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QFCs In Bellevue And Kirkland To Begin Growing Produce In-Store
QFCs in Kirkland and Bellevue appear to be taking the whole farm to table concept to a new level, since the grocer will now be growing some of their own food as well. It’ll probably require a new aisle
BY MYNORTHWEST STAFF
DECEMBER 1, 2019
QFCs in Kirkland and Bellevue appear to be taking the whole farm to table concept to a new level, since the grocer will now be growing some of their own food as well. It’ll probably require a new aisle.
The Kroger Company has teamed up with urban farming network Infarm that would bring modular living produce farms to a few of their stores. This doesn’t mean there will be vast fields in the QFC parking lot; rather, they will allow some of their produce to grow onsite using hydroponic technology, potentially producing items like kale, cilantro, and lettuce, among others.
QFC’s new self-checkout cameras may send you back to human checkouts
“Kroger believes that everyone deserves to have access to fresh, affordable and delicious food, no matter who you are, how you shop or what you like to eat,” said Suzy Monford, Kroger’s group vice president of fresh. “Our partnership with Infarm allows us to innovate by combining ground-breaking in-store farming technology with our passion for fresh, local produce and ecological sourcing. Kroger is excited to be first to market and offer the best of the season, and we’re proud to lead the U.S. on this journey.”
Infarms are stackable and controlled through a cloud-based farming platform that adjusts lighting and temperature remotely. In addition to freshness, the idea is also intended to eliminate unnecessary transportation and storage.
Believe it or not, some people actually call QFC ‘The Q’
The two QFCs in Kirkland and Bellevue will be the first in the county to undertake such a partnership with Infarm, with the company planning to expand to 15 QFCs in Washington and Oregon by April, reports The Seattle Times. The new greens are expected to be ready within weeks at the two Washington locations.
UAE: DUBAI - Regions’s First Instore Hydroponic Farms Open in Carrefour
The region’s first hydroponic in-store farms were inaugurated at Carrefour, operated by Majid Al Futtaim, in the capital on Sunday. Located at the hypermarket’s stores in Abu Dhabi’s My City Centre Masdar and Yas Mall, the hydroponic farms are part of the company’s Net Positive strategy that aims to overcompensate its water and carbon footprint by 2040
25kg of Fresh Herbs, Microgreens To be Produced Everyday
Published: November 24, 2019, Staff Report
Dubai: The region’s first hydroponic in-store farms were inaugurated at Carrefour, operated by Majid Al Futtaim, in the capital on Sunday.
Located at the hypermarket’s stores in Abu Dhabi’s My City Centre Masdar and Yas Mall, the hydroponic farms are part of the company’s Net Positive strategy that aims to overcompensate its water and carbon footprint by 2040. The farms were inaugurated by Dr. Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, Minister of Climate Change and Environment.
Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Al Zeyoudi said: “The UAE spares no effort in leveraging new technologies and innovative solutions to reach high levels of sustainability across the board. In this context, MOCCAE supports technological development and innovative techniques in the agricultural sector, including vertical and hydroponic farming that reduces water consumption by at least 90% and increases the productivity of multiple agricultural products.”
Carrefour’s hydroponic farms are the result of a recently renewed memorandum of understanding (MoU) between MOCCAE and Majid Al Futtaim Retail to sell locally grown agricultural products across all Carrefour stores in the UAE and enhance the use of innovative farming methods. The two farms are the first of their kind to be installed in the region. They use 90 percent less water and less space than traditional farms to deliver around 25kg of fresh herbs and microgreens a day.
The isolated and temperature-controlled glass farming chambers were designed in line with the highest standards of hydroponics. While not accessible, the farms are visible to consumers at the stores, significantly enhancing their shopping experience. With virtually no food miles involved, customers are free to choose from a select range of herbs and microgreens, once fully grown, at the store.
UAE Minister Opens Carrefour’s Hydroponic Farms In Abu Dhabi
The UAE’s state-held news agency, Wam said that the farms are a part of the multi-billion dollar conglomerate’s Net Positive strategy that aims to ‘overcompensate’ its water and carbon footprint by 2040.
Two Farms Opened at Carrefour Stores In My City Centre Masdar, Yas
Mall, And Support Majid Al Futtaim's Net Positive Strategy
The farms were opened by UAE’s minister of climate change and environment (MOCCAE), Dr. Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi. [image: Wam]
25 Nov 2019
The UAE’s minister of climate change and environment (MOCCAE), Dr. Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi opened the region’s first hydroponic in-store farms at Majid Al Futtaim’s Carrefour stores in Abu Dhabi’s My City Centre Masdar and Yas Mall.
The UAE’s state-held news agency, Wam said that the farms are a part of the multi-billion dollar conglomerate’s Net Positive strategy that aims to ‘overcompensate’ its water and carbon footprint by 2040.
Careefour’s isolated and temperature-controlled glass farming chambers have been designed in line with the highest standards of hydroponics. Customers can choose from a select range of herbs and microgreens, once they are fully grown within the facility. The two farms, which are the first-of-their-kind to be installed in the region, use 90% less water and less space than traditional farms to deliver around 25kg of fresh herbs and microgreens each day.
The farms use 90% less water than traditional farms [image: Wam]
Speaking on the inauguration, Dr. Al Zeyoudi said: "MOCCAE supports technological development and innovative techniques in the agricultural sector, including vertical and hydroponic farming that reduces water consumption by at least 90% and increases the productivity of multiple agricultural products.
Meanwhile, chief operating officer of Carrefour UAE and head of operational excellence at Majid Al Futtaim Retail, Miguel Povedano, said: "As leaders in the retail industry, we should always be the pioneers in coming up with outstanding sustainable initiatives that leave a positive impact on our environment, economy, and society.
“As well as supplying our customers with fresh quality produce, the hydroponic farms will allow them to learn about the role of technology and innovation in the development of local agricultural production."
Kroger Brings Farming To Its Stores In Push To Get Greener (And Sell More Kale)
Visitors to Seattle-area Kroger supermarkets next week will be able to walk out with fresh parsley, cilantro and other greens grown in the store, the latest example of grocers bringing the farm right to their aisles
The grocery-store giant makes a bet on farm-to-aisle, trying to win back shoppers.
By Deena Shanker and Matthew Boyle
November 19, 2019
Visitors to Seattle-area Kroger supermarkets next week will be able to walk out with fresh parsley, cilantro and other greens grown in the store, the latest example of grocers bringing the farm right to their aisles.
Kroger’s deal with German startup Infarm includes two stores with plans for 13 more to come online by March of next year. It’s part of a broader push by the nation’s biggest traditional supermarket chain to improve sluggish sales by amping up it’s fresh-food offering, while also enhancing its environmental cred. The greens—including crystal lettuce and Nero Di Toscana kale—only need tending once or twice a week and will sell for no more than Kroger’s existing store-brand organic produce, according to Suzy Monford, Kroger’s group vice president of fresh.
“We’re removing touches in the supply chain, which is more economical and allows us to pass those savings along to customers,” Monford said in an interview. “We know that fresh food drives shopping trips and it’s a real differentiator.”
Infarm offerings grown right in the store. | Photographer: Infarm
The industry could no doubt use some buzz. Consumers have been dialing back on traditional grocery shopping for years, sparking a slew of bankruptcies and consolidation. Blame meal kits and the ease of restaurant-ordering apps. A flood of retailers, like pharmacy chains and dollar stores, have expanded into food. And when many Americans do buy groceries, it’s often via online delivery. The industry needs to win back a cohort that has largely moved on from the grocery-store trip, and offering the farm could help.
While this is Infarm’s first stateside venture, the Berlin-based company is already well established, with more than 500 farms dispersed through partnerships at more than 25 major food retailers internationally, including Edeka and Amazon Fresh in Germany, Marks & Spencer in the U.K., and Metro in France. Its farms grow a variety of herbs and leafy greens including stalwarts like parsley and kale, as well as more specialized options like green mizuna and Peruvian mint.
Kroger’s tie-up with Infarm comes during a period of robust growth for this kind of produce. In the U.S., sales of fresh herbs and spices are up 6% for the year, and leafy greens are up 9%, according to data from Nielsen. That coincides with surging investments in innovative farming methods, too. In 2013, vertical farming startups received $4.5 million in venture funding, according to AgFunder, an investor in food and ag-tech companies with an active media and research arm. In just the first half of 2019, they raised $140 million. Infarm, for its part, raised $100 million in a Series B round in June.
