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Gordon Food Service And Square Roots Reveal Location of First Urban Farm
March. 27, 2019
BROOKLYN, NY and WYOMING, MI - Early this month, Gordon Food Service made headlines when the foodservice provider unveiled a new partnership with Square Roots and new plans to erect indoor farming campuses throughout North America. And this week the two partners announced the first location to serve locally-grown produce to Gordon Food Service’s network of foodservice partners—along with additional details about the site. The two companies will build their pilot in Gordon Food Service’s hometown of Wyoming, Michigan.
Rich Wolowski, North American President and CEO, Gordon Food Service“
This partnership brings together technology, agriculture, young farmers, and scalability, in a model that could revolutionize our food systems,” said Rich Wolowski, North American President and CEO of Gordon Food Service. “And it’s wonderful to be starting in our own backyard.”
According to a press release issued by the two companies, the partnership’s local, fresh produce offerings will be non-GMO, pesticide-free, and meet Gordon Food Service’s high quality and safety standards. Product will be available for purchase by both commercial chefs and consumers at Gordon Food Service’s area retail stores.
Construction and installation of the first container farm campus is expected to be completed by the fall of 2019, with growing operations beginning immediately thereafter.
Gordon Food Service made headlines when the foodservice provider unveiled a new partnership with Square Roots and new plans to erect indoor farming campuses throughout North America
Plans for the new campus include ten specially designed Square Roots shipping containers in direct production, with four additional containers providing operational support. Containers will occupy less than two acres of the Gordon Food Service HQ’s fifty-acre site, yet are projected to produce more than 50,000 lbs of herbs annually.
Tobias Peggs, Co-Founder and CEO, Square Roots“This partnership means we will grow delicious, local, real food at huge scale,” said Tobias Peggs, Co-Founder and CEO of Square Roots. “We’re so happy to be working with a mission-aligned partner in Gordon Food Service—leveraging technology to bring real food to a huge number of people across the country, while delivering real social impact by empowering thousands of young people to become our country’s future farmers.”
The two companies also noted that Square Roots is expected to recruit and hire a class of new farmers to participate in its unique, year-long Next-Gen Farmer Training Program at the new Wyoming, Michigan farm campus. The recruitment process will start in early summer, and the program will begin in the fall. Interested applicants can find out more about the program on the Square Roots website and sign up for early access to applications here.
Jack Poll, Mayor, City of Wyoming, Michigan“
Our community is proud to be home to an international business leader like Gordon Food Service and to support new, game-changing innovations in fresh, local food production and distribution,” Jack Poll, Mayor of the City of Wyoming, Michigan, noted.
The new campus is expected to function as a template for future farms, and the partnership plans to develop additional farms at or near Gordon Food Service’s U.S. and Canadian distribution centers.
Will Gordon Food Service’s pilot have transformative effects on the supply chain? AndNowUKnow will continue to report as the program expands.
Gordon Food Service Square Roots
Gordon Food Service Urban Farming Protected Agriculture Michigan Expansion Rich Wolowski Tobias Peggs Jack Poll
COMPANIES IN THIS STORY
Gordon Food Service
Gordon Food Service is the largest privately-held, family-managed broadline foodservice distributor in North America-and...
Can Amazon Reinvent The Traditional Supermarket?
Amazon’s plans to launch physical grocery stores this year is just the latest affirmation that, ironically, bricks-and-mortar stores are crucial to the e-commerce giant’s future growth. Amazon may launch as many as 2,000 supermarkets in major U.S. cities, according to a recent report in The Wall Street Journal
March 21, 2019
Wharton's Barbara Kahn and Columbia's Mark Cohen analyze Amazon's plans to open supermarkets in major U.S. cities.
Amazon’s plans to launch physical grocery stores this year is just the latest affirmation that, ironically, bricks-and-mortar stores are crucial to the e-commerce giant’s future growth. Amazon may launch as many as 2,000 supermarkets in major U.S. cities, according to a recent report in The Wall Street Journal. It will be Amazon’s sixth physical retail format after Whole Foods, Amazon Books, Amazon Go, Amazon 4-Star and Amazon Pop-Up.
Amazon’s plans are likely to rattle major grocery purveyors such as Kroger’s and Walmart, whose shares fell on the news. But the expectation is that Amazon will introduce a different business model — one that merges bricks-and-mortar and online experiences, then powering it with data analytics, according to experts at Wharton and Columbia University who spoke about Amazon’s grocery-store strategy on the Knowledge@Wharton radio show on SiriusXM. “It was a natural next step,” said Wharton marketing professor Barbara Kahn. Opening supermarkets makes sense for Amazon because its business model is to offer low prices and convenience, which is what shoppers look for when getting groceries. “If you look at their bookstores or Amazon Go (fully automated convenience stores), they’re fine stores, but they’re not beautiful stores. They’re the kind of stores where you can get what you want at a cheap price, fast and convenient,” she said.
Amazon’s expansion of its grocery business — it already has Prime Pantry, AmazonFresh and Whole Foods — also lets it collect consumer data more frequently since people shop for food regularly and prefer to do it in person. “Their game is data and they need to have frequency. What’s really attractive about grocery is not really the margin; it’s the traffic,” Kahn said. “When you go into an Amazon store, you have to log in with your app and everything you do in that store is then connected with everything online.”
The Journal said Amazon’s supermarkets will take up about 35,000 square feet compared to 60,000 square feet for a typical grocery. Talks reportedly are underway to open stores in Seattle, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Chicago and Washington, D.C.
It’s About Data
Whatever retail store format Amazon uses, it “would be built upon this tremendous capacity they have to gather, analyze, understand and use what customers are saying to them every day,” said Mark Cohen, director of retail studies at Columbia University who had been CEO of Sears Canada. “Amazon is proof-positive of the value of big data and the way in which you collect it and the way in which you examine it and use it.”
Cohen cited the smart use of data by 7-Eleven, the convenience store chain. “7-Eleven has enterprise-wide systems that enable it to manipulate, modify or not modify its assortments to be extremely relevant and also extremely efficient so that not only is the right brand on the right shelf at the right depth, but it’s in a place in the store where customers expect to find it.”
Amazon’s opening of physical grocery stores also could solve some hurdles to growth. “Amazon has a fundamental barrier to its organic growth, and that is that there are may be millions of customers who can’t participate in e-commerce either outright or who find it inconvenient,” said Cohen. “That’s largely because they don’t have a place a package can be delivered because no one’s home and they’re not comfortable or in any way or willing to have something left on a doorstep.”
