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ALDI Named America’s Grocery Value Leader
ALDI Named America’s Grocery Value Leader
JUNE 22, 2018
ALDI, one of the fastest-growing retailers in the country, continues to dominate the competition when it comes to value. For the eighth consecutive year, the grocery retailer has been named the value leader by Market Force Information, which surveyed nearly 13,000 U.S. consumers.
In addition to earning the top spot for value, ALDI moved up to No. 4 among America’s favorite grocery stores, as measured by customer satisfaction and loyalty. When surveyed, ALDI customers were among the most loyal and least likely to switch to a different grocery store. ALDI was also the only grocery retailer among the top five to increase its loyalty score year-over-year.
“The grocery industry is fiercely competitive,” said Jason Hart, chief executive officer of ALDI. “Maintaining the No. 1 position for value highlights our constant commitment to offer customers high-quality food at the low prices they deserve.”
In addition to securing the top value leader spot and a leading customer satisfaction and loyalty ranking, ALDI earned top scores in other survey categories, including checkout speed and cashier courtesy.
“We make grocery shopping smart, fast, easy and affordable. We’re thrilled shoppers are loyal to ALDI and chose us, again, as one of America’s Favorite Grocery Stores,” Hart said.
The Market Force Information U.S. Grocery Benchmark Study surveyed consumers online in April 2018 to gauge shoppers’ grocery habits, including satisfaction, preferences and brand awareness.
“The insights Market Force provides through our annual supermarket study serve as a meaningful performance measure in the marketplace,” said Brad Christian, chief customer officer for Market Force. “It is great to see our research affirm the value proposition of ALDI as the industry landscape has evolved over the last eight years. Consumer feedback consistently shows that ALDI leads the marketplace in value.”
ALDI is deep into expansion and remodeling plans that will bring its store total to 2,500 by the end of 2022, helping as many as 100 million people save money on groceries every month. ALDI also offers online grocery ordering via Instacart in the Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas and Los Angeles metropolitan areas.
Montreal, Canada Supermarket Offers Fresh Produce from Its Rooftop Garden
Montreal, Canada Supermarket Offers Fresh Produce from Its Rooftop Garden
July 13, 2018
By Photojournalist Global News
A worker harvests produce from a rooftop garden of an IGA supermarket in the Montreal borough of Saint-Laurent. Phil Carpenter/Global News
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You probably wouldn’t expect to find a farm on the roof of your local supermarket.
“People don’t believe that we can grow veggies on a rooftop,” laughs Carl Pichette, marketing vice-president for Sobeys Quebec.
But that’s exactly what an IGA supermarket in the Montreal borough of Saint-Laurent is doing. They have planted a 23,000-square foot rooftop garden that shoppers can spot from the parking lot. This is the garden’s third year of operation.
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“Consumers are looking for fresh ingredients,” Pichette explains, “but if you can grow your own vegetables, organic, on your rooftop, that makes it very strong for the consumer.”
“They start in the spring and grow 30 different kinds of fruit and vegetables that vary throughout the season. Like leafy greens — kale, parsley and chard, that like the cooler weather, as well as others that do better in the heat.
“So right now, what’s sorta coming in is the tomatoes,” Time Murphy tells Global News. He works for Ligne Verte, the company that runs the farm in partnership with the supermarket. “The eggplants are beautiful, the peppers will be not far behind, hot peppers, basil, strawberries.”
Customers can see the produce on a screen in the store and order what they want. While they wait, they can watch what’s happening in the garden via a live camera feed.
READ MORE: Organic farming in your backyard
“From there, you have a runner that comes and brings all the orders for the client directly in a box over here,” says Xavier Gomez who runs the kiosk where shoppers can place their order. It all happens within five minutes.
Pichette says 95 percent of what is grown is sold.
“It’s not more expensive to buy those organic products than other organic products that we have,” he says.
Murphy says one of the best sellers is a salad mix that they call their “spring mix.” We sell around 200 to 300 units in our little clamshells,” he says.
One shopper seems satisfied so far. Michel Saint-Georges says he started buying the vegetables last year because it makes sense ecologically.
“That’s something I speak to my friends about,” he says. “Actually, several of our friends have started to come here to take advantage of the roof products. “Yeah!”
Company officials say they want to continue to grow a variety of produce and are willing to try new things — even flowers.
© 2018 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
Belgian Supermarket Starts Serving Homegrown Produce From Rooftop Garden
Belgian Supermarket Starts Serving Homegrown Produce From Rooftop Garden
July 5, 2018
Shoppers in the Brussels neighbourhood of Ixelles are going green and eating clean as the Boondael Delhaize supermarket sells produce grown on its own roof, without the use of pesticides or preservatives.
Called the "Urban Farm", the garden contains rows of vegetables and a greenhouse for the colder months. The first salads reached the store's shelves in October last year, but production really picked up at the beginning of the summer.
The rooftop garden is the first of its kind in Belgium's Delhaize stores and is serving as a test run, a Delhaize employee said, adding that other stores could build their own gardens in the future.
The Health Revolution Heading To A Supermarket Near You
The Health Revolution Heading To A Supermarket Near You
Forget harsh lighting, pre-packed veg, and endless checkout queues. Supermarkets are changing, with a focus on enhancing the customer experience.
Sarah Marinos
bodyandsoul.com.au MAY 21, 2018
Forgotten the pasta sauce for dinner? Rather than parking and queuing at the supermarket, pop to a drive-through and buy it without leaving the car. No time to do a big shop? Order online and when you go to collect it, staff will meet you at the door with your goods as an electronic alert let them know you arrived.
Run out of lettuce? Rather than buying it pre-packaged, pick it fresh from a miniature greenhouse at the supermarket, then buy honey collected from beehives on the roof.
It may sound like the future, but these futuristic developments are already here as supermarkets lift their game with innovations focused on making grocery shopping an altogether more pleasant experience.
Coles recently rolled out ‘quiet hour’ at selected stores, where lights are dimmed by 50 percent, music is switched off, register and scanner volumes are lowered and there are no noisy PA announcements or trolley collections. The initiative stems from a partnership with Autism Spectrum Australia to help people who experience sensory overload and distress in busy stores.
Here are some of the other intriguing trends coming to a supermarket near you.
Back to the future of shopping
“During the 1970s, supermarkets were more like a grocer’s store with woodgrain floors and bakers taking bread out of the oven,” associate professor Gary Mortimer, a marketing expert at Queensland University of Technology Business School, says. “You could talk to the butcher about cuts of meat and try some ham at the deli.
“In the 1980s, supermarkets became more clinical, with white lino floors and fluorescent lights.
We moved to scanner registers, then self-serve registers. You’d walk into and out of the supermarket without talking to anyone. But we’re going back to the past and the theatre of supermarket retailing.”
In January, Woolworths unveiled its next-gen supermarket in Sydney’s inner west. The Marrickville Metro store allows customers to pick ‘living lettuce’ from a hydroponic set-up, see artisan bakers and sushi chefs at work and buy flame-roasted chickens that have been cooked to perfection. Mortimer says more supermarkets will soon start to make shopping more of an ‘experience’.
“Supermarket shopping is mundane and it’s something we do two to three times a week,” he explains. “Customers are looking for a point of difference and supermarkets are creating the community engagement that’s usually found at farmers’ markets.”
In-store farming
Some US supermarkets are constructing beehives on their roofs to produce honey that goes directly from hive to store. In New York, boutique stores are installing rooftop greenhouses, with some stores growing more than 100 tonnes of herbs, greens, and tomatoes a year.
At the cutting edge is German company Infarm, which has designed ‘smart modular vertical farms’ for supermarkets. Two of Germany’s largest chains, Edeka and Metro, have just started using the technology, which allows them to grow up to 1200 herbs or leafy green plants per month in a single two-square-meter unit.
The units are installed in supermarkets and monitored so they grow a constant supply of fresh produce. Each farm is a controlled ecosystem with temperature, light, soil type and nutrients tweaked for maximum production and flavor, and supermarkets choose what vegetables or herbs they grow according to their customers’ tastes.
“We bring a world of choice right into your neighborhood without having to compromise on quality, safety, and taste,” Osnat Michaeli, co-founder of Infarm, says. “Whether that be a mint [variety that’s original] from Peru or an ice plant from the sandy beaches of Jaffa, by eliminating the distance between farm and fork, we offer produce that’s retained all of its nutrients and intense natural flavour.”
Plus, the fact this sustainable produce couldn’t get more ‘locally grown’ means it also drastically reduces customers’ carbon footprints.
Tracking gets high tech
As with many areas of modern life, technology will play an increasingly important role in supermarkets, Nathan Cloutman, a senior industry analyst with market researchers IBISWorld Australia, says. Online grocery shopping currently accounts for about 3 percent of supermarket expenditure in Australia and Cloutman believes this will rise, which is why Coles and Woolworths are investing in ‘dark stores’.
“These supermarkets have no customers – just staff members picking online orders from the shelves and sending those orders to customers as soon as possible,” Cloutman says.