As these new forms of farming gain steam, the companies behind them are looking for ways to appeal to major customers and, ultimately, the consumer at the store. Brooklyn-based Square Roots builds farms inside of refurbished shipping containers, and recently announced a new partnership in Grand Rapids, Michigan, putting the containers at the headquarters for food distributor Gordon Food Service. Gotham Greens, a Brooklyn-based greenhouse grower, has six locations in New York and Chicago, including on the rooftop of a Whole Foods. Indoor vertical farming company Plenty, which raised $200 million in a Series B round in 2017 from the likes of Jeff Bezos, recently announced a soccer-field sized farm planned for Compton, California.
While farming models differ, the basic pitch remains the same: Growing food closer to the urban shopper, in computer-controlled micro-climates, means less transport, less water usage and less pesticides, fertilizer or food safety concerns, if any at all, all while delivering more shelf life, more flavor, and overall, a better eating experience.
Infarm uses a “distributed farming” format, growing its plants in centralized nursery hubs for a few days, before placing the days-old seedlings in its hydroponic modular farms in stores in the nearby area. Once Infarm’s initial partnership in a given city is well settled, it spreads out, adding customers that can all be serviced from the same hub.
Smallhold, a Brooklyn-based mushroom farm company, uses a similar model in the New York area that includes the Standard Hotel in the East Village, the trendy Lower East Side’s Mission Chinese eatery and two Whole Foods locations, with more on the way.
Smallhold’s mushroom farm at a Whole Foods in New Jersey | Source: Whole Foods Market
“It’s about finding places where you can fill a niche,” says Chris Manca, a purchasing manager for Whole Foods in the northeast region, adding that he might expand beyond oyster mushrooms to rarer varieties like lion’s mane—popular in meat-replacement dishes—in the coming months.
Retailers pay Infarm for “farming as a service,” as co-founder Osnat Michaeli describes it, which includes not just the produce itself, but also its planting and preparation for sale. Consumers can see their food growing right before their very eyes, and then take their Italian Basil or green mint home, roots still intact, to allow for the most flavorful food. “The real harvest,” Michaeli says, “happens just before eating.”
“It’s about a ‘wow factor,’” says Henry Gordon-Smith, founder and managing director of Agritecture Consulting, a global adviser to vertical farming entrepreneurs. “This is a new way to think about herbs and cooking,” Gordon-Smith says, calling the model “compelling.”
But while consumers are likely to be excited about the environmentally-positive, foodie-friendly marketing around vertical farming, the reality is not that simple. Though the aforementioned benefits, like lower water use and pesticides, are real, the energy required to power these farms can counteract some of that.
“If you had a balance sheet, the carbon footprint from energy would be a significant dirty part of vertical farming overall,” Gordon-Smith says, depending on the energy source.
Renewable energy options are sometimes available—Infarm’s Berlin hub uses 100% green energy, for example—but the requirements are about 10 times that of conventional agriculture. Infarm's model uses similar amounts of energy to produce a pound of lettuce as other indoor farming methods, like using shipping containers or large-scale plant factories, according to calculations by Agritecture, which periodically benchmarks operators to each other to analyze the environmental impacts. But there are still enough other variables to consider—plant transport, for example—that it could actually be significantly higher.
Kroger’s Monford admits that the company still has “a lot to learn” about in-store farming, but says the venture’s environmental footprint is pretty minimal. “It’s just water and light.”
Produce Will Grow On Site At Kroger's QFC Stores.
The Kroger Co. is teaming with urban farming network Infarm to bring modular living produce farms to North America, which will result in offering produce picked so fresh that consumers will be able to see the roots
Kroger Launching Living Produce Farms This Month
11/19/2019
Produce will grow on-site at Kroger's QFC stores.
The Kroger Co. is teaming with urban farming network Infarm to bring modular living produce farms to North America, which will result in offering produce picked so fresh that consumers will be able to see the roots.
The partnership between Cincinnati-based Kroger and Berlin, Germany-based Infarm marks the first-of-its-kind in the United States, according to the two entities.
The living produce farms will launch this month at two of the 15 stores planned at QFC, a Kroger banner, at locations in Bellevue and Kirkland, Washington. Using hydroponic technology, the produce will grow on site at the participating QFC stores, removing the need for extended transportation and storage and producing a more eco-conscious product, according to Kroeger. The farms are designed to scale and will provide shoppers the freshest and most sustainable living produce options available.
"Kroger believes that everyone deserves to have access to fresh, affordable and delicious food, no matter who you are, how you shop or what you like to eat," said Suzy Monford, Kroger's group vice president of fresh. "Our partnership with Infarm allows us to innovate by combining ground-breaking in-store farming technology with our passion for fresh, local produce and ecological sourcing. Kroger is excited to be first to market and offer the best of the season."
"We want to make fresh, pure, tasty and nutritious produce available and affordable for everyone," said Erez Galonska, CEO and co-founder at Infarm. "Kroger's commitment to innovation, quality and flavor makes them the perfect partner with which to launch our business in the United States and for the first time in North America."
ROMANIA: Metro Store In Bucharest Grows Its Own Aromatic Plants In Indoor Vertical Micro-Farm
German retailer Metro Cash & Carry, in collaboration with Microgreens Romania, will bring this month a smart indoor vertical micro-farm to its store in Baneasa, in northern Bucharest, that will grow aromatic plants. These fresh plants will then be sold to the store’s customers
30 October 2019
German retailer Metro Cash & Carry, in collaboration with https://microgreens.ro/, will bring this month a smart indoor vertical micro-farm to its store in Baneasa, in northern Bucharest, that will grow aromatic plants. These fresh plants will then be sold to the store’s customers.
The project’s aim is to “provide HoReCa (foodservice industry e.n.) customers with the freshest ingredients possible,” the retailer said in a press release.
The automated farming installation supports the simultaneous growth of 175 pots with micro-plants. The Metro store in Baneasa will thus grow and sell the most common aromatic plants used in restaurant kitchens, such as parsley, basil, coriander or mint.
The plants stay in the tiny greenhouse until they reach a weight of 30-40 g, which takes about two weeks, and then they are put up for sale. Production is controlled through an app that provides specific information on temperature, humidity or brightness, which allows the cultivation of plants under optimal conditions.
Metro plans to install similar in-store vertical micro-farms in five other cash & carry units in Romania.
Metro Cash & Carry entered the Romanian market in 1996 when it opened the first store under this brand in Bucharest. The group currently has 30 cash & carry units in Romania.
newsroom@romania-insider.com
(Photo source: Metro)
Indoor-Farming Company Square Roots Expands Into Michigan
Square Roots, an indoor seed-to-sales urban farm headquartered in Brooklyn, New York, will open its newest indoor farm at the Gordon Food Service headquarters in Wyoming, Michigan
September 30, 2019
An artist's rendering of the new Square Roots' indoor farm at Gordon Food Service, Wyoming, Mich. ( Courtesy Square Roots )
Today, Square Roots, an indoor seed-to-sales urban farm headquartered in Brooklyn, New York, will open its newest indoor farm at the Gordon Food Service headquarters in Wyoming, Michigan. This is the beginning of a strategic partnership that will see Square Roots’ high-tech farms built on or near Gordon Food Service locations across the continent, helping to bring hyper-local produce to customers year-round.
Link To Facebook Video - Opening of Square Roots New Michigan Farm Campus
The fact that so much has happened in just six months is credited to Square Roots’ modular, scalable farm-tech platform. The company can bring this model to any city in the world, and it can be done fast.
“As the network of farms gets larger, it gets smarter,” the company said. “Cloud-connected farms and data-empowered farmers learn from each other, enabling Square Roots to replicate success from one location to another, seamlessly. Opening the Michigan farm brings us closer to the vision of a distributed network of indoor farms, built across the world, to bring real food to people in cities while empowering thousands of next-gen leaders in urban farming.”
The opening of the new facility in Michigan has also opened up a new pool of applications for Square Roots’ Next-Gen Farmer Training Program — half of the newest applicants are from the Michigan area.
Staff for the Michigan site is already in place: Brian Mitchell, the new Farm Manager, is coming from an 87,000 square-foot indoor aquaponics facility, and the Assistant Farm Managers are Lauren Niergarth, a horticulture major from Michigan State University, and Eli Zimmer, a former Next-Gen Farmer from Brooklyn.