Physical locations are helpful also for folks who cannot buy online because they don’t have or cannot get credit cards — or don’t want to use them. “Having a network of locally convenient places with which to interact with those customers like an Amazon grocery convenience store that will accept cash would give them access to an enormous number of customers who very well might want to do business with Amazon but who can’t at the moment.”
Testing Bricks-and-Mortar
Amazon’s supermarket plans follow other forays into physical stores, the biggest of which thus far was its June 2017 purchase of Whole Foods for $13.7 billion. It gave Amazon nearly 470 stores, including about 20 in Canada and in the U.K. Six months ago, the company launched Amazon 4-star stores that carry the most popular products from its online store, including consumer electronics, devices, toys, books and home items.
“What’s really attractive about grocery is not really the margin; it’s the traffic.”–Barbara Kahn
In January 2018, it opened Amazon Go convenience stores where consumers take what items they want and leave without seeing a cashier or checkout counter. Sensors track their purchases, which are automatically charged to their Amazon accounts. There are now 10 Amazon Go stores with more to open soon. In addition, the company has opened 17 Amazon Books locations. Amazon also has Pop-Up stores in malls, Whole Foods and Kohl’s, but it is closing all 87 of them because the format didn’t work out.
As for its coming supermarkets, Amazon could redesign the traditional grocery format. Typically, staples like milk purposely are placed in the back so shoppers will spend more time in the store. Kahn said Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos could have a different design in mind. He could say, “Let us design the store so you can find what you want as fast as you need to find it and get in and out of there,” she said. “I bet once they start working on it and use their data, they will change things that make sense from the customer perspective. So that’s going to be pretty cool to see.”
The Journal said Amazon’s supermarket concept strongly resembles ideas from a 2013 report by former Deloitte consultant Brittain Ladd, who now works for AmazonFresh. That report sees Amazon’s supermarkets combining its discounting strategy with online capabilities, adding drive-through grocery pick-up and placing Amazon Lockers inside. The goal is to create “an ecosystem of channels centered on food and groceries capable of meeting the needs of all customers through all available channels,” he wrote.
As for concerns that Amazon is entering a low-margin business, Cohen said it doesn’t have to be problematic. “They view that as an opportunity in many cases,” he said. “At the end of the day, I think this is [about] creating more and more of an efficient connection to customers, especially those who they’re not doing business with, who would like to do business with them.”
Dynamic Pricing
Kahn said one of Amazon’s dilemmas in selling groceries is how to manage the costly effort of delivering to each home and business, the so-called ‘last mile.’ Amazon has to deliver because until it purchased Whole Foods, it didn’t have a lot of stores where people can shop, unlike traditional supermarkets. Walmart got into the grocery business and handled the industry’s thin margins by focusing on “operational excellence” to lower its costs. “They are a low-cost supply chain master,” she said.
“Amazon is proof-positive of the value of big data.”–Mark Cohen
Amazon’s priority is customer convenience. But deliveries can be quite costly because they’re inefficient, Kahn said. Therefore, opening more physical grocery stores could work so there will be more places for customers to pick up their orders. “They need it because their model is so different from a typical operationally-excellent grocery business,” Kahn added.
Moreover, Amazon will find it tough to convince competing bricks-and-mortar retailers to let it open one of its Lockers in their stores. Amazon has been “aggressive in trying to place those lockers throughout the realm. Many stores just don’t have room for them and some don’t really want Amazon delivering through a locker [the same products] they’re trying to sell,” Cohen said. “Amazon is not likely to convince Target to install Amazon Lockers, unless some incredible combination occurs.”
By opening its own stores, Amazon also gets control over pricing and margins. Kahn pointed out that it already uses “dynamic” pricing. At Amazon 4-star stores, prices are in digital form and match the ones on its website. However, the prices “can change as things happen,” she said.
Similarly, at Amazon Books, no prices are displayed. Instead, customers have to open up the Amazon app to find how much the books cost. This way, Amazon could play with the pricing too, perhaps setting different prices for Prime and non-Prime members. “In both of those ways — with ‘price’ and ‘place’ — Amazon is redefining the model,” Kahn said.
Canadian Vertical Farming Startup to Distribute Produce to Universities
Chartwells, a Canadian educational food service provider, and the Growcer, announced an exclusive partnership that will bring 'the 100 foot farm' to college and university campuses across Canada. The Growcer converts shipping containers into state-of-the-art vertical farms to grow fresh produce for food insecure areas. Chartwells will be the first to bring this program to the Canadian higher education landscape with this partnership.
Ashton Sequeira, President Chartwells (L) with Ottawa students Alida Burke and Corey Ellis, co-founders of The Growcer (CNW Group/Compass Group Canada)
Founded by Ottawa students Corey Ellis and Alida Burke, The Growcer is a farming system combining hydroponic technology with precision climate controls that allows the user to easily grow fresh produce in a contained space. The distance the produce travels to the consumer can be as little as 100 feet – making this the '100 foot farm'.
"As part of our Thinking Ahead Giving Back vision, we have made a pledge over the next 3 years to deliver 1,000,000 meals to tackle food insecurity both domestically and globally, provide 10,000 hours of community support around mental health and social issues facing students and create 1,000 jobs through a more focused commitment to student employment," said Ashton Sequeira, President, Chartwells. "At Chartwells, we are committed to delivering a student-first experience on campus and this exciting partnership with The Growcer is another step towards this. We will be donating 10% of annual crop grown to tackle local food insecurity as part of our commitment to deliver 1,000,000 meals over the next 3 years. Teaming up with The Growcer delivers on our pledge and puts student innovation, sustainability and community engagement at the forefront of what we do."
"We had the opportunity to partner with any of the companies in this space, but we chose Chartwells because of their commitment towards social and sustainable initiatives, their support around student innovation and leadership within their executive team and all the way to their front-line associates," added Corey Ellis, Co-founder and CEO, The Growcer. "Through our partnership with Chartwells, partner colleges and universities across Canada will benefit from having fresh, local and healthy produce grown only steps away from their food halls and cafeterias, no matter the weather. We're excited that students will get to enjoy locally-grown, nutritious meals throughout the entire year."
"The Growcer's incredible growth is just beginning with the global adoption of indoor farming. More and more, we are seeing ag-tech innovations such as hydroponics being used to address food security challenges, rising population, food prices and shrinking arable land," said Nick Quain, Vice President of Invest Ottawa, whose tech acceleration program, the IO Accelerator, has provided the Growcer with business advisory and support since 2016.