Woolworths has also invested in data analytics firm Quantium, which combines data science and artificial intelligence to fine-tune information about customers.
“The idea is to be able to track what consumers buy and when and where they buy it,” Cloutman explains. “Retailers can then use that data to choose which products to stock. It looks at stores individually to boost the efficiency of each one.”
Mortimer believes micro-location technology – which lets retailers know a customer’s exact whereabouts – is also on the rise, and says Dan Murphy’s is the first retail business in Australia to introduce it.
An app sends customers a push notification to let them know when their order is ready and alerts store staff when the customer is within 400m of the store.
“If you’re part of the Dan Murphy loyalty program and order wine online, as you get closer to the store to collect your order the store gets a push notification that you’re nearby,” he explains. “Staff grab your order and meet you at the door. We’ll see that blend of digital and in-store [shopping] happening more.”
From theme parks to food boutiques
Some supermarkets may be upscaled to theme-park-style experiences. Italy is leading the way with Eataly World, a 100,000-sqm site in Bologna that features 47 restaurants and bars, 40 farming factories making everything from gelato to cheese and beer, and educational ‘rides’ that illustrate how food is grown and produced. There are also workshops – learn to hunt for truffles – and cooking classes.
At the other end of the scale, we’ll see more boutique supermarkets showcasing locally-made products.
“In cities and in inner suburbs with high-density living, we’re seeing the rise of smaller-format stores,” Mortimer says.
“These supermarkets will have a curated range – perhaps 4000 items instead of the 20,000 items [generally found in suburban stores] – and the range will be manipulated based on local demographics.
“But supermarkets will never die out because we don’t only shop for provisions but for social engagement, too.”
No checkout required
For shoppers in a hurry, retail giant Amazon has opened a grocery store in Seattle that has done away with queues and cash registers completely. Customers at Amazon Go simply download an app and pass through a gated turnstile.
Cameras and sensors then scan what shoppers remove or replace on the shelves and they’re billed direct to their credit card that’s on file – no checkout required.
Meanwhile, a Russian entrepreneur may have an even speedier solution. Semenov Dahir Kurmanbievich has filed a patent for a drive-through supermarket so you can shop from the comfort of your car.
It proposes that shoppers park in a bay and use buttons to choose items from a column with vertically rotating shelves.
The items are placed on a conveyor belt and sent to a checkout. The customer then drives to a payment window and collects their shopping. Watch this space...
3 ways to be a super shopper
1. Look around
Be aware of product placement on supermarket shelves, because ‘eye level is buy level’. More expensive items are often at eye level so look above and below for similar items at cheaper prices.
2. Choose wisely
Misted vegetables look appealing and a certain amount of sprayed water does keep them hydrated, but too much can create mould. If you choose sprayed vegetables, check for signs.
3. Take a photo
Snapping a pic of your pantry and fridge before you go will help you avoid doubling up on any groceries.
For more on this, this is how to nail the perfect week of meal prep. Plus, this dietitian’s guide to reading food labels is a cinch.
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3-Minute Survey: Growing Produce At The Grocery Store
According to a recent survey, grocery shoppers aren’t too keen on mixing technology and food, despite wanting technology in every other aspect of their lives. So how do they like the idea of their local grocery store growing produce indoors? While some level of wariness is to be expected, the vast majority of shoppers actually embraced the idea, particularly if they had seen indoor growing at work.
After responding to attitudes on benefits, drawbacks, interests and concept names, respondents were asked one last “overall impression” question summarizing their feeling on growing produce at their grocery store, be it in the store itself, in growth containers behind the store or in the store’s produce warehouse. The bottom line? Many more shoppers showed enthusiasm for the concept than wariness.
· 57 percent believe indoor, on-premise growing makes total sense.
· 38 percent are not sure.
· 5 percent believe it sounds like a terrible idea.
An ironman in the store talks about the benefits of produce grown at the store.
While among some population groups there is a little more uncertainty or wariness, across most population groups the majority believe indoor growing makes total sense. The concept is met with greater enthusiasm among men, older Millennials (ages 27-38), families with kids, urban shoppers and highly educated, high-income shoppers.
Parents added comments about the ability to show their children how produce is grown. Shoppers talked about how beautiful it would look in their store. Others thought it could help educate produce clerks along with shoppers and bring the farm closer to the fork. As for “seeing is believing,” 84 percent of those who have seen the concept at work believe it makes total sense vs. 45 percent who had neither seen nor heard about it.
Retailers, what do you think? Take a quick three-minute survey:
https://www.surveygizmo.com/s3/4276427/Indoor-farming-Produce-Retailer.
Swedish Supermarket Grows Microgreens in Basement
Swedish Supermarket Grows Microgreens in Basement
Supermarket ICA Kvantum Liljeholmen introduced, with assistance from Urban Oasis, a subterranean nursery that doesn’t require any soil.
In a basement space below the supermarket, large amounts of fruit and vegetables are cultivated. And that in an underground cultivation space, without soil. However, that does not affect the taste. The products are just as tasty, fresh and healthy as crops that are simply grown in Mother Nature. In addition, underground cultivation has great environmental benefits.
With the underground cultivation, a significant step is taken into the future. It does away with over-fertilization, climate-unfriendly transportation or unnecessary import. At the moment, 70 percent of all vegetables in Sweden come from abroad. That figure can soon be lowered considerably. In Liljeholmen, the production of the 50 m2 goes straight to the supermarket salad bar, a distance of 500 meters.
"We can use this technique to cultivate anything we want. We have the motto ‘Break the seasons’. We are just a small step away from sun-ripened tomatoes and ripe strawberries for Christmas," says sales manager Joakim Haraldsson of ICA Kvantum Liljeholm.
The efficient urban cultivation method of Urban Oasis is the result of a pilot project of an inventive foursome: two students from the Technical University, an architect and a financial expert, who set a goal to establish a company for sustainable food production.
"With a so-called hydroponic system, you can grow crops in water, without soil. So locally we can cultivate nutritious products in a special environment where horticulture and technology meet. And also in Sweden, we can produce fresh, local vegetables all year round," says Albert Pajaro, general manager and one of the initiators of Urban Oasis.
Ica Kvantum Liljeholmen had already made great strides in the search for environmentally friendly cultivation methods earlier. Now that the underground cultivation company of Urban Oasis will soon be working even more efficiently, the intention is that more than five tons of vegetables will be produced daily. That must be sufficient to satisfy the hunger of thousands of salad enthusiasts among ICA customers every day.
"ICA is an innovative company. So it is great to work together with other special companies and help them to conquer the market," Joakim Haraldson of ICA concludes.
Entrepreneur prize
ICA has established an Entrepreneur Prize that will be awarded to persons who have distinguished themselves in one of these two categories: Local Hero of the Year and Startup of the Year. A cash prize of 10,000 euros is available for both categories. In addition, from 2020 ICA aims to provide 200 new small local entrepreneurs with the opportunity to deliver their products directly to ICA branches.
Source: www.di.se/
Publication date: 5/10/2018
Urban Food From Vertical Farming
Urban Food From Vertical Farming
May 23, 2018, CORDIS
Credit: diephotodesigner.de
Your local supermarket and favourite restaurant could soon be growing their own food, thanks to an EU-funded project that has completely redesigned the food supply chain to develop the concept of in-store farming.
Our busy, modern lives demand that fresh produce be available 365 days a year, even though some varieties may only be seasonal and/or produced on the other side of the world. The result is a food system centred on quantity, low prices and efficiency rather than on quality, sustainability and traceability.
The EU-funded INFARM (The vertical farming revolution, urban Farming as a Service) project reflects a growing desire for highly nutritious locally grown food, which is free of herbicides and pesticides and addresses the lack of accountability in the current food system. "By growing produce directly where people eat and live, we can cut out the lengthy supply chain, significantly reduce food waste, offer nutrient-dense food without any chemical pesticides and improve the environmental 'foodprint' of our plants," says the INFARM's Chief Technical Officer and co-founder, Guy Galonska.
The answer lies in vertical farming, which grows food in vertically stacked layers under carefully controlled conditions, using hydroponics and light-emitting diodes (LEDs) that mimic sunlight. INFARM takes the concept a step further by employing its smart modular farming units throughout the city "Rather than asking ourselves how to fix the deficiencies in the current supply chain, we wanted to redesign the entire chain from start to finish; Instead of building large-scale farms outside of the city, optimising on a specific yield, and then distributing the produce, we decided it would be more effective to distribute the farms themselves and farm directly where people live and eat," Galonska explains.
Use of technology
Each farming unit is its own individual ecosystem, creating the exact environment for plants to flourish. By developing the optimal light spectrum, temperature, pH, and nutrients researchers can ensure the best possible flavour, colour and nutritional quality for each plant, whether it be rocket from Provence, Mexican tarragon or Moroccan mint.
The distributed farms are connected by INFARM's central farming platform, creating a first of its kind farming network: "Each farm acts as a data pipeline, sending information on plant growth to our platform 24/7 allowing it to learn, adjust and optimise." A matrix of sensors collects and record data, enabling researchers to remotely optimise the growth of the plants in real-time. This information is also fed into the central farming platform, ensuring its continual development and improvement.