Major UK Supermarket Marks & Spencer Will Launch Infarm Vertical Farms In Six More London Stores
For the last few weeks, M&S shoppers have been able to purchase fresh herbs like Italian, Greek, or Bordeaux Basil, Mint, Curly Parsley and Mountain Coriander. The herbs are sold with their roots attached to maintain freshness
October 18, 2019
Infarm display of herbs at Marks & Spencer's Clapham Junction store in London | STEVE AGER
Elizabeth Rushe Contributor
I write about sustainability and food innovation in the EU.
“We believe that by offering produce grown and harvested in the heart of city, that's how we want to practise this form of agriculture - resilient and sustainable and beneficial for the planet, while meeting the needs and desires of city dwellers like Londoners,” Co-founder of vertical farming start-up Infarm, Osnat Michaeli, told me yesterday on the phone from London, speaking about Infarm’s new partnership with UK supermarket Marks & Spencer.
Marks & Spencer is a much-loved retailer in the UK, which was established 134 years ago and is known for high-quality clothing, homewares, and food products. Infarm’s hydroponic vertical farms will be launched in six more Marks & Spencer stores in central London by the end of the year, following the initial launch at the 105-year-old Clapham Junction location in early September, which has been reopened as a food hall.
For the last few weeks, M&S shoppers have been able to purchase fresh herbs like Italian, Greek, or Bordeaux Basil, Mint, Curly Parsley and Mountain Coriander. The herbs are sold with their roots attached to maintain freshness. Infarm chose London for this rollout because it represents many of the sustainability challenges that people will experience in cities over the next decade, Michaeli told Forbes.
Each of the individual hydroponic farms are cloud-connected and remotely controlled by the Infarm central farming platform, "Our farmer in the cloud," Michaeli explained. Twice a week, “infarmers” visit the farms in-store to harvest and pack the mature plants, and place new seedlings in the system.
Infarm is a Berlin-based vertical farming start-up founded in 2013, which raised $100 million in Series B funding earlier this year. With over five hundred of their hydroponic vertical farms in supermarkets (like Metro in Germany) and distribution centres around the world, which grow 200,000 plants each month, the huge number of plants and cloud-controlled system gives Infarm a vast amount of data to work with. “We improve our growing recipes on a week to week basis,” Michaeli said.
According to Infarm’s website, their vertical farms use 95% less water than soil-based farming, take up only 0.5% of the space, use zero chemical pesticides, need 90% less transportation and 75% less fertiliser.
This partnership with M&S is a model of Infarm’s goal to disrupt the supply chain, by getting rid of it. “We're redefining the entire food supply chain from start to finish,” Michaeli told me, “Instead of building huge scale farms outside of the city and then distributing produce, our approach is to distribute the farms themselves throughout the city, bringing the nutritional produce to consumers right at the point of sale.”
Other retailers in the UK are also committing resources to vertical farming. Ocado, the online supermarket, announced earlier this year that they are investing £17M in vertical farming, and the high-end department store John Lewis also shared plans to grow salads in their supermarkets with the help of LettUs Grow.
Infarm also hopes to work closely with farmers across the UK as they grow their presence there. “I believe that local producers and farmers are now and will continue to be vital to food supply needs in communities everywhere,” Michaeli says, “I hope that we can all work together to tackle some of these problems.”
I’m a freelance writer from Ireland, based in Berlin. I’m interested in the future of food and how we’re going to feed the world in the decades ahead. To learn about what exactly is going on in the soil, I spent a year training in organic horticulture in 2014, growing the likes of pumpkins, tomatoes -- and of course potatoes -- in the wilds of the northwest of Ireland. This year of training made a huge impact on me and within a few months, I changed my diet to plant-based. My background includes working for startups in Berlin and my writing on food innovation and sustainability has been published by Vice, Pacific Stand and Paste Magazine.
Can Supermarkets Contribute To Local Cultivation?
The world’s current food system is under pressure. Global population numbers keep rising significantly, and a large portion of these people already live in, and will increasingly live in cities. So, ever further away from where food is grown.
Retailers Bring Herb And Vegetable Production Closer To The Public
The world’s current food system is under pressure. Global population numbers keep rising significantly, and a large portion of these people already live in, and will increasingly live in cities. So, ever further away from where food is grown. At the same time, it is expected that the amount of available agricultural land will decrease, due to climate change and urbanization. Is vertical farming – multi-layered cultivation, with no sunlight, in urban areas - for example, in or close to a supermarket a possible solution?
Jumbo cultivates herbs in its Foodmarkt in Veghel, the Netherlands
A knowledge café about multi-layered cultivation was recently held. Here, AgriFoodTech Platform – a partnership of, among others, the Dutch Food Industry Federation and the Dutch Agricultural and Horticultural Organization - established that this type of cultivation offers opportunities to gain additional knowledge and innovating specific foods production in certain geographic contexts. This method is not, however, considered to be the one and only solution. “There is still a long way to go before it can be broadly implemented,” reports AgriFoodTech Platform on its website.
Wageningen University & Research (WUR) is also doing research on this subject and they too, see opportunities. “By growing crops in layers in a controlled environment, guarantees can be given about quantities, as well the quality, of these crops. This can happen every day of the year, regardless of the weather or climate changes.” WUR thinks vertical farming can bring about a revolution in the production of fresh vegetables.
Freight Farms’ cultivation system in a container that the Swedish supermarket, ICA, uses to cultivate vegetables on site
Savings
There are huge benefits to this, Infarm states on their website. Infarm is a German company that supplies ‘instore farms’ (modular ecosystems). These are placed in supermarkets, restaurants, and distribution centers. For example, in a 2m² mini-greenhouse in a supermarket, the same amount of vegetables can be grown as would be produced on a 400m² plot of agricultural land. In addition, no pesticides are used, 75% less fertilizer is needed, and a 95% reduction in water can be realized. The distance to the consumers is especially important to Infarm. “We believe our current food system’s biggest failure is that is is too far removed from the people it is trying to feed.”
InFarm recently installed a mini-greenhouse in two Edeka supermarkets in Münster, Germany. The regional aspect is important for Edeka. “It is just about impossible to get more local than this,” says Uwe Marx, Branch Manager in Münster’s Loddenheide suburb.
Carrefour saves food miles by cultivating fruit and vegetables on the roof of their Villiers-en-Bière branch in France
Food Miles
Food grown in or near the supermarket is, of course, also fresh. This aspect is one of the reasons, ICA – a supermarket chain in Sweden - joined forces with Freight Farms in Högskolan to grow vegetables such as butter lettuce, spinach, and herbs in a container on the supermarket’s grounds. Freight Farms – which is based in the United States - says this system offers enough room to eventually cultivate as many vegetables as would normally grow on 8.093m² of agricultural land.
The distance from ‘farm’ to the store has also been shortened to a mere 30m. ICA emphasizes the benefits of local cultivation in a press release. “Freight Farms’ technology is especially useful here in Sweden, where the short cultivation season limits the availability of products, and we are becoming more and more dependent on imported fruits and vegetables,” writes an ICA spokesperson.
Colruyt grows basil in a multi-layered system and sells the herb in its Bio Planet stores
High cost
On the other hand, multi-layered cultivation is expensive. WUR admits that, at present, it is also still not energy efficient at all. However, researchers are hard at work trying to grow products in a greenhouse, using less power. “You need much less water and CO2 than in a traditional greenhouse. This is, however, not the case when it comes to the power needed to cool and humidify the interior climate. The high internal heat shedding and the lack of natural ventilation ensure a great need for cooling and, therefore, a lot of residual heat is produced.” Not all crops are suited to vertical farming either. AgriFoodTech Platform says leafy vegetables and herbs do well inside, but that it is more difficult to cultivate plants such as wheat and potatoes in a vertical farm.
Local and overseas supermarkets are fully invested in this subject and are developing activities to grow their own herbs and vegetables on site. Most retailers indicate that freshness and reducing products’ environmental impact are crucial aspects for wanting to start cultivating their own herbs and leafy vegetables. However, customer experience plays a role too. For example, the Dutch supermarket chain, Jumbo, says on its website that it has started growing basil in its Foodmarkt in Veghel to, among other things, improve customers’ food experience.
An increasing number of retailers are beginning to grow their own vegetables. Here are some examples:
Publication date: Thu, 03 Oct 2019
Author: Martine van der Wekken
© FreshPlaza.com
Square Roots & Gordon Food Service Open Michigan Indoor Farm
The modular indoor farm, sited on less than two acres of the Gordon Food Service headquarters property, was almost immediately in production following construction completion earlier this month
September 30, 2019 - General News
(PHOTO: Square Roots) Meet the Square Roots Michigan Cohort (left to right): Rebekah Box, Winn Hermanski, Katie LaRue, Savie Sonsynath, Jacob Smaby, Jarad Jaent, Joshua Van Kleeck, Alyssa Patton, Amal Jennings.