"We couldn't be more proud of The Growcer, and congratulations to Chartwells for having the vision to land this partnership with one of Ottawa's most innovative companies."
For more information:
www.chartwellsschools.com
Shipping Container Farms Expanding To Grocery Stores Around The Country
Container farming startup Square Roots partnered with a major distributor to bring locally grown food to cities nationwide
By Liz Stinson Mar 8, 2019
Photo: Square Roots
A few years back, Square Roots set up shop in a parking lot in Brooklyn’s Bed Stuy neighborhood. The urban farming startup, founded by Kimbal Musk and Tobias Peggs, built a compact hydroponic farming system inside tricked out shipping containers designed by ORE Design’s Thomas Kosbau.
Now, Square Roots is expanding operations (and keeping the shipping containers). The startup just announced that it’s partnering with Gordon Food Services, a distribution company that works with retailers across the country. The plan is to build Square Roots facilities (i.e. shipping containers) on or near GFS’s distribution or retail locations in order to shorten the amount of time it takes to go from hydroponic pod to store shelves.
Photo: Square Roots
Photo: Square Roots
Fast Company reports that each new Square Roots location will get somewhere around 10 shipping containers, though that number could grow in the future.
“We’ll start with putting 10 containers down in a market, and as demand for locally grown produce increases, we can very quickly expand our footprint by adding more modules,” Peggs told Fast Company.
With each container generating around 50,000 pounds of produce each year, that’s a major upgrade for locally grown food.
Via: Fast Company
Waitrose Brings Hanging Vegetable Gardens to the Supermarket
Published in Foodon 04-03-2019
Is the end of the packed salad in sight? By the end of this year, British supermarkets, under the direction of Waitrose , want to have their own picking gardens and vertical farms in their stores.
Save in an old railway tunnel
Bio-engineers have unveiled plans to set up hanging vegetable gardens in supermarkets. The systems do not use earth, are portable and can be placed in urban environments such as shops and supermarkets. Crops are grown vertically: with their roots suspended in a cylinder, where they are fed with a nutrient-rich spray.
Retail group John Lewis , which includes premium supermarket chain Waitrose, has confirmed to The Telegraph that it is currently in talks with bio-engineering firm LettUs Grow, which grows many types of vegetables in a disused railway tunnel in Bristol.
"No choice but surprising customers"
John Lewis wants to use the cylinders to grow lettuce on the shop floor, so that customers can choose their own fresh salad. They look at whether the introduction is still possible in 2019, otherwise it will be 2020. "You really come into contact with the food system and the origin of our food", explains the beautifully fitting named Jack Farmer, co-founder of LettUs.
"I think it really has to do with the way people see the shopping experience in the future, with the rise of Amazon and other online retailers, and the retail experience needs to become much more experiential," he said in Farming Today on the BBC. "In recent years, seismic changes have occurred in our sector, with a new measure of customer expectations every time they shop. Stores simply have no choice but to inspire and surprise customers - with fantastic products as well as personal, seamless experiences ", confirms Peter Cross, customer experience at John Lewis.
John Lewis & Partners Announces Partnership With LuttUs Grow to Create ‘Mini-Farms’ Within Retail Stores
LETTUS GROW
John Lewis & Partners are partnering with British start-up company, LettUs Grow, to create 'mini farms' within their retail stores. This will highlight the importance of bringing sustainable food production to the farms of the future.
The 'mini farms' will be placed inside selected stores with the aim to reduce plastic waste and cut back on the unnecessary transport of food across the country. Using pioneering technology, fresh produce will be grown within its stores for consumers to purchase.
The news ties in perfectly with our Country Living #KeepBritainFarming campaign, as both John Lewis & Partners and LettUs Grow have spoken about how they hope the new initiative will bring some much-needed change to the "broken food system."
LETTUS GROW
"We’re thrilled to be working with John Lewis & Partners to investigate the use of urban agriculture within the retail experience. This represents a real opportunity to meaningfully reduce food miles, whilst engaging shoppers with the modern food system," explained Jack Farmer, co-founder and operational lead at LettUs Grow.
"WE CAN SET UP OUR INDOOR FARMS IN ANY ENVIRONMENT - FROM DESERTS TO DISASTER SITES.."
Charlie Guy, co-founder and managing director at LettUs Grow also commented on the partnership: "We can set up our indoor farms in any environment - from deserts to disaster sites. By siting them in supermarkets we can open up a dialogue with the public about how new technologies can be used to make big changes in our broken food system."
LETTUS GROW
Who is LettUs Grow?
The agri-tech company design irrigation and control technology for indoor farms. Using exciting new technology, they work on reconnecting crowded cities with the tradition of locally grown produce.
Passionate about local food, the Bristol-based start-up exists to reduce the waste and carbon footprint of fresh produce. They launched back in 2015 and are now building commercial aeroponic systems for growers around the UK.
Gordon Food Service Partners With Indoor Farming Company
Indoor farms will be built on or near Gordon Food distribution centers and retail stores
Food produced in farms will be sold through the food supplier's distribution channels
Trainees will study plant science, entrepreneurship frameworks and more
Square Roots indoor farms will be built on or near Gordon Food Service distribution centers and retail stores across North America.
Photo by Square Roots
Wyoming, Mich.-based Gordon Food Service is teaming with indoor farming company Square Roots to build indoor farms across North America, igniting opportunities to train the next generation of urban farmers.
Through the partnership, Square Roots farms will be built on or near Gordon Food distribution centers and retail stores, enabling year-round growing of herbs, greens and more. The food that is produced will be sold through the food supplier's distribution channels, according to a Wednesday news release.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Brooklyn, N.Y.-based Square Roots will carry out a yearlong program in which trainees study plant science and entrepreneurship frameworks, and learn how to use tech-enabled systems, according to the company's website.
The move also marks Square Roots' first "significant expansion" to new locations, the release says.
"Customers want an assortment of fresh, locally grown food all year round. We are on a path to do that at scale with Square Roots and are excited to be the first in the industry to offer this unique solution to our customers," Rich Wolowski, CEO of Gordon Food Service, said in the release.
Annalise Frank/Crain's Detroit Business
Through the partnership, Square Roots farms will be built on or near Gordon Food Service distribution centers and retail stores. The food supplier opened a store on East Jefferson Avenue, east of downtown Detroit, last year.
Gordon Food Service has more than 20 locations in metro Detroit and 175 locations total in the U.S., according to its website.
It had $13.7 billion in revenue in 2018, according to Forbes, and 19,000 employees. The company ranked 22nd in Forbes' 2018 list of America's largest private companies and second on Crain's 2019 list of the largest privately held companies in greater Michigan by 2017 revenue.