The design of the growing trays mimics the petal pattern of the sunflower, which represents the most efficient arrangement of space in nature. The tray moves plants from the centre to the outer perimeter according to their size and growth. Young seedlings are placed in the centre of the spiral and are harvested from the outside when matured. This design allows fresh produce to be harvested each day at a significantly higher output than comparable technologies.
Supply chain reduced
INFARM is now operating more than 50 farms across Berlin in supermarket aisles, restaurant kitchens and distribution warehouses. In addition to the in-store farms, INFARM has successfully installed and activated a large-scale seedling plant and logistical support system that allows the continued, successful operation of all farming units.
These results are the first step towards creating an urban farming network in Berlin that will ultimately make the city more self-sufficient in its food production. According to Galonska: "With our system, we have completely reduced the food supply chain, as our produce is grown in the heart of the city, often directly at points-of-sale. Thus, customers can purchase fresh produce, minutes after being picked, thereby retaining all its original nutritional qualities, which are lost when the produce is transported and refrigerated."
Those benefiting from the work of INFARM range from small grocers to global retail conglomerates and governments interested in water conservation, food security and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Galonska concludes, "INFARM's innovative business model has attracted major interest and I believe that our success will serve as proof, to both aspiring entrepreneurs and established companies, that going 'green' can be profitable and sustainable."
Explore further: Computer-controlled 'greenhouses' in kitchens grow fresher, healthier produce
Provided by: CORDIS
Read more at: https://phys.org/news/2018-05-urban-food-vertical-farming.html#jCp
The Dallas Morning News features Dallas’ Central Market For Growing Their Own Salad
The Dallas Morning News features Dallas’ Central Market For Growing Their Own Salad
By urbanagnews April 10, 2017
Published by the Dallas Morning News
You want fresh? Dallas’ Central Market is growing salad behind the store
Fresh is a word that’s used loosely in the grocery business.
To the consumer, everything in the produce section is fresh. But most fruits and vegetables are picked five to 21 days earlier to make it to your neighborhood grocery store.
Central Market wants to redefine fresh when it comes to salad greens and herbs. It also wants to make available to local chefs and foodies specialty items not grown in Texas like watermelon radishes or wasabi arugula.
And it wants to be both the retailer and the farmer with its own store-grown produce.
The Dallas-based specialty food division of H-E-B has cooked up an idea to turn fresh on its head with leafy greens and butter lettuce still attached to the roots and technically still alive.
Beginning in May, the store at Lovers Lane and Greenville Avenue in Dallas will have a crop of about half a dozen varieties of salad greens ready for customers to purchase.
The greens will be harvested just a few dozen steps from the store’s produce shelves.
They’re being grown out back, behind the store in a vertical farm inside a retrofitted 53-foot long shipping container. Inside, four levels of crops are growing under magenta and other color lights. In this controlled environment, there’s no need for pesticides and no worries of a traditional farm or greenhouse that it’s been too cloudy outside.
Central Market has been working on the idea for about a year with two local partners — Bedford-based Hort Americas and Dallas-based CEA Advisors LLC — in the blossoming vertical and container farming business.
Plants are harvested inside a vertical farm in the back of the Central Market store in Dallas, Thursday, April 6, 2017. Central Market is trying out indoor growing, and the crops will be sold in the store beginning in May. (Jae S. Lee/The Dallas Morning News) Staff Photographer
“We’re the first grocery store to own and operate our own container farm onsite,” said Chris Bostad, director of procurement, merchandising and marketing for Central Market.
There’s a Whole Foods Market store in Brooklyn, New York with a greenhouse built on the roof, but it’s operated by a supplier, urban farmer Gotham Greens.
The difference, Bostad said, is that “we can grow whatever our customers want versus someone who is trying to figure out how to cut corners and make a profit.”
Central Market’s new venture is starting out with the one Dallas store, said Marty Mika, Central Market’s business development manager for produce. “But we’ll see what the customer wants. We can do more.”
This has been Mika’s project. He’s itching to bring in seeds from France and other far off places, but for now, he said,“We’re starting simple.” The initial crop included red and green leafy lettuce, a butter lettuce, spring mix, regular basil, Thai basil and wasabi arugula.
The cost will be similar to other produce in the store, Bostad said.
Why go to so much trouble? Why bother with lighting and water systems and temperature controls in what’s become a high-tech farming industry?
“Taste,” Mika said. “Fresh tastes better.”
And the company wants to be more responsive to chefs who want to reproduce recipes but don’t have ingredients like basil leaves grown in Italy that are wide enough to use as wraps.
Tyler Baras, special project manager for Hort Americas, said with the control that comes with indoor farming there are a lot of ways to change the lighting, for example, and end up with different tastes and shades of red or green leafy lettuce.
Butter lettuce is harvested inside a vertical farm in the back of the Central Market store in Dallas, Thursday, April 6, 2017. Central Market is trying out indoor growing, and the crops will be sold in the store beginning in May. (Jae S. Lee/The Dallas Morning News)Staff Photographer
In Japan, controlled environment container farms are reducing the potassium levels, which is believed to be better for diabetics, Baras said. “We can increase the vitamin content by controlling the light color.”
At Central Market, the produce will be sold as a live plant with roots still in what the industry calls “soilless media.”
Central Market’s crops are growing in a variety called stone wool, which is rocks that are melted and blown into fibers, said Chris Higgins, co-owner of Hort Americas. The company is teaching store staff how to tend to the vertical farm and supplying it with fertilizer and other equipment.
“Because the rocks have gone through a heating process, it’s an inert foundation for the roots. There’s nothing good or bad in there,” Higgins said.
Farmers spend a lot of time and money making sure their soil is ready, he said. “The agricultural community chases the sun and is at the mercy of Mother Nature. We figure out the perfect time in California for a crop and duplicate it.”
Growers Rebecca Jin (left) and Christopher Pineau tend to plants inside a vertical farm in the back of the Central Market grocery store in Dallas, Thursday, April 6, 2017. Central Market is trying out indoor growing, and the crops will be sold in the store beginning in May. (Jae S. Lee/The Dallas Morning News) Staff Photographer
He called it a highly secure food source and in many ways a level beyond organic since there are no pesticides and nutrients are water delivered.
Glenn Behrman, owner of CEA Advisors, supplied the container and has worked on the controlled environment for several years with researchers at Texas A&M.
“Technology has advanced so that a retailer can safely grow food. Three to five years ago, we couldn’t have built this thing,” Behrman said.
Mika and Bostad said they also likes the sustainability features of not having trucks transport the produce and very little water used in vertical farming. They believe the demand is there as tastes have changed and become more sophisticated over the years.
The government didn’t even keep leafy and romaine lettuce stats until 1985.
U.S. per capita use of iceberg, that hardy, easy to transport head of lettuce, peaked in 1989. Around the same time, Fresh Express says it created the first ready-to-eat packaged garden salad in a bag and leafy and romaine lettuce popularity grew.
In 2015, the U.S. per capita consumption of lettuce was 24.6 pounds, 13.5 pounds of leafy and romaine and 11 pounds of iceberg.
Heavenly Good From The Underworld
Heavenly Good From The Underworld
April 17, 2018, 16:25
Forget about organic farming. Now it is about urban urban cultivation. ICA Kvantum Liljeholmen peered in the crystal ball and was helped by Urban Oasis to introduce the country's first underground crops - completely without the help of soil.
In a mountain room under ICA Kvantum Liljeholmen, fruit grows, greens and green so it's cracking. No wonder, if you do not think that Urban Oasis's cultivation area is not only underground but because the frog beds also lack soil. However, the taste can not be mistaken; The products are just as tasty, crisp and healthy as they were grown with native Mother Nature. But in the long run, the difference can be huge for our planet.
Underground crops are, in short, a giant cliff straight into the future. For here, there is no talk of either eutrophication, climate impact or unnecessary imports. Today, 70 percent of all vegetables in Sweden are purchased from abroad. Soon that number can be a memory only. In Liljeholmen it moves on 50 square meters of small production of freshly harvested only 500 meters, straight into ICA Kvantum's fresh salad bar.
"We can grow almost anything here. With the technology in place, it is only the imagination that sets limits. "Break the seasons" we are talking about. Maybe we're just a small step from sun-dried tomatoes and crispy strawberries at Christmas, says ICA Kvantum Liljeholm's sales manager Joakim Haraldsson.
Urban Oasis's resource-efficient urban cultivation is the result of a quartet pilot project - consisting of two KTH students, an architect and a finance man - with the goal of forming a foodtech company for sustainable food production.
- By so-called hydroponic cultivation, cultivating in water without soil, we can produce nutritious and nutritious food in an exciting environment where agriculture and technology meet. We will be able to offer fresh, roasted vegetables all year round even in Sweden, "said Albert Payaro, CEO and one of the initiators behind Urban Oasis.
Ica Kvantum Liljeholmen has already taken great steps in pursuit of environmentally friendly farming practices. When the Urban Oasis underground plant will soon be utilized even more efficiently, the ambition is to produce nearly 5 tonnes of vegetables - a day.