PRESS RELEASE: Wyoming, MI, September 30, 2019
Gordon Food Service® BB #:100172, North America’s largest privately held and family-managed foodservice distributor, and Square Roots, the technology leader in urban indoor farming, today celebrated the opening of their strategic partnership’s first co-located farm at a ribbon-cutting event on the campus of Gordon Food Service’s headquarters in Wyoming, Michigan. In addition to executives and staff from both companies, guests included customers and local, state, and federal government officials. Attendees learned more about the facility, the first of its kind hosted by a broadline foodservice distributor, including a tour of the indoor farm’s operations.
In his remarks, Rich Wolowski, President and CEO, Gordon Food Service said, “We’re building exciting relationships with change agents that are helping to reshape how food is produced, prepared, and served – and Square Roots is a great example of leading-edge thinking and technology driving new solutions. We know it’s imperative that we participate in the future, today, to ensure we are relevant tomorrow, and this is a model that could help revolutionize our food systems. And it’s great that we can prove the concept in our own backyard.”
The modular indoor farm, sited on less than two acres of the Gordon Food Service headquarters property, was almost immediately in production following construction completion earlier this month. The ten cloud-connected growing units, employing sophisticated, digitally-controlled hydroponics and LED lighting systems, are projected to produce more than 50,000 lbs. of premium herbs and greens annually, or roughly the equivalent production of a traditional 50-acre farm. However, unlike more typical agriculture, the Square Roots produce will be non-GMO, pesticide-free, and harvested all year long. Initial crops will include basil, chives, and mint. The herbs will be sold to local foodservice customers in Grand Rapids as well as throughout Michigan, northern Indiana, and Ohio.
The companies noted that this first farm installation serves as a template, with ambitions to see additional indoor farms on or near Gordon Food Service’s more than two dozen distribution centers across Canada and the eastern U.S.
Tobias Peggs, Square Roots Co-founder and CEO, noted, “This partnership reflects our shared commitment to local, real food and at a scale that will serve people and communities across North America. But it’s also Square Roots’ mission to empower the next generation of leaders in urban farming. Through our Next-Gen Farmer Training Program, we train future farmers in all aspects of local food systems—from seed to shelf. And with each new Square Roots farm, the Next-Gen Farmer Training Program opens doors for more young people to start exciting careers in the agriculture industry.”
The new farm is tended by a cohort of Next-Gen Farmers selected by Square Roots as part of their unique Next-Gen Farmer Training Program. The paid, full-time and year-long commitment has attracted thousands of diverse applicants eager to be change-makers at the forefront of urban agriculture and contributing to the local, real food movement. Half of the Michigan team hails from in-state while others come from as far away as Texas and New York.
Rich Wolowski, North American President and CEO of Gordon Food Service, stated, “We are excited to be the first broadline foodservice distributor to host an urban farm, with the ability to bring fresh, hyper-local produce to our customers year-round. It’s an important example of our pursuit of innovation to better serve our foodservice customers, and our customers’ customers while answering the growing demand for fresh, nutritious and local food.”
About Gordon Food Service
Since 1897, we have delivered uncompromising quality and heartfelt service for our customers. We began as a simple butter-and-egg delivery service, and have grown to become the largest family business in the foodservice industry by upholding the same approach for over 120 years—remaining passionately committed to the people we serve. Today we serve foodservice operators in the Midwest, Northeast, Southeast, and Southwest regions of the United States and coast-to-coast in Canada. We also operate more than 175 Gordon Food Service Store® locations in the U.S., which are open to the public and provide restaurant-quality products and friendly, knowledgeable service without a membership fee. By partnering with organizations from across industries—healthcare to education, independent and chain restaurants, and event planners—we help our customers create food experiences that people choose, enjoy and remember. To learn more about Gordon Food Service visit gfs.com.
About Square Roots
Square Roots is the technology leader in urban indoor farming. Its scalable “farmer first” technology platform brings fresh, healthy food to urban areas year-round, while simultaneously training future generations of farmers. Founded in 2016 by serial entrepreneurs Tobias Peggs and Kimbal Musk, Square Roots has a mission to bring local, real food to people in cities across the world while empowering the next generation of leaders in urban farming.
Central to the Square Roots mission is a “Next-Gen Farmer Training Program”—a year-long program that puts participants at the forefront of the indoor urban farming industry while they are growing food as part of the Square Roots farm team. Using a unique and scalable technology platform, these young farmers are armed with intuitive tools, enabling them to quickly learn how to grow food that is delicious, responsible, healthy, and profitable. During their year at Square Roots, they’re also educated on plant science, food entrepreneurship frameworks, and engaging local communities—preparing them for successful subsequent leadership roles in urban agriculture. To learn more about Square Roots visit squarerootsgrow.com.
Tagged container farm, indoor farming
Sustainable Urban Farming: M&S Partners With Infarm For In-Store Cultivated Fresh Herbs
Marks & Spencer is partnering with urban farming platform infarm to deliver a range of fresh produce – including Italian basil, Greek basil, Bordeaux basil, mint, mountain coriander, and curly parsley – to some London stores, where they will be grown and harvested
16 Sep 2019 --- Marks & Spencer is partnering with urban farming platform infarm to deliver a range of fresh produce – including Italian basil, Greek basil, Bordeaux basil, mint, mountain coriander and curly parsley – to some London stores, where they will be grown and harvested. The first in-store vertical farming will be in a newly reopened South West London store and the high-end UK grocer is set to roll out vertical farming units to a further six stores by the end of the year.
Each in-store farm unit uses 95 percent less water and 75 percent less fertilizer than traditional soil-based agriculture and is capable of producing the equivalent of 400 square meters of farmland. This results in a more sustainable use of natural resources and ensures zero pesticide use.
Infarm’s groundbreaking farming technology combines highly efficient vertical farming units with the latest Internet of Things (IoT) technologies and machine learning to deliver a controlled ecosystem with the optimum amount of light, air, and nutrients, says the company.
Each unit is remotely controlled using a cloud-based platform that learns, adjusts and continuously improves to ensure each plant grows better than the last one.
“Infarm’s innovative farming platform is a fantastic example of what can happen when passionate agricultural, food and technology experts work together,” says Paul Willgoss, Director of Food Technology, M&S Food. “We operate as part of a complex global food supply chain and want to understand the emerging technologies that could help provide more sustainable solutions, while also delivering fantastic products with exceptional taste, quality, and freshness.”
Erez Galonska, co-founder and CEO of infarm adds that London represents many of the sustainability challenges that people will experience in cities over the next several decades. “By offering produce grown and harvested in the heart of the city, we want to practice a form of agriculture that is resilient, sustainable and beneficial to our planet. This is also while meeting the needs of urban communities – first in London, and in the future, in cities across the UK,” he says.
M&S is the first UK retailer to work with infarm and the partnership will be supported by the construction of a series of infarm distribution centers in and around London. These central hubs will provide the seedlings for each unit, which are then grown in-store. Infarm farmers will visit the stores at least twice a week to harvest and add new seedlings to the farm. The plants retain their roots post-harvest to maintain flavor and freshness.
Founded in 2013, infarm is one of the world’s largest urban farming platforms harvesting and distributing more than 200,000 plants each month across its network. Infarm currently operates across Germany, Switzerland, France, Luxembourg and the UK, where it has deployed more than 500 farms in stores and distribution centers.
The herb range available in M&S will all be priced at £1.20 (US$1.49)
Edited by Gaynor Selby
To contact our editorial team please email us at editorial@cnsmedia.com
BREAKING NEWS: Gordon Food Service-Square Roots Partnership’s First Indoor Farm Campus, Next-Gen Farmers
Gordon Food Service and Square Roots, the technology leader in urban indoor farming, today celebrated the opening of their strategic partnership ’s first co-located farm at a ribbon-cutting event on the campus of Gordon Food Service’s headquarters in Wyoming, MI
SEPTEMBER 30, 2019
Gordon Food Service and Square Roots, the technology leader in urban indoor farming, today celebrated the opening of their strategic partnership ’s first co-located farm at a ribbon-cutting event on the campus of Gordon Food Service’s headquarters in Wyoming, MI. In addition to executives and staff from both companies, guests included customers and local, state, and federal government officials. Attendees learned more about the facility, the first of its kind hosted by a broad-line foodservice distributor, including a tour of the indoor farm’s operations.