Germany: Edeka Grows Some Products In Stores
Vertical farming is meant to make the climate-damaging part of agriculture a thing of the past. Fruits and vegetables could also be grown in the supermarket, manufacturers promised.
Customers can spot a large black box with Plexiglas windows stands in the middle of the vegetable department of the Oberhausener Edeka market. The box is a device allows the vertical farming. This is the “greenhouse of the future,” explains Kaufmann Pascal Gerdes. In fact, it is a digitally networked herbal farm in which plants should grow under optimal conditions.
Only a few weeks ago, the futuristic-looking farm was in the store of the Gerdes family. It comes from the Berlin start-up Inform, which is one of the major suppliers in the field of vertical farming. Inform also cooperates with other retailers. The farm is to be tested for one year in the Edeka market. If mint, Greek basil, mountain coriander prove worthwhile articles from a sales standpoint, the farm may remain.
Source: internationalsupermarketnews.com
Publication date : 1/21/2019
Leclerc Opens Second Marché Bio Store
As announced a few weeks ago, Leclerc has been stepping up its efforts to promote biological products through a new brand of organic stores. After the opening of the first supermarket in Saintes at the end of October, a second one will open today in Erstein (Bas-Rhin), near Strasbourg.
The focus is on local and short-circuit supply, as much as possible, and also on bulk. But the main asset for Michel-Edouard Leclerc are the prices. “Our products are about 30% cheaper than in specialized stores, while enhancing the producers and the sector. In order to be accessible, taking a 60% margin is out of the question,” he explained during the opening of the store in Saintes.
Trader Joe’s Repeats As Top U.S. Grocery Retailer
January 11, 2019
Trader Joe’s is once again the top-rated grocery retailer, according to a nationwide study by dunnhumby. The grocery retailers with the highest overall consumer preference index scores are: 1) Trader Joe’s, 2) Costco Wholesale, 3) Amazon, 4) H-E-B, 5) Wegmans Food Markets, 6) Market Basket, 7) Sam’s Club, 8) Sprouts Farmers Markets, 9) WinCo Foods, 10) Walmart, 11) Aldi, 12) Peapod, 13) The Fresh Market.
“While consumer confidence in the U.S. is at a near 18 year high and the U.S. economic growth is outpacing the rest of the world, there are signs of turbulent times ahead and grocery retailers need to be prepared,” said Jose Gomes, President of North America for dunnhumby. “Because of pressures that grocery retailers are facing today, a common reaction is to think only of the short term. But by focusing on the customer preference levers that we have identified in this RPI to inform their strategies, retailers can buy an insurance policy for the future to ensure they can weather the storms ahead.”
The overall RPI ranking evaluates retailer performance on seven pillars: price, quality, digital, operations, convenience, discounts/rewards and speed. The retailers who focus their business on superior value perception — defined by the strongest combination of price and quality — tend to have the most financial success and the strongest emotional bond with consumers.
Key findings from the study:
Understand customer needs and be excellent at what matters most to win their preference. Trader Joe’s is a prime example of a retailer making trade-offs to deliver superior Value, and it has earned them the top spot for two years in a row. With its small format, lack of digital shopping and limited national brand offering, the retailer focuses on speed of in-store shopping and having a rich Private Brand offering. This bricks-and-mortar only, private brand approach minimizes costs and keep prices low, allowing them to reinvest in customer service, product quality and in-store experience. This strategy sacrifices reaching customers through a growing digital channel and breadth of assortment, and therefore losing on one-stop shop-ability and convenience. However, this loss is also their gain since it allows them to deliver what matters most to their customers.
Two needs rise above all others for most food retailers and have the greatest weight in determining RPI ranking, forming the core of value perception: price and quality. Retailers that rank in the first quartile overall excel in value perception and, as a result, have sales growth that is two times greater than retailers in the second quartile and nine times greater than retailers in the bottom two quartiles. The other customer needs, like digital, speed, convenience or discounts/rewards, while still important, have a weaker association with retailer preference.
First quartile retailers are mostly non-traditional grocers, who have developed a highly targeted offering designed to maximize value perception for their specific customer base. More traditional, regional grocery banners with a long history are hurting because of it, having relatively poorer performing financials and/or emotional bonds. The reason: these traditional banners have inferior price perception and/or quality. The RPI’s top three overall retailers excel in these two factors (Amazon in price; Trader Joe’s and Costco on both).
For some traditional, regional grocers, discounts/rewards and promotions are contributing to sales growth, but for many, this is adding to financial difficulty. In the U.S., hundreds of millions of dollars are spent on discounts, rewards and promotions every year, but over two-thirds of promotions don’t break even. To maximize the success of a discounts/rewards program, retailers need to have at least average price perception and a highly relevant assortment, supported by a strong private brand.
Private brand is a common key to driving value perception and improving customer preference for retailers up and down the rankings. Six of the top 10 private brand performers are in the first quartile of the RPI overall. Additionally, many of the most successful traditional, regional grocers occupy the second quartile, and they complement a highly relevant assortment with a strong private brand, allowing them to maintain solid price perception. Lastly, private brand is a key element in driving both price and quality perception and thus overall value perception, where retailers in the bottom two quartiles are struggling the most.
Retailers who tended to see improvements in their digital rank also tended to see slips in their operations (i.e. out of stocks, pricing consistency, clean stores, right product variety). Retailers that ramp up investment in digital must be cautious not to take their eye off the retail basics.
Some retailers have achieved an excellent digital customer experience, but their financial performance has not benefited, while others with a focus on digital manage to thrive. Retailers missing any of the following are not maximizing the impact of digital investment: large scale, great price perception and a category DNA leaning toward center store items and non-grocery products.
dunnhumby, the global leader in customer data science, released the second annual dunnhumby Retailer Preference Index, a comprehensive, nationwide study that examines the $700 billion U.S. Grocery market. The RPI study surveyed 7,000 U.S. households to determine which of the top 56 largest grocery retailers have the strongest combination of financial performance and consumer emotional sentiment.
Swedish Retailers Are Starting To Grow Herbs Under Their Stores
William McGrath, Amsterdam Office, Bord Bia – Irish Food Board
As Ron Finley once said in his Ted Talk on Gorilla Gardening - “To Grow your own food is like printing your own money”. Urban Gardening is by no means a new phenomenon – it has been around for hundreds of years. Back in the 1800s urban gardening took up much of the space that we see in gardens and parks in modern day cities and towns. Back then urban gardening was not a past-time or a way to improve your social media followership but instead it was a way to survive. People didn’t have the luxury of popping down to the supermarket to fetch a fresh bag of rocket lettuce or freshly pickled beetroot, instead they had to put in the hard graft and grow the food from scratch.