It is enough to calm the hunger of thousands of salmon-hot ICA customers in Liljeholmen every day.
"ICA is basically an entrepreneurial company and it is therefore fun that we can support and collaborate with other exciting entrepreneurial companies and help them to market," concludes Joakim Haraldsson at ICA.
• Growing in water without soil gives great harvest on a small surface - year round. Nutrition reaches the roots via an aqueous solution under the boxes. As an air gap is left between the plant and water, oxygen is added all the time, which causes the crops to grow rapidly above the surface.
• What can I grow? Almost whatever for green. Spices like basil, coriander and parsley, lettuce and other leafy vegetables, of course, but also tomatoes, chili, eggplant.
• If you do not have daylight, the crops can get energy using small LED lights.
• Farming without soil is nothing new. It already did the ancient Egyptians 600 BC. in one of the world's seven wonders: Babylon's famous hanging gardens.
ICA's Entrepreneur Prize is awarded for the first time in 2018 and goes to people outside the ICA organization. The prize goes to two categories: the local hero of the year and the new star of the year, and a scholarship of 100,000 kronor each. The winner is appointed by a jumbo jury and an online poll that weighs as heavily as one of the jury's voices.
In addition to ICA's Entrepreneurial Award, Ica aims to provide 200 new, small local suppliers with the opportunity to sell their products directly to ICA stores by 2020.
published: April 17, 2018
"Customers Can Harvest Lettuce At Dutch Retailer Albert Heijn"
"Customers Can Harvest Lettuce At Dutch Retailer Albert Heijn"
Michiel van Zanten, Hrbs:
Consumers seem to prefer convenience and pre-packaging. There is, however, a growing counter-movement. Starting this week, Albert Heijn Gelderlandplein in Amsterdam boasts a harvest stand. It has an assortment of lettuce with their roots still attached. "It looks like a large lettuce bouquet", says Michiel van Zanten, of the Dutch company, Hrbs. "A very different sight to the lettuce in bags of which as many as possible are crammed into a crate.
The stand looks good. People regularly take photos of it. It is also going well regarding rotation. I often see people harvesting a head of lettuce." How successful this self-harvesting of lettuce will be, will only become evident at the end of the project. Michiel is, from what he has observed, pleased with it.
Lettuce on water is a co-creation of Albert Heijns Food Rebels, Hrbs' green design, and the products of AH's permanent lettuce suppliers. "We chose to offer different kinds of lettuce, not just butter lettuce. There is also tricolour, curly leaf and oak leaf lettuce. It is also a good test for the fresh fruit and vegetable teams to see how these new lettuce varieties catch on with customers when they are presented in this way.
There are buckets with holes in for a total of 35 heads of lettuce in the viewing, selection and packing stand. Here the lettuce stand, with their roots still attached. In this way, the lettuce's roots lie in nutrients, keeping them fresh and lovely. Customers can easily grab the lettuce and put them in the supplied cups. The lettuce then does not drip all over the shop floors. The stand looks at its best when it is fully stocked. Attentive fruit and vegetable staff need to fill the stand up when they become 10% empty.
It is an experiment for AH as well as Hrbs. The company is a service model for fresh herbs and crops. It has, up to now, focused on companies and the catering industry. "Hrbs wants to bring the world of fruit and vegetables as close to the ordinary person as possible. We want to integrate them into everyday life. We supply stands, for inside and outside, with trays for different kinds of mini-vegetable crops and herbs. Chefs and clients can then harvest these themselves. When the crops have all been harvested, or are old, we deliver a new tray and take the old one along for reuse", says Michiel. Before he started working at Hrbs, he was a buyer at Albert Heijn. Her reconnected with this retail shop with this idea. "I know how they think, and what is important to them. We will see how it goes. We consciously opted for co-creation. Lettuce is a new product for us. We are certainly open to the idea of including collaborations to also provide services to retail", he says.
For more information:
Hrbs
Michiel van Zanten
400 Johan Huizingalaan
Amsterdam
T+31(0) 610 247 253
info@hrbs.com
www.hrbs.com
Copy of Growtainers Expands With Central Market, Looks to New Crops
For just about a year now, Central Market in Dallas has tested out offering produce that was grown on-site in a Growtainer. Evidently, that partnership has gone so well that Central Market is making the relationship more permanent and expanding it with the addition of another Growtainer.
Growtainers Expands With Central Market, Looks to New Crops
By Chris Albrecht | The Spoon
February 17, 2018
For just about a year now, Central Market in Dallas has tested out offering produce that was grown on-site in a Growtainer. Evidently, that partnership has gone so well that Central Market is making the relationship more permanent and expanding it with the addition of another Growtainer.
Growtainers are modified shipping containers that provide a food-safe indoor growing environment. Each one contains a vertical rack system for holding crops, crop-specific LED lighting fixtures, and a proprietary irrigation system. Growtainers come in 40, 45 and 53-foot sizes and are customized for each customer, costing anywhere from $75,000 – $125,000 a piece. The amount a Growtainer can produce depends on the crop.
The Growtainer at Central Market offers leafy greens and herbs grown on-site in a 53-foot container. While he couldn’t provide specific numbers, Growtainer Founder and President Glenn Behrman told me by phone that “demand outpaces supply” for the market’s store-grown produce. “We’ve proven the concept,” he said.
Central Market expanding its relationship with Growtainer helps push the idea of produce grown on-site more into the mainstream. Other players in this sector include Inafarm, which has been installing indoor vertical farming systems at food wholesalers in Berlin. And here at home, indoor farming startup Plenty raised $200 million last year from investors including Jeff Bezos (who happens to run Amazon, which owns Whole Foods).
As on-site farming technology improves and gets cheaper and easier to use, it’s not hard to imagine more stores opting to grow their own fresh produce in-house instead of having it transported across the country.
Behrman says that there are Growtainers all over the world for a variety of agricultural and pharmaceutical customers. He built two Growtainers for the Community Foodbank of Eastern Oklahoma so they could grow their own produce, and he’s talked with both the military and the United Nations about installing Growatiners for them in more remote (and volatile) areas.
One group Behrman hasn’t chatted with is venture capitalists. He laughed when I asked him about funding. “We have no investors, and we’re profitable,” said Behrman. But in the next breath, he said he realizes that his current go-it-alone approach won’t scale. “I think once this Central Market project expands and becomes more mainstream, I will have to look for some funding.”
Until that time, Behrman wants to have Growtainers produce more high value crops. “Lettuce and leafy greens are not that challenging,” he said. Behrman, who’s been in horticulture since 1971, believes Growtainers could be excellent for growing exotic mushrooms that have short shelf lives, or fungi that historically could only grow in particular seasons.
Perhaps after another year or so you’ll see truffles and porcinis grown on-site and offered at Central Market (and elsewhere).
Produce Butchers Play Important Role at Popular Grocers
Produce Butchers Play Important Role at Popular Grocers
By D. Gail Fleenor - 03/20/2018
Customers are stepping right up to counters or kiosks and receiving personal attention with a new service: produce butchers.
At least a half-dozen supermarket chains in the United States and Canada are now offering this service to customers who want to add fresh produce in a convenient form for a healthier diet, are seeking convenience in meal preparation, may be uncertain about cutting some fresh items, or just don’t want to be bothered with slicing and dicing. The new service is a way for supermarkets to compete with mass merchandisers and online grocers offering ready-to-cook meals.
Supermarkets are experiencing an earth-shaking change due to the effect of big-box retailers and e-commerce on sales.
“Consumers are not going to visit a grocer just because it has a produce butcher,” says Caleb Bryant, senior analyst for Chicago-based Mintel. “However, a produce butcher can be one component of a popular grocery store.” Because of threats to the bottom line, supermarkets are focusing on providing customers with a unique experience when shopping, he observes.
Key Takeaways
- Consider your store’s customer profile before adding a produce butcher. For example, do you have many Millennial shoppers or big spenders?
- Plan what your produce butcher will do between orders to maximize the labor invested.
- Decide whether you’ll charge a fee for the produce-cutting service, and what that fee will be based upon, such as by the pound or by particular vegetables or fruits.
- Pilot the program first at one or two stores to see how produce butchering works in your stores’ area and with your customers.
“The growth of meal kit services, such as Blue Apron, demonstrates that consumers want to cook fresh meals at home but are looking for easy ways to cut down on the time it takes to actually cook a meal,” notes Bryant. “A produce butcher offers customers one less step in the cooking process.”
Produce butchers not only slice and dice, they also provide samples of items and educate customers. New produce items, particularly fruits, enter the sales floor regularly. Some customers may be reluctant to invest in a new item without tasting it. Most produce butchers will cut any item to allow the customer to taste-test before purchase.
“A produce butcher likely appeals most to Millennials, who generally are most interested in unique offerings at grocers,” observes Bryant.
Busy parents may also be willing to pay a bit extra for the convenience a produce butcher offers, he notes. The service could also be beneficial for customers who physically have difficulty chopping produce, such as those with arthritis.