An artist's rendering of the new Square Roots' indoor farm at Gordon Food Service, Wyoming, Mich. ( Courtesy Square Roots )
In his remarks, Rich Wolowski, president and chief executive officer of Gordon Food Service, said, “We’re building exciting relationships with change agents that are helping to reshape how food is produced, prepared, and served — and Square Roots is a great example of leading-edge thinking and technology driving new solutions. We know it’s imperative that we participate in the future, today, to ensure we are relevant tomorrow, and this is a model that could help revolutionize our food systems. And it’s great that we can prove the concept in our own backyard.”
The modular indoor farm, sited on less than two acres of the Gordon Food Service headquarters property, was almost immediately in production following construction completion earlier this month. The ten cloud-connected growing units, employing sophisticated, digitally-controlled hydroponics and LED lighting systems, are projected to produce more than 50,000 pounds of premium herbs and greens annually, or roughly the equivalent production of a traditional 50-acre farm. However, unlike more typical agriculture, the Square Roots produce will be non-GMO, pesticide-free, and harvested all year long. Initial crops will include basil, chives and mint. The herbs will be sold to local foodservice customers in Grand Rapids as well as throughout Michigan, northern Indiana, and Ohio.
The companies noted that this first farm installation serves as a template, with ambitions to see additional indoor farms on or near Gordon Food Service’s more than two dozen distribution centers across Canada and the eastern U.S.
Tobias Peggs, Square Roots co-founder, and CEO, noted, “This partnership reflects our shared commitment to local, real food and at a scale that will serve people and communities across North America. But it’s also Square Roots’ mission to empower the next generation of leaders in urban farming.
Through our Next-Gen Farmer Training Program, we train future farmers in all aspects of local food systems — from seed to shelf. And with each new Square Roots farm, the Next-Gen Farmer Training Program opens doors for more young people to start exciting careers in the agriculture industry.”
The new farm is tended by a cohort of Next-Gen Farmers selected by Square Roots as part of their unique Next-Gen Farmer Training Program. The paid, full-time and year-long commitment has attracted thousands of diverse applicants eager to be change-makers at the forefront of urban agriculture and contributing to the local, real food movement. Half of the Michigan team hails from in-state while others come from as far away as Texas and New York.
Wolowski said, “We are excited to be the first broad-line foodservice distributor to host an urban farm, with the ability to bring fresh, hyper-local produce to our customers year-round. It’s an important example of our pursuit of innovation to better serve our foodservice customers, and our customers’ customers while answering the growing demand for fresh, nutritious and local food.”
Bringing The Infarm Urban Farming (R)evolution To The UK With Marks & Spencer
Starting today, at Marks & Spencer’s Clapham Junction store in South West London, South London, you’ll be able to find fresh infarm herbs including Italian, Greek and Bordeaux Basil, fresh Mint, Curly Parsley and Mountain Coriander (just a few of the many varieties in our catalog)
infarm
By Erez Galonska, Guy Galonska and Osnat Michaeli — founders, infarm — Indoor Urban Farming, GmbH
Just under a decade ago, my co-founders and I started to experiment with growing our own fresh produce. We had just moved to Berlin, bought a 1955 Airstream trailer, outfitted it with DIY growing shelves and started experimenting with indoor farming.
Our 1955 Airstream in the early days of infarm
We grew all sorts of greens, lettuces, herbs and microgreens. The experience of having fresh basil, mint, lettuce and arugula and many other vegetables in the dead of winter, full of flavour and beauty was amazing. We never looked back.
Since launching the experiment that would mature into our company, infarm, we’ve installed our farms in hundreds of stores and distribution centers across Germany, France, Switzerland, Luxembourg and now, for the first time, we’re expanding our business to the UK with Marks & Spencer.
Starting today, at Marks & Spencer’s Clapham Junction store in South West London, South London, you’ll be able to find fresh infarm herbs including Italian, Greek and Bordeaux Basil, fresh Mint, Curly Parsley and Mountain Coriander (just a few of the many varieties in our catalog). We’ll be in additional Marks & Spencer locations in London through the end of the year.
infarm at M&S Clapham Junction
London — like Berlin — has been experiencing a revival of restaurants, Michelin-rated chefs and international cuisine which began around the time we started infarm in 2013.
We believe that whether you’re a top chef or just running by the grocer’s to put together a meal for your family after work, your food should not have traveled more than you have. It should be fresh and alive (with the roots still on), and bursting with nutrients when it reaches your plate.
Those of you who have already seen our modular farms, perhaps at an Intermarché in Paris, Edeka in Germany, Migros in Switzerland or Auchan in Luxembourg, may be curious about what to expect when you arrive at M&S.
What you can be sure of, is that the infarm herbs you find will be full of flavour and grown sustainably and with love, right in your neighbourhood.
This is the core of the infarm (r)evolution in food. Stop by M&S Clapham Junction store and taste our herbs for yourself. And feel free to experiment with them as you cook to upgrade your favourite dishes! Find out more about us at infarm.com.
WRITTEN by infarm
Ahold Delhaize's 150-Square-Foot Store Packed With Big Tech
Ahold Delhaize is piloting a fully digital, 150-square-foot AH to go store, packed with technological innovations that make it possible for customers to buy something as if they were taking it out of their refrigerators, with no checkout or self-scan
September 05, 2019
Ahold Delhaize is piloting a fully digital, 150-square-foot AH to go store, packed with technological innovations that make it possible for customers to buy something as if they were taking it out of their refrigerators, with no checkout or self-scan. The store is located in front of a support office and will be tested with associates in the coming two months.
Under the roof of the small AH to go is an enormous amount of technology. This is how it works: the door opens automatically with a debit or credit card. In the store, customers grab the products they want. Cameras determine the position of customers (without facial recognition) and associate product items to their virtual baskets.
In addition, in-store sensors keep track of products that are taken off or put back on the shelves. When the shopping is done, customers walk to the exit where the payment takes place automatically and the door opens. Customers do not have to register in advance or download an app, which makes the payment system innovative and very accessible.
The store has been developed together with AiFi, a U.S.-based start-up. Dutch bank ING has developed the payment solution and takes care of payment processing.
Marit van Egmond, brand president of Albert Heijn, said, “This latest concept not only makes shopping very easy; due to its autonomous nature, this ‘plug and play’ store can be placed at locations where there is a (temporary) need for a small store, from offices or university campuses to residential areas under construction that do not yet have shopping facilities. A second advantage is that the store can always be open, which is useful for people who are on the road very early or very late.”
This initiative is the latest example of how Ahold Delhaize brands are experimenting with new payment solutions to help customers save time at the checkout. Albert Heijn last year opened its first checkout-free stores, where customers can pay right at the shelf with a “tap to go” card or using a mobile app. Delhaize Belgium earlier this year launched a mobile payment application, called YesWeScan, which allows customers to scan product barcodes with their smartphone, add the items to an electronic shopping basket, and then pay. And in the U.S., Stop & Shop is offering frictionless checkout using the SCAN IT! mobile app.
Square Roots, Gordon Take First Step Toward Year-Round Local Food Across The Continent
Square Roots will cut the ribbon and officially open its newest indoor farm Sept. 30 on the Gordon Food Service headquarters in Wyoming, MI
SEPTEMBER 18, 2019
Square Roots will cut the ribbon and officially open its newest indoor farm Sept. 30 on the Gordon Food Service headquarters in Wyoming, MI.
This is the beginning of a strategic partnership that will see Square Roots’ high-tech farms built on or near Gordon Food Service locations across the continent, bringing high-quality, hyper-local produce to customers all year round.
Scalable Urban Farming at Speed
Square Roots’ partnership with Gordon Food Service was announced at the end of March, and its first co-located farm is opening just six months later. This speed is possible thanks to Square Roots' modular, scalable farm-tech platform. It can bring its model — perfected in a Brooklyn parking lot — to any city in the world — and the company can do it fast.
"As our network of farms gets larger, it also gets smarter," said the company. "Cloud-connected farms and data-empowered farmers learn from each other, enabling Square Roots to replicate success from one location to another, seamlessly. Opening the Michigan farm brings us closer to the vision of a distributed network of indoor farms, bringing local real food to people in cities across the world—while empowering thousands of next-gen leaders in urban farming through our unique training program."
Of course, at the center of the Square Roots model are the farmers themselves. It’s their love for the plants that make the food taste so good. With the food system rapidly changing all around us, there’s never been a more exciting time to forge a new career in farming and contribute to the real food revolution. The Square Roots Next-Gen Farmer Training Program is an incredible opportunity for young, diverse change-makers to learn and take their place at the forefront of urban agriculture.