We have come so far in the last 100 years in relation to food technology and production that we have become comfortable with where our food comes from and how it gets to our dining tables.
Recent years have seen a revolution in the concept of urban gardening. Not only can we see urban garden plots popping up in suburbs of most cities but we can also see people growing plants and herbs in their homes and on their apartment balconies. In Stockholm alone, people have turned their balconies into a miniature oasis of speciality herbs, vegetables, and flowers. With urban populations around the world forecast to grow over the next decade, we can begin to see that people are conscious of where their food is coming from especially in an urban setting.
A new initiative created by the leading Swedish retailer ICA Kvantum - Liljeholmen in cooperation with Urban Oasis, sees retailers in Sweden beginning to grow their own micro-herbs and vegetables in the basement of their stores. The system used is a Hydroponic system, meaning they grow the crops in a water solution as opposed to soil, making the crops less reliant on fertilizers, pesticides and fungicides. Joakim Haraldsson – Sales manager stated “We can use this technique to cultivate anything we want. We are just a small step away from sun-ripened tomatoes and ripe strawberries for Christmas”. The idea came from a group of four students, who created the concept of Urban Oasis as a pilot project in University. The idea has continued to grow momentum in Sweden, with ICA Maxi Lindhagen also creating plans to grow speciality herbs in their basement using the same concept.
Source: Bord Bia
Publication date : 12/06/2018
Walmart’s E-Commerce Chief Marc Lore: Food Delivered ‘Right Into Your Fridge’ Is The Future
“How about just being able to keep you in stock on everything you need and not even have to think about it? That’s the future.”
Walmart is about to take food delivery to a whole new level, Walmart’s e-commerce chief told CNBC. Marc Lore, the president and CEO of Walmart’s U.S. e-commerce business, stated in an interview that “delivery right into the fridge” could be in the cards as Walmart expands its delivery services.
Lore, who co-founded Walmart subsidiary Jet.com, envisions consumers getting a “one-time code” at the start of the process.
Then, the delivery person arrives “with a camera on their chest. You can watch it on your iPhone and see them come in, put it in your fridge and leave, to sort of build confidence and trust in these Walmart associates doing it. So, ... imagine going out to work, coming home, and there it is. The stuff’s in your fridge already.”
The next step beyond that would be “not even having to order” the food you’re getting, said Lore, who has served as the head of Walmart e-commerce since September 2016. “How about just being able to keep you in stock on everything you need and not even have to think about it? That’s the future.”
Walmart has been investing heavily in its e-commerce platforms, acquiring a host of websites. Lore said 4,700 of the big-box retailer’s stores, which the company is leveraging as “hybrid warehouses” to compete with Amazon’s rapid delivery services, are within 10 miles of 90 percent of the U.S. population. The company is planning to roll out same-day delivery to 40 percent of the population by the end of this year, and to 60 percent of the population by 2019.
France: Agricool Raises 28 Million US Dollars For Urban Farming
With the announcement of a new funding round of $28 million, in addition to the $13 million previously raised, Agricool pursues its ambition to make pesticide-free fruits and vegetables accessible to all. Through its innovative concept, the company has paved the way for a new form of urban and technological agriculture, seeking to meet the ever-increasing demand for locally produced food and the expansion of local distribution networks.
The company has raised funds from new investors including Bpifrance Large Venture Fund, Danone Manifesto Ventures, Antoine Arnault via Marbeuf Capital, Solomon Hykes, and a dozen other business angels passionate about Agricool’s mission. The existing investors, which include daphni, XAnge, Henri Seydoux and Xavier Niel via Kima Ventures, have also participated in this new funding round.
Taking the lead in a booming market
According to UN reports, in 2030, 20% of products consumed worldwide will come from urban farming (compared to 5% today). In the past 3 years, Agricool’s teams have developed a technology to grow local, healthy fruits and vegetables more productively and within small and controlled spaces, known as “Cooltainers” (recycled shipping containers transformed into urban farms). Thanks to this new funding round, Agricool will be able to confirm its role in the development of this new type of agriculture, while positioning itself as a key player in the segment of vertical farming in France and worldwide. Agricool plans to multiply by a hundred its production by 2021, in Paris first, then internationally starting with Dubai, where a container has already been installed for several months in The Sustainable City.
The emergence of a new profession with the recruitment of 200 people
The deployment of these production modules will be made possible thanks to the recruitment of over 200 people in the Paris area and around the world, from now until 2021. This will result in the emergence of a new profession: the Cooltivator - an entrepreneur and urban farmer hybrid. These “market gardeners of the future” will play an important role in producing this new type of local, healthy food made accessible to all.
Cities of tomorrow
The challenge of urban farming and for Agricool is to help develop the production of food for a growing urban population who wants to eat quality products, while limiting the ecological impact of its consumption. Agricool strawberries are harvested when ripe, and the company claims they contain on average 20% more sugar and 30% more vitamin C than supermarket strawberries.
"Paris is dreaming of itself as an agricultural city", according to the ambition of the Paris City Council, and many metropolises like London, New York and Singapore share the same approach. "We are very excited about the idea of supporting urban farming towards massive development, and it will soon no longer be a luxury to eat exceptional fruits and vegetables in the city", stresses Guillaume Fourdinier, co-founder and CEO of Agricool.
For more information:
agricool.co
www.bpifrance.fr
www.danoneventures.com
www.daphni.com
www.XAnge.fr
Publication date : 12/4/2018
Infarm Expands Its ‘In-Store Farming’ To Paris
Steve O'Hear@sohear / November 2018
infarm
Infarm, the Berlin-based 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, is expanding to Paris.
Once again, the company is partnering with Metro in a move that will see Infarm’s “in-store farming” platform installed in the retailer’s flagship store in the French capital city later this month. The 80 metre square “vertical farm” will produce approximately 4 tonnes of premium quality herbs, leafy greens, and microgreens annually, and means that Metro will become completely self-sufficient in its herb production with its own in-store farm.
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. It’s data-driven: a combination of IoT, Big Data and cloud analytics akin to “Farming-as-a-Service”.
The idea 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.
“Many before have tried to solve 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,” explains Erez Galonska, co-founder and CEO of Infarm, in a statement.