Consumers are interested in retail environments that provide memorable experiences, according to the Mintel Trend “Experience is All” report. Millennials crave experiences, so it’s not unusual that 26 percent of this group say that they’re more likely to grocery shop at a store that offers a unique experience, such as produce butchering, compared with 10 percent of Baby Boomers, according to the report. Millennials are also interested in products and services that help them with at-home cooking, such as pre-cut vegetables.
A DAY IN THE LIFE OF A PRODUCE BUTCHER
Inder Salwan has been a vegetable butcher since 2016 when he was hired as the produce expert for Saks Food Hall by Pusateri’s at CF Toronto Eaton Centre. Pusateri’s notes on its website that it has Toronto’s finest prepared fare and offers a variety of experiences for shoppers. According to Salwan, his role as vegetable butcher began to flourish as he worked primarily on the produce wet wall. Prior to his produce butcher duties for Pusateri’s, he received training in how to chop certain vegetables in different ways.
"Our produce butchers have regular guests and know what those guests like and how they like it prepared." -- Bridget Winkelman, Farmer’s Market and floral manager at Coborn’s Isanti, Minn., location.
On a typical day, Salwan first organizes his station and then handles the store’s catering orders to have these finished before guests arrive. Guests hand over the veggies they’d like to be cut to Salwan. He verifies the cut needed and also asks additional questions about the veggie’s use so that the cut will be correct for the customer’s dish.
An estimated time of completion is given, and the veggies are then cleaned, butchered and packaged in tightly sealed plastic containers. Some must be packaged in a particular way, he notes, such as kales and leaf lettuces, with a paper towel sheet underneath the item to absorb moisture.
Like most produce butchers, Salwan also handles pre-cut packages for the sales floor. After closing each day, he cleans and sanitizes everything to be ready for the next day.
CHOPPING FOR SHOPPERS
St. Cloud, Minn.-based Coborn’s is equally sold on produce butchers. Currently, three of the chain’s stores offer “Chop Shoppes,” but the future holds more, asserts Kevin Hurd, company communications and engagement specialist.
“Our next-generation concept stores, new from the ground up or totally remodeled, will have departments that are boutiques,” notes Hurd. “The Chop Shoppe will be one of these. This offers us the chance to go the extra step for customers. We can offer fresh-cut fruits and veggies for time-pressed consumers, along with fresh juices.”
Another change for Coborn’s is a rebranded produce department. “This department will be called ‘Farmer’s Market’ and will have island setups,” explains Hurd, adding that the company will identify markets that are suitable for the new concept, while other company banners aren’t involved in the change.
Training in the handling of produce is big at Coborn’s.
“Our produce butchers are taught the best ways to cut a variety of fruits and vegetables,” says Bridget Winkelman, Farmer’s Market and floral manager at Coborn’s Isanti, Minn., location. “Ever cut a mango? These guys are pros at cutting that challenging fruit! They are taught to start with working at doing it correctly first, then working towards speed.”
WHICH CUSTOMERS USE PRODUCE BUTCHERS?
- Customers with a high shopping frequency of 3+ times/week
- Specialty/organic shoppers
- Shoppers interested in new-item tips and promotions
- Customers who spend $100+ per week
- Customers who live in the western U.S.
Source: “The Power of Produce 2017,” Food Marketing Institute
Winkelman notes that Coborn’s produce butchers are taught many different knife skills and best safety practices.
“Most importantly, they are taught food safety skills,” she points out. “Proper hand washing and product washing is emphasized before they even enter into the department. Any produce butcher can assure you that they know how to wash, rinse and sanitize their surfaces and dishes regularly.”
Produce butchers bring value to supermarkets through their knowledge of produce, Winkelman maintains.
“Our produce butchers are the experts at knowing what is delicious right now,” she observes. “They have cut it all, and can give tips and advice to our guests who maybe aren’t sure about items. They provide a service that builds loyalty. Our produce butchers have regular guests and know what those guests like and how they like it prepared.”
What’s more, cutting produce in the department rather than in the prep room fills the department with aromas that evoke a fresh feeling for shoppers, adds Winkelman.
WHAT’S ON THE MENU?
Coborn’s produce butchers prepare an entire case of ready-to-go fresh-cut fruit and vegetables daily, which can include only one item per container or five-plus for a fruit medley. Favorite items are ready-to-go berries for snacking, fruit and veggie trays for parties, and diced onion mixes “so our guests don’t have to cry at home,” Winkelman notes. A variety of fresh juices is prepared as well. “We only put fruit and vegetables in our juices — no water, no added sugars and no preservatives, for a clean and healthy drink,” she asserts.
Emily Hankey, produce butcher at Whole Foods' Bryant Park store in New York.
“The types of requests we receive can be anything from shredded cabbage for coleslaw to finely diced peppers for a stir-fry,” says Pusateri’s Salwan. The most common requests at the store are for celery, carrots, cucumber, peppers, and even potato sticks (julienne). “Diced celery, peppers and zucchini are very popular,” he continues, “and, of course, there is always one person who would like to get an onion chopped, sliced or diced.”
Lowe’s Foods, based in Winston-Salem, N.C., offers its Pick & Prep service at some locations. Customers choose the produce they want, fill out a form explaining how they want it prepped, hand in the form and produce to the produce butcher at Pick & Prep, and pick it up at the end of their shopping trip.
Francis Podrebartz, a produce butcher at a Lowe’s Foods store in Bolivia, N.C., points out that many requests from customers are seasonally dependent.
“In the fall and winter months, butternut squash peeled and diced is a hit,” he notes. “In the summer months, it’s a toss-up between premium fruit bowls, Pico de Gallo and guacamole.”
SLICING FOR SUCCESS
Retailers are planning their own produce butcher programs to suit their customers and their facilities. Encino, Calif.-based Gelson’s Market is piloting a produce butcher program at its Century City, Calif., location, which also offers valet parking, a Wolfgang Puck Express in-store restaurant, and a wine and craft beer bar, among other upscale amenities.
“Our produce Chop Shop features a produce chef,” observes Paul Kneeland, senior director produce, food service, floral and bakery operations for Gelson’s.
Like other grocery stores, the produce chef chops all day to keep prepared fruit and vegetables on the shelves. If a customer wants something cut, they select the produce or allow the chef to do so.
SUPERMARKETS WITH PRODUCE BUTCHERS
- Coborn’s, St. Cloud, Minn.
- Eataly, New York
- Gelson’s Markets,Encino, Calif.
- Hy-Vee, West Des Moines, Iowa
- Lowe’s Foods,Winston-Salem, N.C.
- Pusateri’s, Toronto
- Treasure Island,Chicago
- Whole Foods Market, Austin, Texas
These supermarkets have chosen to link customers with live produce experts at select locations to compete with mass merchandisers and meal kits like Plated.
“The customer fills out an order form detailing how they want the produce cut, such as coins, sticks, etc., and notes the size of the cut — fine, quarter-cut, etc.,” notes Kneeland.
A menu is displayed on the wall behind the produce chef detailing the prices of types of vegetables or fruit prepared. In addition to ordering in-store, customers can order online or by phone. They can wait while their order is prepared, which Kneeland says many customers prefer to do: “They like to engage the chef about their order.” Customers can also receive a text while shopping when their order is complete. If possible, the produce chef even takes the order to the customer in the store.
This may be still a pilot program, but Kneeland notes that the company has already identified locations for future Chop Shop services. Smaller stores where there isn’t room on the sales floor for the service will likely have a “Chop Shop Light”: custom cuts performed in the prep room.
So far the initiative is a hit with shoppers.
“Customers are loving the extra service; they love to be pampered!” enthuses Kneeland. “They are asking for things we don’t have listed, like sliced citrus and melon balls.”
ARE PRODUCE BUTCHERS KEEPERS?
Will produce butchers become as common as meat butchers in supermarkets? According to “The Power of Produce 2017,” from Arlington, Va.-based Food Marketing Institute, seven in 10 shoppers have an interest in their store offering a produce butcher, while only 18 percent were very interested.
The study notes that some pockets of the country have higher numbers, but that none exceed 27 percent. The ones who were most interested in this service had a high shopping frequency of three or more times per week, were specialty/organic shoppers, were higher spenders of $100-plus per week and lived in the western United States. Of those surveyed, 31 percent said they wouldn’t use the service.
“I think produce butchers have great potential, especially in customer service and engagement, but also in customization,” observes Gelson's Kneeland. “The trick will be to keep the chef productive. That’s why we have them cutting pre-packaged also.”
“It’s easy to write off produce butchers as a silly concept designed for lazy Millennials, but it actually speaks to major trends occurring in the grocery retailing industry,” insists Mintel’s Bryant, although he doesn’t think that produce butchers are going to start appearing at all grocery stores. “I do expect more stores will start adding them,” he predicts, however. “Moreover, produce butchers represent the direction the grocery retailing industry is going, where stores become more experiential and offer products/services that allow customers to cook at home with more ease and simplicity.”