"Thousands of people have applied to our Next-Gen Farmer Training Program, and the demand to join our Michigan farm has been no different," the company said. "We saw an incredibly diverse group of applicants, with about half local to the Michigan area, and others from as far away as Singapore and Nigeria. (Sadly, we’re only open to U.S. residents right now.) Diversity in perspective is essential for the agriculture industry to build a more complete and sustainable food system — one that can feed 10 billion people by 2050. For example, one of our new farmers, Winn Hermanski, is moving from Texas where he is leaving a career in software sales to join the real food revolution. His understanding of various business models comes with a personal passion for creating solutions for growing urban centers.
Meanwhile, Savevone Sonsyanth, a pre-med graduate from Ferris State University, is bringing her love for real food with practical biology experience and an interest in human wellness to a new career in agriculture. It feels like a natural next step. However, the reality is that there are very few opportunities across the world for young people to make this leap. We’re humbled by these stories as it becomes clear that the Next-Gen Farmer Training Program is captivating the minds of so many young people from across the globe and that so many people are eager to help us figure out a new, sustainable food system. One that is ultimately better for people, the planet, and the economy. We’ll be featuring all of our Next-Gen Farmers on the blog over the course of their year with Square Roots, so keep an eye out for their stories."
The company has also been fortunate to attract exceptional talent to the management team in Michigan. Brian Mitchell, new farm manager, joined the company from an 87,000-square-foot indoor aquaponic facility in Minnesota. And joining Square Roots as assistant farm managers are Lauren Niergarth, a horticulture major from Michigan State University, and Eli Zimmer, a former Next-Gen Farmer from the company's Brooklyn farm. Zimmer’s advancement to farm management is just one example of the Next-Gen Farmer Training Program creating pathways to leadership roles for young farmers.
The company said it is thrilled to be working with Gordon Food Service to bring this farm to life and empower so many young people to become leaders in urban farming while supplying local buyers with delicious food, year-round. “Customers want fresh, locally grown food all year round,” said Chief Executive Officer of Gordon Food Service Rich Wolowski. “We’re now on a path to do that at scale with Square Roots.”
Ultra-Locally Grown - Urban Farming Takes Off In Germany
Recent experiments in sustainability mean you can now purchase shrimp from Bavaria and pike perch from Berlin. "Urban gardening" promises healthy and fresh products without long transportation routes
Recent experiments in sustainability mean you can now purchase shrimp from Bavaria and pike perch from Berlin. "Urban gardening" promises healthy and fresh products without long transportation routes.
Photos: Diephotodesigner.de
September 03, 2019
When Christian Echternacht gets invited to dinner, he likes to bring tilapia and basil rather than wine or flowers. His friends have grown used to it by now. They know that the fish and the plants have something in common: Both are harvested by Echternacht himself. They make great fish burgers topped with basil mayonnaise.
The ingredients prosper in the urban farm that Echternacht has run with his partner, Nicolas Leschke, for several years. It's located in central Berlin, on the grounds of the Malzfabrik, a startup hub in the city's Schöneberg district.
Tilapia at various stages of growth swim around in 13 different tanks, their skin varying shades of silver and pink. The fish don't weigh much when they arrive at Echternacht's ECF Farmsystems, as his company is called, but after a few months in his tanks, they plump up to half a kilogram (1.1 pounds) and are ready for harvesting.
Next door on this warm summer's day, shirtless gardeners are working in the greenhouse where they grow basil from seed, an intensely aromatic sea of leaves. The plants sit atop gigantic grow tables onto which water from the fish tanks is diverted -- filtered and full of nutrients. The water contains ammonia from fish excrement and is transformed into optimal fertilizer by bacteria. This symbiotic circuit made up of fish farming (aquaculture) and plant cultivation in water (hydroponics) is called aquaponics, a technique that is thought to have been used hundreds of years ago in China and by the Mayans.
The Berlin duo markets their products as "capital city tilapia" and "capital city basil," and they are part of an international movement that seeks to bring food production closer to consumers in the city, thus making it more sustainable. Doing so is an absolute necessity, because traditional rural agriculture and forestry is responsible for 23 percent of manmade greenhouse gas emissions.
Bringing Production Closer to Home
Alternative forms of food production, such as city farms, are currently just as popular as modern aquaculture facilities. Saltwater shrimp are being raised in the village of Langenpreising, near Munich; and in supermarkets and restaurants, one increasingly finds futuristic glass cabinets from the Berlin-based startup Infarm, where consumers can watch herbs and lettuce grow and buy them freshly harvested.
All the producers are united by the mission of producing high-quality natural foodstuffs using modern technology and unconventional methods. In their indoor gardens, they use no pesticides for growing vegetables and eschew antibiotics in aquaculture facilities. Aquaponics has the added benefit that 90 percent of the water is reused. Shorter transportation routes result in fresher food and lower emissions, especially due to the reduced need for refrigeration.
A surprising number of those involved in such production are self-taught or mid-career beginners and don't have backgrounds in agriculture.
That also holds true for Christian Echternacht. He initially studied medicine before founding an internet agency in the mid-1990s. Later, he spent a few years on the road with Roxy Music icon Brian Eno, helping out with his video installations.
His new career was born out of his interest in high-quality foodstuffs, the 48-year-old explains, and the beginnings were rather modest. He initially used a shipping container for the fish tanks, and he built a greenhouse on his roof. The remains of this container farm can still be seen on the premises of the Malzfabrik in Schöneberg, just a few meters from the current facility, which is 1,800 square meters in size (almost 20,000 square feet) and cost around 1.4 million euros to build. The money came from private investors and from the Investitionsbank Berlin, a state owned development bank.
The early years were difficult. The city farmers soon had to abandon their hopes of a completely circular economy in which nutrient-rich fish water would be cleaned by the plants' roots and sent back to the fish tanks. "We realized that for optimal results growing the plants and raising the fish, we needed water with different pH values."
They also experimented with a wide variety of different sorts of vegetables -- from eggplants to tomatoes to peppers -- before ultimately arriving at basil. And why did they choose a fish species that originated in Africa? Primarily because it is particularly efficient at utilizing food: 1.4 kilos of food produces 1 kilo of fish. Furthermore, the species is rather undemanding. "We would also like to raise pike perch," Echternacht says, "but they are sensitive, require peace and quiet and are quick to stop eating if conditions aren't perfect."
'The Experimentation Phase Is Over
Echternacht and his partner also experienced a steep learning curve when it came to marketing their products. Initially, they tried to sell on-site in addition to offering a subscription produce box for 15 euros a week. For a time, they also had a stand at a market hall in the district of Kreuzberg. But it was a partnership with the supermarket chain Rewe that provided the breakthrough. Rewe now buys up the farm's entire production of basil, with 7,500 plants per week ending up in stores in the region just one day after harvest. The price at the store is around 2 euros per plant. Currently, more than 400,000 basil plants and around 30 tons of fish are produced each year at the facility right in the heart of Germany's capital city.
"The experimentation phase is over and we're going to be profitable this year," says Echternacht, though the work done by the three gardeners and two fish farmers is only part of the business plan. The farm, after all, is also a showroom, with tours almost every day for schoolchildren and people interested in the facility from around the world. Just recently, Echternacht hosted a delegation from Bangladesh who were interested in learning more about aquaponics.
Echternacht and his partner have also branched out into consulting, offering feasibility studies for individual projects at a price of 15,000 euros in addition to planning complete facilities. Farms designed by the team are currently operating in Brussels and in Bad Ragaz, Switzerland.
Traditional farms will always cover the lion's share of the demand, Echternacht says, but he says his farms show that agriculture in city centers is also a viable option. Far from being a short-lived trend, he believes the model presents a real alternative. "It makes economic sense for any Germany city with a population of more than 500,000, so they will spread."
Another Berlin-based produce start-up is located just a few kilometers away -- one that is currently working on an international growth strategy. The founders of Indoor Urban Farming, known as Infarm for short, have only recently secured funding for their expansion. The venture capital firm Atomico invested tens of millions, accounting for a significant share of a financing round totaling $100 million. It would seem that even large investors from the tech industry have faith in the concept of urban produce cultivated indoors.
