division, said in the release. “We’re proud to offer Bowery Farming’s innovative and sustainable produce to help meet customer demand for high-quality local indoor-grown greens and herbs.”
*700% growth is only for brick-and-mortar store sales
Bowery builds high-tech indoor farms close to the cities it serves. BoweryOS, its proprietary operating system, uses sensors, vision systems, machine learning and automation to monitor and control the variables in crop growth.
Every new farm the company builds benefits from the collective knowledge of the operating system, improving the entire network of farms.
Bowery’s greens and herbs grow in completely controlled environments year-round, independent of weather and seasonality.
“We’re proud to partner with Albertsons Cos. to bring millions of shoppers our local, wildly delicious protected produce and meet unprecedented demand for our growing category, which we believe is the next frontier of agriculture,” Katie Seawell, Bowery’s chief commercial officer, said in the release.
Five of Bowery’s most popular stock-keeping units are now available in 164 Acme stores (Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Delaware and Maryland) and 111 Safeway stores (Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C.).
The initial five products are baby butter lettuce, crispy leaf, spring blend, kale blend and basil.
Bowery has seen nearly 700% growth in sales since January 2020 with brick-and-mortar grocery retailers, and more than quadrupled its sales with e-commerce platforms, including Amazon, according to the release.
To sustain this growth and meet demand for its produce, Bowery is building its largest and most technologically advanced farm yet in Bethlehem, Pa., which will further automate the growing process from seed to store and expand its reach throughout the East Coast.
The company also has two commercial farms in Kearny, N.J., and Nottingham, Md.
CANADA: Vertical Urban Farm 'Ortaliza' Opens Kingsville Storefront
A Kingsville farm is celebrating its grand opening Friday, but it’s not your typical, sprawling set-up. Ortaliza is what’s called an urban vertical farm, growing microgreens right in the store — so you can watch your crop before it lands on your plate
An urban farm has popped up in a Kingsville storefront where fresh microgreens are grown. CTV Windsor's Rich Garton with details.
WINDSOR, ONT. -- A Kingsville farm is celebrating its grand opening Friday, but it’s not your typical, sprawling set-up.
Ortaliza is what’s called an urban vertical farm, growing microgreens right in the store — so you can watch your crop before it lands on your plate.
The new venture is the brainchild of Carina Biacchi and Alvaro Fernandes, who moved from Brazil to Canada five years ago, bringing with them a passion for entrepreneurship and farming.
“We’ve been dreaming and researching not only dreaming but panning about this idea for years, doing research, traveling,” says Biacchi, who is the founder and CEO of the company.
On Friday, Mar. 19, that dream becomes reality — with the launch of Ortaliza, which is Spanish for vegetable garden.
“We fell in love with microgreens because they are such an easy way to eat healthy food,” Biacchi says. “They’re convenient, packed with nutrients, and you can use them, not only in a salad but sometimes you want to enjoy yourself a little bit.”
The vertical urban farm has a main street location in Kingsville — where the fresh microgreens are grown right behind the sore counter.
“People are hearing about vertical farming, but they can’t see it. They are not being there. So we wanted to allow them to come and see what it is,” says Biacchi. “It is still a farm, yes, we’re more tech, more modern, but we wanted to give that feeling to people.”
Vertical Urban Farming — takes traditional farming techniques — but creates density in space.
Ortaliza’s store is only 850 square feet, but rows of stacked shelves utilize six times the space.
“For vertical farming, the sky’s the limit, literally, you can grow as tall as you want,” says Alvaro Fernandes, the company’s chief operating officer.
Much like a greenhouse, Fernandes says growing conditions are optimal — regardless of what’s happening outside.
“I fell in love with indoor agriculture because we have full control of what we do. We can control the lights, the wind, humidity, temperature, everything,” he says.
According to WE-Tech Alliance, which is assisting the business in the start-up process — urban vertical farming provides food security and sustainability, adding significant value to the food system.
Each shelf of microgreens at Ortaliza can feed 20 families, according to Fernandes.
The new business owners also believe the most important aspect of their operation is freshness — so they will only deliver and cater to people in Windsor-Essex.
“We want to be close to our consumers, we want to sell directly to our consumers, we are as urban as we can be,” says Biacchi.
Hand-watered and lit up 14 hours a day, the 25 varieties of micro-greens take 10 days to grow in Canadian Pete-moss and are harvested daily for in-store purchases and deliveries.
The couple hopes this Kingsville store is their first of many across the country but Fernandes promises they will stay true to the business model of by local, for local.
“We don’t want to lose our identity, our proximity to customers.”
You can learn more about the new store here.
New VIDEO by Food Retailer Freson Bros. Highlights Fresh Lettuce From Swiss Leaf Farms, Grown Inside a CubicFarms System
Shoppers at Freson Bros. now have access to locally grown lettuce that helps support Alberta jobs, increase food security, lower food miles, and use significantly less water
Alberta-based Freson Bros., a food retailer supplied by our customer Swiss Leaf Farms, produced a video to show how beautiful, fresh, and tasty lettuce is grown inside a CubicFarms system. Shoppers at Freson Bros. now have access to locally grown lettuce that helps support Alberta jobs, increase food security, lower food miles, and use significantly less water.