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
D. GAIL FLEENOR
D. Gail Fleenor is a contributing editor at Progressive Grocer. Read More
New Whole Foods Cultivates Mini Mushroom Farm In Produce Section
New Whole Foods Cultivates Mini Mushroom Farm In Produce Section
New Jersey location touts “freshest possible” produce
Gloria Dawson | Mar 26, 2018
When designing the new Whole Foods location in Bridgewater, N.J., the company created an expansive produce department and carved out space for something a bit different: a mushroom farm.
"We think the farm will add a level of innovation and intrigue that customers will find very interesting,” said Chris Manca, Whole Foods Market’s local program coordinator for the Northeast region. “These mushrooms will also be the freshest possible produce that you can buy, and we know our shoppers will be excited about that.”
The farms are the creation of Smallhold, a new company out of Brooklyn, N.Y. The company’s mini farms can be found in a handful of restaurants, but Whole Foods is the first retail partner. The farm in the Bridgewater location will produce about 120 pounds of mushrooms every week, but the farms can be much smaller depending on need, said Adam DeMartino, co-founder and COO of Smallhold. “Essentially, we need as little as 4 feet by 2 feet square footage,” he said. “It depends on how muchyou're going to sell.” Whole Foods hopes to install another farm in one of the company’s Brooklyn locations later this year.
Whatever the size, Smallhold’s vertical farm units are meant to be seen, said DeMartino. “It's a glowing box. It has lights in it. It attracts the eye. It attracts people to the produce aisle. And kids love it.”
Manca agrees. “The growing unit is so unique and beautiful that people will inevitably be very drawn to it,” he said. “Our job will be to educate people about what we are doing, and we expect they will be very interested in purchasing some of the mushrooms to take home and try.”
Logistically, the mushrooms are initially grown in nearby farms, including one run by Smallhold, and brought to the mini farm during the last stage of growth. Once the mushrooms are ready, a store or Smallhold employee bags the mushrooms and puts them on nearby shelves where customers can grab them. Smallhold’s technology monitors the environment and gathers data on temperature and humidity. The company can also gather market data and see which mushrooms are selling. At the Whole Foods location in New Jersey, the farm is growing three different kinds of oyster mushrooms – yellow, blue and pink.
Smallhold started with mushrooms, in part, because “we looked for high-margin, high-output crops, and mushrooms were the natural ones to land on,” said DeMartino. Mushrooms are also tricky to transport and have a short shelf life, both problems the mini farms eliminate. These benefits afford retailers the ability to price their mushrooms at a lower price per pound, DeMartino said.
“This is a direction that not just produce, but food in general is moving,” he said. “There's definitely a renewed focus on healthy produce, there's definitely a desire for local, but we need to make that affordable. And basically, that's what we offer. In addition, [you get] the marketing value of having produce grown on-site.”
DeMartino said the company plans to expand to other retail locations and beyond.
“Our goal is to start with Whole Foods, but the applications for this, because it's a remotely operated farm, reach beyond even groceries stores,” he said. “We see these as being useful in many applications, for instance, where people don't have arable land. And so, the ultimate goal of Smallhold is to get the price of local produce down to an affordable price for people.”
Contact Gloria Dawson at gloria.dawson@knect365.com
Follow her on Twitter: @gloriadawson
French Food Waste Law Changing How Grocery Stores Approach Excess Food
French Food Waste Law Changing How Grocery Stores Approach Excess Food
February 24, 2018
Heard on All Things Considered
Ahmed "Doudou" Djerbrani, in the orange vest, delivers the food French supermarkets must donate to food banks by law.
Eleanor Beardsley/NPR
Every morning at a supermarket called Auchan in central Paris, Magdalena Dos Santos has a rendezvous with Ahmed "Doudou" Djerbrani, a driver from the French food bank.
Dos Santos, who runs the deli section of the store, is in charge of supervising the store's food donations. She sets aside prepared dishes that are nearing their expiration date.
Opening a giant fridge, Dos Santos shows what else the store is giving away – yogurt, pizza, fresh fruits and vegetables, and cheese.
But giving leftover food to charity is no longer just an act of goodwill. It's a requirement under a 2016 law that bans grocery stores from throwing away edible food.
Djerbrani checks food donations from a French grocery store before driving it across town to a church, which will distribute it to poor families.
Eleanor Beardsley/NPR
Stores can be fined $4,500 for each infraction.
Food waste is a global problem. In developing countries, food spoils at the production stage. Well-off nations throw it away at the consumption stage. Grocery stores are responsible for a lot of that waste. France is trying to change that with its 2-year-old law.
Out back on the store's loading dock, Djerbrani plunges a thermometer into a yogurt. "I take the temperature of dairy products to make sure they've been kept refrigerated," he says.
Djerbrani loads the food into his van and drives it across town to a church, which will distribute it to poor families.
Gillaine Demeules is a volunteer with the St. Vincent de Paul charity. She's getting ready for the weekly food handout.
"Tomorrow, we'll give people soup, sardines, pasta and whatever fresh items they deliver us today," she says. "We never know what they're gonna bring."
Across France, 5,000 charities depend on the food bank network, which now gets nearly half of its donations from grocery stores, according to Jacques Bailet, head of the French network of food banks known as Banques Alimentaires. The new law has increased the quantity and quality of donations. There are more fresh foods and products available further from their expiration date.
He says the law also helps cut back on food waste by getting rid of certain constraining contracts between supermarkets and food manufacturers.
"There was one food manufacturer that was not authorized to donate the sandwiches it made for a particular supermarket brand. But now, we get 30,000 sandwiches a month from them — sandwiches that used to be thrown away," Bailet says.
While the world wastes about one-third of the food it produces, and France wastes as much as 66 pounds per person per year, Americans waste some 200 billion pounds of food a year. That is enough to fill up the 90,000-seat Rose Bowl stadium every day, says Jonathan Bloom, the author of American Wasteland, about food waste in the United States. He says there are different ways of cutting back on food waste. For example, you can start from the end of the chain by banning food in landfills.
THE SALT
Anthony Bourdain Urges Americans To 'Value The Things We Eat'
Bloom says the French law is great, and he would love to see such a policy shift in Washington. But it strikes him as difficult, politically, especially in today's climate. He knows Americans will be less excited about the government telling businesses what to do.
"The French version is quite socialist, but I would say in a great way because you're providing a way where they [supermarkets] have to do the beneficial things not only for the environment but from an ethical standpoint of getting healthy food to those who need it and minimizing some of the harmful greenhouse gas emissions that come when food ends up in a landfill," he says.
The French law seems to have encouraged the development of a whole ecosystem of businesses that are helping grocery stores better manage their stocks and reduce food waste, although a formal review is still in the works.
Parliamentarian Guillaume Garot wrote the law. He believes the fight against food waste should be as important as other national causes, like wearing seatbelts. Garot says he has been contacted by people from all over the world who want to do the same thing.
"It's changed the supermarkets' practices," he says. "They're more attentive to their environment, and they give more."
But most important, says Garot, is that a supermarket is now seen as more than just a profit center. It's a place where there has to be humanity.
German Startup Leads The Way In Urban Farming
German Startup Leads The Way In Urban Farming
Nadja Beschetnikova
February 22, 2018
Living in a big city has its advantages, but there’re still a lot of controversies when it comes to the food market.
Many city residents are unsatisfied with the quality of food products and worry about the source of the produce. With the increasing interest in healthy food and growing concerns about food allergies, many consumers look for fresh and artisan produce. There are a lot of supermarkets in the city but if you are looking for clean organic products, you should either pay the extra money or get in with a farmer.
Infarm, a Berlin-based startup, spotted this gap between consumers and producers and developed vertical farming tech for grocery stores, restaurants, and local distribution centers.
Infarm builds in-store farming units and software to manage the growth of crops. The farms are operated by Infarm’s own platform for monitoring thousands of different data points and personalizing the farm to respective needs, which ensures that the produce is being grown as near to perfect as possible. Each module has its own ecosystem that tailors light spectrum, temperature, pH levels, and nutrients to ensure the maximum expression of each plant.
The glass-walled farm serves basically as an incubator for herbs, lettuce, or other vegetables. With a new technology it becomes possible to have a 365 days a year harvest with any varieties you only wish. The modular system makes the farm very flexible. You can adjust it by adding more modules or customize it, according to your requirements. So the technology is very user-friendly and can be useful for a wide range of customers.
Infarm says, they are the new generation of farmers, and the city is their farm.
Infarm states that one farm can have an output of 1,200 plants a month.
The start-up currently has more than 50 farms running around Berlin in supermarkets, restaurants, and warehouses. The startup has already placed its farm in German supermarket chains METRO and EDEKA, two of Germany’s largest food retailers.
The start-up was founded in 2013 by Osnat Michaeli, and brothers Erez and Guy Galonska. Since then the company has grown from a mobile vertical farm in an old 1955 Airstream trailer to a team of over 100 INFARMers.
“Behind our farms is a robust hardware and software platform for precision farming,” explainedOsnat Michaeli. “Each farming unit is its own individual ecosystem, creating the exact environment our plants need to flourish. We are able to develop growing recipes that tailor the light spectrums, temperature, pH, and nutrients to ensure the maximum natural expression of each plant in terms of flavor, color, and nutritional quality”.