Infarm was founded by three Israelis who moved to Berlin six years ago from La Gomera in the Canary Islands, where they grew a broad array of vegetables for their own consumption. Once they moved to Berlin, they were put off by the quality of standard vegetables at the supermarkets. "The vegetables only had an echo of the flavor that we had grown used to from our own," says co-founder Osnat Michaeli. But they were faced with the problem of too little sun and no garden of their own. So, they began growing lettuce and cherry tomatoes in their apartment -- and the very first harvest was so good that they decided to professionalize the operation.
'We Sell Living Plants'
They developed mini greenhouses that look a bit like glass display cases. Inside, the herbs and lettuce grow on plastic trays, arranged on seven levels -- a principle known as vertical farming, the goal of which is to grow lots of produce in a tight space.
"We have a specific strategy for each seed," says head biologist Ido Golan as he stands in the corridor between dozens of growing cabinets at company headquarters. "The basil here is currently sleeping," he says, pointing to an incubator where the grow lamps have been switched off. The incubators are computer controlled in an effort to create the ideal growth conditions for each plant, which can mean simulating a Mediterranean climate for many of the herbs.
The plants' roots are in water into which nutrients are added by way of canisters in the floor of the cabinets. That means that each of the miniature greenhouses is completely autonomous from the others. Once the lettuce and herb plants reach maturity, they are only separated from their root balls at the supermarket. "We sell living plants, which makes a huge difference," says Golan. Standard produce, he says, loses valuable vitamins and antioxidants during transportation. "Normal growing practices are focused primarily on keeping produce fresh longer so they can withstand the transportation and storage phases. Nutrition and taste are last on the list of priorities."
There are already around 200 connected and remote-controllable Infarm cabinets in German supermarkets, with an additional 150 at wholesalers. The company hopes that the number will rise to over 1,000 by the end of the year and they are currently focusing on expansion throughout Europe. It's not the vertical farms themselves that Infarm is selling, though, but the produce inside. Supermarket operators and wholesalers then sell the produce onward at a markup. Infarm employees take care of the harvesting and restocking, referring to the business model as "farming as a service."
Yet the reliance on grow lamps raises questions about energy consumption -- concerns that Infarm head Michaeli immediately counters: "We rely on green energy and our CO2 footprint is less than 20 grams per plant. A traditionally produced head of iceberg lettuce is responsible for many times more than that.
At its production site in the Berlin district of Tempelhof, the company isn't just producing seedlings for supermarkets, but also for Germany's star chef Tim Raue, whose name is written on two of the vertical farming units. At the moment, they contain Peruvian basil, a special type of coriander and a kind of edible flower. Because he farms independently of climactic zones and seasons, Golan is also able to handle special requests. The biologist pulls a stalk of arugula from a harvest container that produces a wasabi-like aroma in your mouth. He also raves about a rare type of oregano found in the Middle East and coveted by Moroccan chefs.
Restaurants are important buyers for most of the new urban farming operations. They include the one belonging to Fabian Riedel, who has established a modern aquaculture facility in Langenpreising, located just northeast of Munich. The 36-year-old is actually a lawyer by training, but these days, his mobile phone contains the numbers of several high-end chefs, who are able to place orders directly via WhatsApp. As proof, he reads a recent message from a chef on Austria's Wörthersee lake: The previous day, the chef wrote, Jon Bon Jovi ate at his restaurant and praised his food. Now, the chef needed to lay in fresh supplies.
Raising Shrimp in Bavaria
The supplies grow in a large warehouse in an industrial zone in the town, not far from the Munich airport. Behind a hygienic gate that leads to rooms containing eight shallow pools, the climate is tropical, with high humidity and temperatures above 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit). That's how the pool residents, of the species litopenaeus vannamei, prefer it. The shrimp species is native to mangrove forests, but here in Bavaria, the grayish-blue animals seem to be doing just fine. The edges of the pools are lined with white curtains because the creatures can sometimes jump quite high out of the water.
Riedel buys the shrimp as larvae for around 15 euros per 1,000 and then spends three to four months feeding them a nutritious diet of peas, wheat and sustainably produced fish meal. They are then caught in fish traps, killed with electricity and packed by hand to be sold in select supermarkets and through the company's own online shop. About half of the shrimp go to restaurants.
Riedel says that although his operation "may not be romantic, it is a contemporary industrial farming enterprise." In contrast to production in Asia, he says, no mangroves are harmed, no water is polluted and no antibiotics are used -- and because transportation distances are short, there is no need to freeze the shrimp. They can even be eaten raw in the form of sashimi or tartare.
'Indoor Farming Will Play a Significant Role'
The launch of his exotic business concept of raising shrimp in Bavaria wasn't exactly easy. The state of Bavaria provided a significant financial grant, but Riedel's co-founder soon backed out for health reasons. Later, there was a several-month period with larvae supply difficulties. Riedel says he also initially underestimated the seasonal demand for fish. "Having only a single product is risky," he says. These days, his brand CrustaNova also sells caviar, lobster and salmon from other producers with similar quality standards. He says the company has become profitable and is investing in growth. His facility can be expanded modularly and he has secured the neighboring property.
For now, Riedel only sells around 30 tons of product each year, making him something of a niche producer, just like the urban farmers in Berlin. But it doesn't have to stay that way. In the United States and Asia, larger aquaponic facilities are in operation and one company is trying to establish a mass-production shrimp farm on land.
Infarm co-founder Michaeli says she believes the development is unavoidable. "Because of climate change and depleted soil, we need methods to produce more with fewer resources. Indoor farming will play a significant role."
CEA Advisors & Farminova Plant Factory Join Forces For Global Cooperation
For future projects developed jointly, CEA will provide consulting, marketing, project development and operations expertise, contributing its best-in-class vertical farming experience and Farminova will provide R & D support, HVAC systems, Control systems and its proprietary modular growing systems including its scalable next-generation, fully automated Plant Factory system
CEA ADVISORS LLC (CEA), a leading global vertical farming consultant, manufacturer and developer and Farminova Plant Factory (Farminova), a one-stop vertical farm technology provider have formed a strategic partnership to jointly develop future vertical farm projects for supermarkets and other commercial and industrial end users worldwide.
For future projects developed jointly, CEA will provide consulting, marketing, project development and operations expertise, contributing its best-in-class vertical farming experience and Farminova will provide R & D support, HVAC systems, Control systems and its proprietary modular growing systems including its scalable next-generation, fully automated Plant Factory system.
Glenn Behrman, CEA Founder and President, commented, “We are thrilled to collaborate with Farminova in developing our combined pipeline of vertical farming projects. This partnership recognizes the value of our company and strategy, and significantly expands both CEA’s and Farminova’s reach in the vertical farming sector while leveraging our respective strengths. We are extremely impressed with Can Hakan Karaca, Chairman of Parent Company, Cantek Group and the Farminova management team and believe its growing suite of best-in-class Plant Factory solutions is the perfect complement to our mission. Importantly, we share the same approach to pursuing a model in building vertical farms that are focused on water conservation, energy efficiency, labor savings, automation, optimization and are scalable while always focused on economics.
Can Hakan Karaca, Cantek Chairman stated, “We believe that the CEA and Farminova alliance in vertical farms is an important step forward for the industry, with the potential to serve a full range of commercial clients, including grocery retailers worldwide with automated farms capable of producing substantial quantities of both food and non-food products. As a proven leader in the vertical farming sector, CEA is the ideal partner for us. They have a demonstrated track record of success in developing vertical farms and many years of industry experience”.
“The Farminova growing systems are backed by many years of manufacturing expertise including HVAC & Environmental systems, Control systems, automation and supported by a team of professionals with deep expertise in Horticulture, R & D, quality control, and sales and marketing. In combination, CEA and Farminova will be able to provide a complete range of solutions, from growing systems and technologies for both food and non-food production, which we believe is a significant competitive advantage. We are very excited about this strategic partnership with CEA and look forward to working with them on providing customized Controlled Environment Plant Factory solutions for industry.”
Contact Information:
Mr. Erdem Aksan
erdem.aksan@farminova.com
Farminova Plant Factory
Organize Sanayi Bolgesi 3, Kisim 25. Cad. No:14 Antalya, Turkey
www.farminova.com/En
Fresh Out of The Box
Shipping containers, the vectors of globalisation that were forged in the first instance to ferry goods thousands of miles around the earth, are now being used to grow fresh produce that will be consumed in their immediate vicinity
Wednesday 14th August 2019, London
As interest in urban farming continues to grow, modular, closed-loop production units could spark a horticultural revolution
A growing phenomenon that is reshaping fresh produce supply chains. Shipping containers, the vectors of globalisation that were forged in the first instance to ferry goods thousands of miles around the earth, are now being used to grow fresh produce that will be consumed in their immediate vicinity. What’s more, having made international markets more accessible to all, the containers now house technology so advanced that even someone with the most basic, rudimentary knowledge of horticulture can control and oversee the cultivation within.