Meanwhile, the move into France follows $25 million in Series A funding raised by Infarm at the start of the year and is part of an expansion plan that has already seen one hundred farms powered by the Infarm platform launch. Other recent installations include Edeka locations in Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Stuttgart, and Hannover. Further expansion into Zurich, Amsterdam, and London is said to be planned over the coming months.
“One thousand in-store farms are being rolled out in Germany alone,” adds Infarm’s Osnat Michaeli. “We are expanding to other European markets each and every day, partnering with leading supermarket chains and planning our North America expansion program for 2019. Recognising the requirements of our customers we have recently launched a new product; DC farm – a ‘Seed to Package’ production facility tailored to the needs of retail chains’ distribution centres. We’ve just installed our very first ‘DC farm’ in EDEKA’s distribution center”.
Parisian Supermarket Becomes Self-Sufficient With indoor Herb-Farm
We've showed you before that the French like their veggies to be grown nearby. The French supermarket Metro has taken this even further and is now growing herbs in their own supermarket. Chives, basil, coriander, mint, dill and parsley are being grown at the moment in this Parisian Metro store. The products are offered to the hospitality clients.
More than 50 farms
The herb farm is created by Infarm, a German company that is operating more than 50 farms across Berlin in supermarket aisles, restaurant kitchens, and distribution warehouses. Infarm is headquartered in the German capital and was founded in 2013 by Osnat Michaeli and brothers Erez and Guy Galonska. Amongst other projects, they have integrated in-store farming into EDEKA and METRO locations, two of Germany’s largest food retailers, where it grows dozens of herbs and leafy greens.
The Parisian farm is the biggest one in a supermarket so far. "Many before have tried to solve the deficiencies in the current supply chain, we wanted to redesign the entire chain from start to finish", the company explains. "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," explains Erez Galonska, co-founder and CEO of Infarm, in a statement.
A single 2 sqm farm has an output of up to 1,200 plants per month. The 80 square metre “vertical farm” will produce approximately 4 tonnes of premium quality herbs, leafy greens, and microgreens annually, and that means Metro will become completely self-sufficient in its herb production with its own in-store farm.
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. Each farm acts as a data pipeline, sending information on plant growth to the Infarm platform 24/7 allowing it to learn, adjust, and optimise.
Expansion
Infarm will launch operations in London, Copenhagen, and other German cities later this year and has set a goal to expand to 1,000 farms in Europe. Expansion to the US is on their list as well, especially after a $25M investment round earlier this year.
Publication date : 11/23/2018
Infarm Expands Its ‘In-Store Farming’ To Paris
Steve O'Hear@sohear / November 8, 2018
Infarm, the Berlin-based 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, is expanding to Paris.
Once again, the company is partnering with Metro in a move that will see Infarm’s “in-store farming” platform installed in the retailer’s flagship store in the French capital city later this month. The 80 metre square “vertical farm” will produce approximately 4 tonnes of premium quality herbs, leafy greens, and microgreens annually, and means that Metro will become completely self-sufficient in its herb production with its own in-store farm.
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. It’s data-driven: a combination of IoT, Big Data and cloud analytics akin to “Farming-as-a-Service”.
The idea 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.
“Many before have tried to solve 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,” explains Erez Galonska, co-founder and CEO of Infarm, in a statement.
Meanwhile, the move into France follows $25 million in Series A funding raised by Infarm at the start of the year and is part of an expansion plan that has already seen one hundred farms powered by the Infarm platform launch. Other recent installations include Edeka locations in Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Stuttgart, and Hannover. Further expansion into Zurich, Amsterdam, and London is said to be planned over the coming months.
“One thousand in-store farms are being rolled out in Germany alone,” adds Infarm’s Osnat Michaeli. “We are expanding to other European markets each and every day, partnering with leading supermarket chains and planning our North America expansion program for 2019. Recognising the requirements of our customers we have recently launched a new product; DC farm – a ‘Seed to Package’ production facility tailored to the needs of retail chains’ distribution centres. We’ve just installed our very first ‘DC farm’ in EDEKA’s distribution center”.
An H-E-B-Owned Central Market Location In Dallas Sells Store-Grown Produce
Fresh Starts On The Perimeter
By Carolyn Schierhorn - 2018
Whether in a rural area or an urban hub, grocery retailers today are leveraging their fresh departments to differentiate their overall brand and their individual private brands from the competition. Across all generations of consumers, but especially among millennials, fresh food has an aura of healthfulness and excitement that far surpasses the packaged food products in the center store.
But “fresh” today doesn’t just refer to the produce, deli, “grocerant,” meat, seafood, bakery and dairy departments, according to Nicole Peranick, Stamford, Conn.-based Daymon’s senior director for culinary thought leadership, who shared her insights during Store Brands’ “Power of Private Brands” webinar series last year. “Fresh has taken on an expanded meaning, and solving for this new interpretation is really imperative to capture and retain customers,” she says.
As the Daymon white paper “From Shopper to Advocate: The Power of Participation” makes clear, fresh has become “the gateway to shopper loyalty.” To win consumers’ trust, grocery retailers must succeed in engaging customers at multiple touchpoints on the store perimeter and even before they walk into store — delighting shoppers with delicious samples, a cornucopia of colors and fragrances, high-energy food prep and cooking demonstrations, access to community resources such as representatives from local businesses or nonprofits, opportunities for “co-creation” and “personalization,” and more.
Under this broader definition, fresh could apply to a health & beauty section that allows shoppers to sample various botanical skincare products and aromatherapy oils, a wellness department coordinated by a registered dietitian nutritionist (RDN) who can help customers navigate the store and shop for their unique dietary needs, an in-store exhibition showcasing the work of local artists and craftspeople, or even a 3-D printer that lets shoppers scan photos and create ceramic figurines of themselves and loved ones (available at several Asda stores in the United Kingdom).
As West Des Moines, Iowa-based Hy-Vee demonstrates, fresh can also be a portal to a company’s values. For example, customers who shop at the Midwestern chain’s more than 245 stores are assured that the sushi in the retailer’s Nori Sushi bars is 100 percent responsibly sourced as are the many species of fish, mollusks and crustaceans sold in the fresh seafood department, from barramundi to Alaskan king crab legs to oysters. Indeed, Greenpeace ranks Hy-Vee among the top grocery retailers for seafood sustainability. Going the extra mile to ensure quality and safety, Hy-Vee also voluntarily employs a full-time U.S. Department of Commerce seafood inspector at its wholly owned Perishable Distributors of Iowa (PDI) subsidiary in Ankeny, Iowa.