Innovation in agricultural segment seem to be very attractive for the investors. Recently Infarm has secured a $25 million Series A funding round led by Balderton Capital, with other names such as Mons Investments, Cherry Ventures, and LocalGlobe. Additionally the startup won a €2.5 million grant awarded by the European Commission. Totally the Berlin-based company raised to date $35 million.
With this financial support Infarm plans to bring their farms to other German cities and establish an international network, offering their (r)evolutionary taste for customers in Paris, Copenhagen, London.
The goal: 1,000 Infarm vertical farms in operation globally by 2019’s end.
Infarm declares its mission to redefine what it means to eat well, reshape the landscape of cities, re-introduce forgotten or rare varieties, and re-empower the people to take ownership of their food.
The startup targets not only the European market. They want to introduce their healthy food for affordable prices around the world.
“Our ambition is to reach cities as far as Seattle in the United States or Seoul, South Korea with our urban farming network”, said Erez Galonska.
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Growtainers Expands With Central Market, Looks to New Crops
For just about a year now, Central Market in Dallas has tested out offering produce that was grown on-site in a Growtainer. Evidently, that partnership has gone so well that Central Market is making the relationship more permanent and expanding it with the addition of another Growtainer.
Growtainers Expands With Central Market, Looks to New Crops
By Chris Albrecht | The Spoon
February 17, 2018
For just about a year now, Central Market in Dallas has tested out offering produce that was grown on-site in a Growtainer. Evidently, that partnership has gone so well that Central Market is making the relationship more permanent and expanding it with the addition of another Growtainer.
Growtainers are modified shipping containers that provide a food-safe indoor growing environment. Each one contains a vertical rack system for holding crops, crop-specific LED lighting fixtures, and a proprietary irrigation system. Growtainers come in 40, 45 and 53-foot sizes and are customized for each customer, costing anywhere from $75,000 – $125,000 a piece. The amount a Growtainer can produce depends on the crop.
The Growtainer at Central Market offers leafy greens and herbs grown on-site in a 53-foot container. While he couldn’t provide specific numbers, Growtainer Founder and President Glenn Behrman told me by phone that “demand outpaces supply” for the market’s store-grown produce. “We’ve proven the concept,” he said.
Central Market expanding its relationship with Growtainer helps push the idea of produce grown on-site more into the mainstream. Other players in this sector include Inafarm, which has been installing indoor vertical farming systems at food wholesalers in Berlin. And here at home, indoor farming startup Plenty raised $200 million last year from investors including Jeff Bezos (who happens to run Amazon, which owns Whole Foods).
As on-site farming technology improves and gets cheaper and easier to use, it’s not hard to imagine more stores opting to grow their own fresh produce in-house instead of having it transported across the country.
Behrman says that there are Growtainers all over the world for a variety of agricultural and pharmaceutical customers. He built two Growtainers for the Community Foodbank of Eastern Oklahoma so they could grow their own produce, and he’s talked with both the military and the United Nations about installing Growatiners for them in more remote (and volatile) areas.
One group Behrman hasn’t chatted with is venture capitalists. He laughed when I asked him about funding. “We have no investors, and we’re profitable,” said Behrman. But in the next breath, he said he realizes that his current go-it-alone approach won’t scale. “I think once this Central Market project expands and becomes more mainstream, I will have to look for some funding.”
Until that time, Behrman wants to have Growtainers produce more high value crops. “Lettuce and leafy greens are not that challenging,” he said. Behrman, who’s been in horticulture since 1971, believes Growtainers could be excellent for growing exotic mushrooms that have short shelf lives, or fungi that historically could only grow in particular seasons.
Perhaps after another year or so you’ll see truffles and porcinis grown on-site and offered at Central Market (and elsewhere).
Agricool Strawberries, Coming To Monoprix 🚀
Today we have 4 Cooltainers in Paris (Bercy, Station F, Stade de France, Halle Flachat). Each of them can produce 7 tons of strawberries per year, which is about 28,000 cartons.
Agricool Strawberries, Coming To Monoprix 🚀
Co-Founder and CEO, Agricool
February 16, 2017
So now that our direct sales have been going on for 4 months (jeez, already?!), it’s time for us to step up to the next challenge: getting our strawberries into the fruit and vegetable aisles in your grocery stores. The goal is to find the model that will let us make our fruits and vegetables accessible to everyone, across the whole world. Let’s go! Here’s where we are.
Strawberries are coming !!
A New Model
Today we have 4 Cooltainers in Paris (Bercy, Station F, Stade de France, Halle Flachat). Each of them can produce 7 tons of strawberries per year, which is about 28,000 cartons. That gives us a current total production of roughly 112,000 cartons every year. Tomorrow, we’ll have thousands of Cooltainers around the world. The number of cartons won’t be counted in the thousands, but in the millions. And when that happens, we need to have found the right way to sell them easily, efficiently, and at scale.
To make it all work, best to get started right now. The facts are simple: more than 70% of French people buy their fruits and vegetables in a supermarket or hypermarket. In other words, if we want to build a new agricultural model that gives everyone access to better fruits and vegetables, we need to figure out how to sell there. And so we’re about to take our first steps down the grocery stores aisle.
Everybody to Monoprix 🍓
Here we aaaare !!
For our first store event (🎉🎉🎉), we chose to go to Monoprix. Why? The store’s mission has been the same since they opened their first store in 1932: “Bringing the best to everyone, in the middle of the city”. It’s pretty close to ours, no? What’s more, they’ve recently decided to go even further. More than just offering “the best” products, they’ve started a brand of “Made in pas très loin” (“Made not far away”) to encourage local production. Awesome! And if we could get even closer? What if we had the label reading “Made in very very close, in a paradise for fruits and vegetables right in the heart of the city”?
For us, it’s an incredible opportunity to discover the world of in-store sales. What do we know for sure? Our recipe will stay the same (❤️) and we’ll be preparing for the next steps. Our strawberries will always be harvested that morning by our Cooltivators. This time, they’ll be dropped off in the closest store and displayed in a case specially made by us, just for this purpose, everything done in order for them to be sold that very day. And if you arrive around 10am, you’ll probably cross paths with Charlotte or Georges (our Cooltivators), there to drop off the day’s cartons. And then there’ll be nothing left to do but taste the berries.
Laura and Charlotte, ready for this new challenge !
Test & Learn 💡
We’re the first to sell strawberries produced in the heart of the city, without any pesticides and harvested that morning in order to be eaten that day, on Parisian fruits and vegetables aisles. That means that we need to learn a ton about the current sales model as well as everything that we could potentially invent. It’s an incredible challenge!
How will it work, concretely? We’ll tackle it like all of our subjects: by trying it, testing it, proving it. The sum total of what we need to learn is huge. From packaging to the display to the branding to in-store events, we have thousands of things to discover. Then once we’ve understood your expectations and how we can best respond to them, we’ll be able to dream even bigger (🚀). And that’s good, because with more than 325 Monoprix stores in the Paris region, we can move step-by-step to deploy our model further and get our strawberries to everyone in Paris.
The team, looking for the perfect place for our strawberries ✌
So…see you there? 🙂
Come by on Saturday, February 17 at Monoprix (2 Rue de la Station, 92600 Asnières-sur-Seine) to be part of the first in-store adventure.
Urban Farming Platform Infarm Gets $25M Funding Endorsement
Berlin-based urban farming startup Infarm has received a rousing endorsement for its vertical, indoor farms in the form of cash. Like, lots of cash.
Urban Farming Platform Infarm Gets $25M Funding Endorsement
Photo Credit: Infarm
Berlin-based urban farming startup Infarm has received a rousing endorsement for its vertical, indoor farms in the form of cash. Like, lots of cash.
Balderton Capital was the leading investor in a Series A funding round, with other names such as Mons Investments, Cherry Ventures, and LocalGlobe claiming their stake in the promising indoor farming company. The round brings Infarm’s total funding to date to $35 million, and they plan on using the new capital to expand their international footprint in Paris, Copenhagen, London, and other German cities while improving upon their Berlin-based R&D headquarters.
The goal: 1,000 Infarm vertical farms in operation globally by 2019’s end.
Here’s how Infarm works. They conceived and control the glass-walled ‘vertical indoor farms’, allowing clients such as grocery stores and restaurants to place the Infarm incubator in their business. From there customer can pick their own herbs, lettuce, or other vegetables out for themselves, much like they would with any other fruit or vegetable. The difference is that they know Infarm produce is guaranteed fresh because they are picking the produce or herb from the incubator in which it’s grown.
Infarm’s techs and agricultural experts can manage their modules remotely, taking maintenance issues out of the hands of clients while using A.I. and a mass of analytical data to ensure that the produce is being grown as near to perfect as possible.
We collect 50,000 data points throughout a plant’s lifetime, Erez Galonska, cofounder and CTO explained, each farm acts as a data pipeline, sending information on plant growth to our platform 24/7 allowing it to learn, adjust, and optimize.