Hy-Vee’s produce department also reflects the company’s commitment to environmental sustainability, specifically food waste reduction. The retailer has earned recognition, including a 2017 award from Store Brands for “Best Store Brand Merchandising Idea,” for the way it champions The Misfits, cosmetically challenged produce supplied by Eden Prairie, Minn.-based Robinson Fresh, which brought the Misfits concept and brand to the United States. (The brand originated with Redhat Co-operative in Alberta, Canada.)
Hy-Vee, which has sold nearly 2 million pounds of the misshapen, off-size or slightly discolored but otherwise delicious fruits and vegetables, “is a good example of a company that has embraced the program holistically, from sustainability to a consistent eating experience,” says Craig Arneson, general manager of Robinson Fresh. “It is paramount to the success of the Misfits program to have collaboration at all levels of the organization.”
Approximately 20 SKUs of The Misfits are available at any time, with the specific choices depending on the season. “Much of the product was left in the field or destroyed in the past, so the Misfits program provides a sustainable outlet for a wider range of production,” Arneson explains. In addition, to reducing waste and providing customers with affordable produce, the program helps support growers financially.
Meeting consumer demand
Winning over shoppers in the fresh realm requires meeting consumer demand for both healthful products and on-the-go convenience, notes Jeff Oberman, vice president of trade relations for the Washington, D.C.-based United Fresh Produce Association. One retailer that excels in this domain is Lowes Foods in Winston-Salem, N.C. The retailer’s stores have a “Pick & Prep” station, allowing shoppers to select their own fresh fruits and vegetables and then drop them off for customized cutting.
“So if you want to purchase a mango but don’t know how to cut it, you can bring it to the Pick & Prep station, and a trained produce professional will cut it for you,” Oberman says. Many customers also use the service to save time while they continue to shop, specifying whether they want an item, be it an onion or a watermelon, diced, sliced or chopped. Consumers can even order this service for produce purchased online from Lowes via Instacart.
Besides convenience, contemporary consumers, especially millennials, are demanding transparency and, when feasible depending on the season and type of product, local sourcing, Oberman points out. “Consumers want to know how these products are produced and how they’re grown. They want to know that the people who harvest the crops are ethically treated,” he says. “And it’s not just with produce; it’s with everything in the store.”
Consumers, moreover, increasingly expect to find organic offerings, but the demand for organic varies widely, depending on the region and shoppers’ income levels.
In southwestern Indiana, for example, where Baesler’s Market operates three stores — in Terre Haute, Linton and Sullivan — shoppers do ask for organic items but demand is not robust, says Bob Baesler, the company’s president. Nevertheless, he maintains a 12-foot section of organic produce in the less-rural Terre Haute store, which is in a small city of approximately 61,000 people.
“We don’t sell a lot of it, but there are people who want it, so we try to have it for them,” Baesler says, noting that Baesler’s Market’s commitment to delighting customers in the fresh arena is one way the retailer differentiates itself from Dollar General, which has several stores in the communities Baesler serves.
In a rural locale with many farms, consumers are more apt to prioritize local sourcing because of the positive impact on the area’s economy; it’s not simply a trendy millennial-driven preference.
Baesler’s Market carries local corn, carrots and watermelons. “We attempt to do as much local as we can, but there is a limit to what we can do,” Baesler says. Not only does Indiana have a limited growing season, but also local producers can’t meet the retailer’s need for many items during the warmer months.
“Outside of the three mentioned items, [local farms] don’t have enough quantity to where we can just depend on them all summer for tomatoes or all summer for cucumbers,” he elaborates. Still, customers appreciate the retailer’s efforts to sell local produce, and Baesler diligently works with the area’s farmers to bring more locally grown items into the three stores. For example, Baesler’s this year partnered with a Terre Haute organic farm called The Pickery, where customers normally go to pick their own vegetables. “On a regular basis, [the owner] would bring us eggplants and other items. But the supply was such that it only lasted a couple of days,” Baesler says.
Local sourcing is a challenge everywhere, and some larger supermarket chains are helping to defray farmers’ production costs to ensure a supply of fresh products that can meet rising consumer demand, Oberman adds.
Though still in the experimental phase and not a solution to the local supply challenge, an emerging trend among grocery retailers is “hyperlocal” store-grown produce. Retailers are beginning to grow their own leafy greens and herbs in rooftop greenhouses, on the sides of stores in hydroponic vertical gardens, and — as H-E-B-owned Central Market is doing — in a mobile container just outside of a store that could be moved from one location to another.
Behind one of Central Market’s Dallas stores, a 53-foot custom-built Growtainer, made from a recycled shipping container, provides 480 square feet of climate-controlled vertical production space. The miniature farm features proprietary technology for ebb-and-flow irrigation, a water-monitoring system, and energy-efficient light-emitting diode (LED) production modules specifically designed for multilayer cultivation, according to Glenn Behrman, president of Dallas-based Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) Advisors, which developed the Growtainer specifically for Central Market.
Behrman points out that the Growtainer has been a highly successful “innovation project” for the retailer. “They can’t keep up with the demand,” he says.
The hydroponically grown leafy greens are merchandised in the store’s produce department on an attractive mobile “Store Grown Produce” display made of wood. The greens are wrapped in plastic with a label branding the product as “Central Market Store Grown Lettuces,” with 10 varieties of lettuce listed and the specific type of lettuce in the package indicated with a checkmark.
For the Growtainer to work, “you need a fast-turnover, shallow-root kind of crop” and substantial commitment from the retailer, Berhman says.
Foraying into fresh-prepared
Addressing customers’ need for convenience and their growing enthusiasm for ethnic foods, grocery retailers across the country are expanding their deli departments into “grocerants,” establishing hot bars, salad bars, signature dishes, made-to-order stations and even fast-casual and full-service restaurants.
Hy-Vee has significantly ramped up its foodservice options at its new Minnesota stores. But smaller chains are also favorably impressing customers with expanded fresh-prepared offerings. For example, since KFC left the area, Baesler’s Market has developed a big fan base for its signature fried chicken, Baesler says.
The Indiana retailer also emphasizes quality and consistency in its deli meats and salads. “Some retailers will switch suppliers, but customers get tired of things not tasting the same,” Baesler notes. “We’ve been selling the same slaw for 20-some years and the same potato salad.”