Each module can be controlled to establish the perfect amount of light, pH levels, temperature, and nutrients depending on what is being grown. The Infarm modules have been likened to their own contained, highly-controlled ecosystems, and Galonska has said that he hopes to create a world where seasonal changes and drought are irrelevant to one’s ability to produce food.
Infarm’s model makes too much sense for grocery stores, restaurants, and other establishments that waste countless funds throwing out over-ripe produce daily to overlook. It’s no wonder so many investors are willing to put their big bucks behind Galonska and his partners, brother Guy and Osnat Michaeli, and their one-of-a-kind urban farming platform.
The challenge [now] is in finding the right partners. Our initial focus is on supermarket chains, online food retailers, wholesalers, hotels, and other food-related businesses, for whom the superior quality and range of produce — with no fluctuation in costs — makes Infarm an attractive partner, Michaeli explains. In return, we can reintroduce the joy of growing to the urban population.
Infarm Reinventing Food Supply With Vertical Urban Farms
Infarm Reinventing Food Supply With Vertical Urban Farms
By Katy Askew
06-Feb-2018
Infarm founders Osnat Michaeli and the brothers Erez and Guy Galonska have big ambitions for their urban farm model
German urban farming group Infarm aims to expand its network of urban farms to 1,000 locations throughout Europe by 2019.
Infarm was founded in 2013 by Osnat Michaeli and the brothers Erez and Guy Galonska. The company distributes what it describes as “smart modular farms” targeting urban areas.
Fusing vertical farming techniques with the internet of things technology and data science, the group aims to develop an “alternative food system” that is “resilient, transparent, and affordable”.
“Rather than asking ourselves how to fix the deficiencies in the current supply chain, we wanted to redesign the entire chain from start to finish; Instead of building large-scale farms outside of the city, optimising on a specific yield, and then distributing the produce, we decided it would be more effective to distribute the farms themselves and farm directly where people live and eat,” explained Erez Galonska, co-founder and CEO.
How it works
A single two meter squared farm unit can deliver an output of 1,200 plants per month.
Infarm’s indoor vertical farms are connected by the company’s central farming platform, creating what the company claims is a “first of its kind” urban farming network.
Each farm is a controlled ecosystem with growing recipes that tailor light, temperature, pH, and nutrients to ensure the maximum natural expression of each plant.
“We collect 50,000 data points throughout a plant’s lifetime,” Guy Galonska, co-founder and chief technical officer elaborated. “Each farm acts as a data pipeline, sending information on plant growth to our platform 24/7 allowing it to learn, adjust, and optimize.”
Infarm therefore not only distributes the vertical farming tech: the company operates as a service provider.
It can also personalize its farms to each customer’s needs, growing different varieties for different supermarket locations or equalizing the flavor of the produce to better suit the taste palate of a customer’s clientele.
Early success
Having introduced the concept two years ago, Infarm now operates more than 50 farms in supermarket aisles, restaurant kitchens and distribution centers throughout Berlin.
Infarm units can grow produce in retail locations
Infarm has integrated in-store farming into Edeka and Metro locations, partnering with two of Germany’s largest food retailers where it grows “dozens ” of herbs and leafy greens.
Infarm’s marketing project manager Peter Prautzsch told FoodNavigator that the company has already grown 300 different plants on its farms.
“Our modular and scaleable farms units are easily integrated into any given client space. We offer and operate both InStore and InHub installation,” he explained.
Infarm’s solutions also reach beyond addressing sustainability issues to deliver other benefits to its customers, he continued. “Cutting the supply chain to the minimum helps our produce to retain all of its nutrients and therefore an intense natural flavor. We considerably improve the safety and environmental footprint of each plant. We can offer a consistent supply, no matter the season [and] our farms create a unique and impactful customer experience.”
“We bring a world of choice right into your neighborhood without having to compromise on quality, safety, and taste. [...] B y eliminating the distance between farm and fork, we offer produce that has retained all of its nutrients and therefore, intense natural flavour," noted Osnat Michaeli, co-founder, and CMO.
Funding growth
Infarm announced yesterday (5 February) that it has completed a €20m series A funding round, which was led by an investment from Balderton Capital, alongside TriplePoint Capotal and Mons Investment as well as previous investors Cherry Ventures, QUIDIA and LocalGlobe.
Balderton Capital partner Daniel Waterhouse said that the investment vehicle believes Infarm can help develop a solution to some of the greatest challenges facing the food supply chain today.
“Urban living is growing unrelentingly across the world and societies are at a point where they have to confront the big existential questions such as how to feed their growing populations sustainably. Infarm is right at the forefront of a new wave of companies setting out to tackle the inefficiencies in the current food supply chain by making it possible to grow fresh produce right in the heart of our communities. We are delighted to be backing a company whose mission we believe in so passionately.”
The fresh wave of investment brings Infarm’s total capital raising to €24m, including a €2m grant awarded to the group by the European Commission as part of the Horizon 2020 program.
Overseas ambitions
Infarm will be launching in Paris, London, and Copenhagen this year, as well as extending to additional cities throughout Germany.
“This is the beginning of the urban farming revolution: it will redefine what it means to eat well, reshape the landscape of cities, and re-empower the people to take ownership of their food,” predicted Erez Galonska. “Our ambition is to reach cities as far as Seattle in the United States or Seoul, South Korea with our urban farming network.”
The new investment will be used to grow Infarm’s team into a global operation and to further develop its 5,000 square meter R&D center in Berlin. The center focuses on the promotion of biodiversity and further expanding the company’s product assortment; tomatoes, chilies, a variety of mushrooms, fruits and flowering vegetables are to be introduced next.
Balderton Capital Leads $25M Series A In ‘Urban Farming’ Platform Infarm
Infarm, a startup that has developed vertical farming tech for grocery stores, restaurants, and local distribution centres to bring fresh and artisan produce much closer to the consumer, has raised $25 million in Series A funding.
Infarm, a startup that has developed vertical farming tech for grocery stores, restaurants, and local distribution centres to bring fresh and artisan produce much closer to the consumer, has raised $25 million in Series A funding.
February 5, 2018 | Steve O'Hear (@sohear)
Balderton Capital Leads $25M Series A In ‘Urban Farming’ Platform Infarm
Infarm, a startup that has developed vertical farming tech for grocery stores, restaurants, and local distribution centres to bring fresh and artisan produce much closer to the consumer, has raised $25 million in Series A funding.
The round is led by London-based VC firm Balderton Capital, with participation from TriplePoint Capital, Mons Investments, and previous investors Cherry Ventures, QUADIA and LocalGlobe.
It brings the total raised by the Berlin-based company to $35 million, including a $2.5 million grant from the European Commission as part of the Horizon 2020 program.
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Infarm wants to put a farm in every grocery store
Infarm says the new capital will be used for international expansion and to further develop its 5,000 sqm R&D centre in Berlin. This will include bringing its vertical farming system to Paris, London, and Copenhagen, in addition to other German cities later this year. The startup is targeting 1,000 farms to be operational across Europe by the end of 2019.
Founded in 2013 by Osnat Michaeli, and brothers Erez and Guy Galonska, Infarm has developed an “indoor vertical farming” system capable of growing anything from herbs, lettuce and other vegetables, and even fruit. It then places these modular farms in a variety of customer-facing city locations, such as grocery stores, restaurants, shopping malls, and schools, thus enabling the end-customer to actually pick the produce themselves.
The distributed system is designed to be infinitely scalable — you simply add more modules, space permitting — whilst the whole thing is cloud-based, meaning the farms can be monitored and controlled from Infarm’s central control centre. The whole thing is incredibly data-driven, a combination of IoT, Big Data and cloud analytics akin to “Farming-as-a-Service”.
The idea, the founding team told me back in June last year when I profiled the nascent company, isn’t just to produce fresher and better-tasting produce and re-introduce forgotten or rare varieties, but to disrupt the supply chain as a whole, which remains inefficient and produces a lot of waste.
“Behind our farms is a robust hardware and software platform for precision farming,” explained Michaeli. “Each farming unit is its own individual ecosystem, creating the exact environment our plants need to flourish. We are able to develop growing recipes that tailor the light spectrums, temperature, pH, and nutrients to ensure the maximum natural expression of each plant in terms of flavor, colour, and nutritional quality”.
Two years since launch, Infarm says it is now operating more than 50 farms across Berlin in supermarket aisles, restaurants kitchens, and distribution warehouses. This includes introducing in-store farming into EDEKA and METRO locations, two of Germany’s largest food retailers, in which dozens of “quality herbs and leafy greens” are grown and sold at what the startup describes as affordable prices.
Noteworthy, with an output of up to 1,200 plants per month from a single farm unit, Infarm claims it has already enabled some locations to become completely self-sufficient in their herb production.
“This is the beginning of the urban farming (r)evolution: it will redefine what it means to eat well, reshape the landscape of cities, and re-empower the people to take ownership of their food,” says Erez Galonska in a statement. “Our ambition is to reach cities as far as Seattle in the United States or Seoul, South Korea with our urban farming network”.