The company does take risks, though it may tread more cautiously than urban and college town grocers with a younger population base. For example, when the retailer first added a hot bar in 2015, a number of customers complained because they didn’t like the change. But the hot bar has done “exceptionally well in sales,” according to Baesler, who notes that he has expanded the number of soup wells from three to six because soup is so popular with his customers, even during the summer. The hot bar offerings at Baesler’s include Mexican, Italian and Chinese dishes as well as American comfort food such as meatloaf.
Customized convenience seems to be the watchword of another supermarket chain, Skogen’s Festival Foods, which owns 31 stores in Wisconsin. In addition to a rotating hot bar menu featuring BBQ Monday, Taco Tuesday, Stir Fry Wednesday, Italian Thursday and Supper Club Friday, the De Pere, Wis.-based chain offers a “Daily Deli Deal.”
“For instance, on Mondays we offer four large pieces of lasagna and a loaf of Italian bread for $10,” says Lars Batzel, fresh department senior director at Festival Foods. “On Tuesday, we have $6 rotisserie chickens. On Wednesday, we have $5 sushi.”
Festival Foods also provides heat-and-eat prepared meals. Shoppers can choose a protein-based entrée and one or two side dishes at different price points. “These have done very well for us,” Batzel says.
Additionally, the retailer is venturing into own-brand meal kits, which are being rolled out to more than 75 percent of the retailer’s stores. What’s more, Festival Foods is considering adding made-to-order stations at some locations, beyond the well-equipped deli service counters. “There are a lot of logistical and equipment challenges that go into this, so we’re trying to figure out the right approach for us,” Batzel says.
Find a niche
In highly competitive markets, retailers need to find a niche in fresh where they can outshine rivals. This could be a bakery department that is the go-to place for birthday cakes, holiday pastries and even wedding cakes. Or perhaps the bakery is situated near the front of the store so shoppers can enjoy the aroma of fresh-baked bread as they walk in.
The often unsung dairy department also provides opportunities for differentiation, notes Julie Quick, Plano, Texas-based Shoptology’s senior vice president for insights and strategy. Retailers can use sampling to drive trial of flavored milks, newfangled non-dairy milks, new cheeses and yogurts. Supermarkets should also tell the stories of the farms that supply the store brand milk and other products in the dairy case, she suggests.
“Dairy has to actively managed and credentialed as a fresh department,” Quick emphasizes. “Retailers need to work harder to ensure freshness and share the origins of the product. The wholesomeness and goodness of the product needs to be merchandised.”
Consumers are looking for products with protein, so buzz can be built around milk’s naturally high protein content, adds Susan Stege, senior director of category and shopper insights for Dallas-based Dean Foods. Milk is also a natural product, ideal for modern consumers who are gravitating toward less-processed foods, she says, noting that positive dairy messaging can be established through the retailer’s website and social media channels.
As Stege puts it, “You can’t get any more ‘clean label’ than milk.”
Schierhorn, the managing editor of Store Brands, can be reached at cschierhorn@ensembleiq.com.
INFARM Has Started Its Expansion To Switzerland
INFARM has started its expansion to Switzerland. Infarm, the pioneer in vertical farming, has joined forces with MIGROS, the largest retailer in Switzerland, to distribute the freshest salads, herbs and produce across the Alps.
The first Infarm will be in Zurich soon. We are very glad to be close to the urban farming revolution!
Gotham Greens, Natalie’s Juices And Red Sun Farms Tomatoes Sprouting In Strack's Produce Department
August 9, 2018
What’s new in the Strack & Van Til produce department? A fresh crop of locally grown, sustainable and made clean products to offer customers more choices. These include Gotham Greens, Red Sun Farms Tomatoes and Natalie’s Orchid Island Juices.
Gotham Greens are premium quality produce grown under the highest standards of food safety and environmental sustainability in a climate-controlled, urban rooftop greenhouse facility in Chicago.
The proximity of the Chicago greenhouse to Northwest Indiana ensures that the Gotham Greens lettuces and leafy greens you buy at Strack & Van Til are at peak freshness.
“Products are harvested just a few hours before they reach our shelves," said Bob Hylka, Strack & Van Til director of produce. "They’re grown responsibly, which means they’re free of harmful chemicals like pesticides, insecticides, and herbicides.”
Hylka said Gotham Greens also contain no GMOs; in fact, they’re verified by the Non-GMO Project, a nonprofit organization committed to preserving and building sources of non-GMO products, educating consumers and providing verified non-GMO choices.
Because nothing says healthy goodness like biting into a juicy, red ripe tomato, Strack & Van Til is proud to add Red Sun Farms Tomatoes to its produce department, with varieties hand selected for their unique characteristics to deliver the best quality and taste.
Red Sun Farms Tomatoes are grown by the largest greenhouse operation in North America, which controls the entire process from seed selection to harvest to delivery to your local Strack & Van Til store. “That means our consumers can depend on safety, freshness, and flavor,” Hylka said.
You can also be sure that 100 percent of Red Sun Farms Tomato seeds are non-GMO, plus they’re grown sustainably in high-tech, climate-controlled greenhouses. All water and nutrients not consumed by the plants are recycled; the water is conditioned and sterilized before being fed back into the greenhouse. No pesticides, insecticides, or herbicides are used in the growing process.
Fresh fruits and vegetables are just some of the items you’ll find in the Strack & Van Til produce department; check out the delicious varieties of natural juices on the shelves, including the new, award-winning Natalie’s Orchid Island Juices.
Hylka noted that Natalie’s Orchid Island Juices are minimally processed. “That translates into fresh, clean label juice.”
Natalie’s uses quality ingredients, by hand selecting and sourcing the finest fruits and vegetables available. It handcrafts its juice in small batches to ensure authentic freshness and clean, nutritious juice made with integrity.
Owned by women and family driven, Natalie’s has provided families with a source of authentic nutrition for more than 30 years, and now customers can enjoy that deliciousness and quality when shopping at Strack & Van Til.
The #1 Fastest-Growing Brand In The Entire Store
The #1 Fastest-Growing Brand In The Entire Store
The Wonderful Company is the #1 fastest-growing consumer packaged goods (CPG) company. Their 13% rise makes them the only multibillion-dollar company with double-digit sales growth. That's according to a recent study by the Boston Consulting Group and market research firm IRI. The Wonderful Company alone accounts for 5% of all growth in CPG. And they're the #1 growth leader in produce.
More than half of U.S. households already buy a Wonderful product each year. And this study clearly demonstrates The Wonderful Company's convenient, healthy offerings resonate with consumers.
The Wonderful Company has invested more than $3 billion in capital and $1 billion in marketing over the last decade. As consumers increasingly seek nutritious choices, Wonderful is on track to keep growing.