Excitement about the potential of urban farming continues to build, with the idea of producing closer to market – using fewer resources and arguably boosting quality in the process – attracting plenty of interest, not to mention investment. Earlier this year, Italian start-up Planet Farms unveiled a plan to build Europe’s largest and most advanced vertical farm by spring 2020 in Cavenago, halfway between Milan and Bergamo. The farm will eventually extend across 9,000m2 and supply 40,000 packs of residue-free produce per day.
It’s a trend that is by no means confined to Europe or North America. In Shanghai, a group called Orisis is working with joint venture Infinite Acres – comprising British online retailer Ocado, Dutch horticultural tech specialist Priva and US plant science firm 80 Acres Farms – to build what it says will be the city’s first indoor vertical farm, producing lettuce and other leafy greens.
However, it’s the arrival of closed-loop, container-based systems, which theoretically allow anyone to become a grower, that could really revolutionise this area of the fresh produce business. In June 2019, furniture retail giant Ikea revealed it was preparing to harvest its first hydroponically grown lettuces and serve them to customers at two of its in-store restaurants in Helsingborg and Malmö. The vegetables are grown under led lights inside specially retrofitted shipping containers using a so-called circular farming system developed by partner company Bonbio. Days later, Swedish supermarket chain ICA announced a similar venture at its Maxi Högskolan store in Halmstad, between Gothenburg and Helsingborg, using a container system called Greenery configured by Boston-based vertical farming start-up Freight Farms.
In this exclusive interview, fresh focus tech speaks to Freight Farms co-founder Brad McNamara about the company’s recent dramatic growth, about the trends he says are driving that expansion and about a future that might eventually see fresh produce cultivation become something that practically anyone with access to a laptop or smartphone can manage and control.
Brad, can you tell us what inspired you and co-founder Jon Friedman to create Freight Farms?
Brad McNamara: We were originally looking at how we could bring food production closer to the urban centre. We were looking at greenhouses, but really it came down to a better way to create accessibility and transparency in the food system. So for us, the idea was to move away from the constraints of a rooftop greenhouse to a more user-friendly model that allows a wider population to grow locally in a particular place. That’s really where it all came from.
Were you involved in horticulture in any way prior to that?
BM: Not specifically, although I had been growing on my own for some time. I got an undergrad degree from Northeastern University in Boston, then an MBA in sustainability and environmental science. Jon’s background was industrial design, so the two kind of married well. The big thing for us was, when we first started the market potential for local, transparent, sustainable, chemical-free was just at the beginning. Everybody was talking about it, but no-one had a solution for how to produce in those ways while increasing the quality and consistency of the supply chain.
The business you created, was it a fairly large operation from the start?
BM: No, at the start it was Jon and I plus a small team, very much your classic startup, starting in a simple parking lot. We knew we needed to build the technology from the ground up with the market and the farmer in mind, and we knew it had the potential to empower anyone to grow food anywhere. We built our first prototypes in 2012 and went into commercial manufacturing in 2014.
To whom did you show this original proof of concept?
BM: Well, anyone that would look in the early days! What we did was grow a wide variety of crops to test the stability and the flexibility of the system, as well as some of the concepts within it. I was constantly bringing people from the produce industry by, so we made a lot of connections with cold supply chain, produce distributors, regional specialists, as well as some of the markets around us. We talked to a lot of the wholesalers and asked them, ‘Is this product ready? or ‘Is this crop specifically what you would look for, or maybe something different?’ That was really the guiding light, to know what the market would accept. The feedback was phenomenal. Much of the time they would say ‘this is fresher, brighter, crisper than anything I’m getting now’ and they got very excited about that.
Were there any areas in which you needed to improve?
BM: Well, once we got the plants in their mouths, there weren’t really any doubts left. You know when you eat something and it’s really good? I think in the early days it was more about general education in the market, in terms of growing crops indoors, hydroponics and all of the more technical pieces which by now have been more established. On the institutional side, the concept of needing to supply more locally grown food was not something we had to explain. They were getting hammered by their customers to provide higher quality, locally sourced, clean, healthy and consistent produce.
Brad McNamara (left) with Freight Farms co-founder Jon Friedman
Around 2012, there was a lot of talk about vertical farming as a concept that might eventually see production centres constructed as entire buildings in cities. Were you aware of this trend bubbling away?
BM: We were right there at the early stage of vertical farming, so we had the benefit of building systems while seeing those conceptual drawings of space-age technology. That was great, because it was almost like watching a sci-fi movie while you’re doing it in real life. Some of those concepts did apply but we had that functional knowledge we needed to satisfy.
Many people at the time said it was science fiction, but we kept very quiet about the fact that we were already accomplishing it with our unit. That made us feel like we were on to something. We were early enough that we were growing, we had customers and we had market insight. Technology for technology’s sake wasn’t going to serve our customers appropriately.
With any transition to a new technology, there can be resistance from certain quarters. Did you encounter any concerns about bringing traditional horticulture into an urban, indoor environment?
BM: What people want to understand is about traceability – where exactly did it come from, who grew it, how was it grown. That’s been the driving question in the conversation, and less about whether it’s grown in soil or not. Indoor-grown, whether in a greenhouse, warehouse or decentralised module is pretty much mainstream at this point.
The full interview with Brad McNamara of Freight Farms is published in Fruitnet's annual fresh produce technology supplement Fresh Focus Tech.
To order your copy, contact subscriptions@fruitnet.com or +44 20 7501 0311.
Part two of this interview will be published on Monday 26 August.
SINGAPORE: Largest FairPrice Store Opens In VivoCity
The new store includes a small indoor hydroponic farm - where vegetables are grown and harvested - by local urban farming firm ComCrop. Said ComCrop chairman Allan Lim: "When FairPrice approached us and asked if they could have an indoor farm, we thought it was a great idea because we want to educate Singaporeans about hydroponics."
Above: Besides an ice cream truck and a play castle for children, the FairPrice Xtra outlet in VivoCity has an in-house vegetable farm. A special corner has also been set aside for local enterprises to promote their goods.ST PHOTO: MARK CHEONG
August 5, 2019
90,000 sq ft Hypermarket - The Size of Two Football Fields
Carries Over 35,000 Products
FairPrice's newest store is also its largest, with features such as an in-house vegetable farm, an ice cream truck, a play castle for children and spaces to repair baggage as well as bicycles.
The 90,000 sq ft FairPrice Xtra hypermarket and Unity Pharmacy officially opened its doors yesterday. The size of two football fields, it spans two floors of VivoCity mall.
Singapore's largest retailer said the store was designed to better meet customers' changing lifestyles and needs, and provide a unique brick-and-mortar shopping experience amid stiff competition from online grocers.
Above: There is also a section selling and repairing luggage. ST PHOTO: MARK CHEONG
Shoppers at the VivoCity outlet can have their food prepared for them - from cut vegetables to marinated meat and grilled seafood - for them to take home and cook without fuss. There are also dining areas for those who want to eat at the store while grocery shopping.
In addition, shoppers can buy loose quantities of grain, nuts, spices and pasta - instead of those prepacked in larger amounts.
NTUC FairPrice deputy CEO and head of channels Elaine Heng said a customer-centric approach was taken in developing the store: "We first look at our customers, what are their needs, their wants and how they are changing over time.
"Sustainability is a big agenda for us. All these initiatives are part of a wider whole-of-FairPrice push to minimise food waste and be more sustainable in our practices."
The hypermarket's shelves carry more than 35,000 products from around the world, including over 350 local brands. A special corner has also been set aside for local enterprises to promote their goods.
Minister for Trade and Industry Chan Chun Sing, who opened the store, welcomed the innovations and partnership with local firms.
"This is one of the best locations besides Changi Airport for us to promote our local brands and give them a chance to succeed," he said.
Above: Shoppers can buy loose quantities of grain and nuts, instead of those prepacked in larger amounts. They can also make their own nut butter. ST PHOTO: MARK CHEONG
VivoCity is close to Sentosa, as well as the Singapore Cruise Centre at HarbourFront, and the store has a special tourist section selling local delights, souvenirs and luggage.
Mr Chan added that the extensive array of products from around the world available on FairPrice supermarket aisles across the island is part of Singapore's plan to ensure a resilient food supply chain. "This will ensure that if anything happens in any part of the world, our supplies will not be disrupted."
He noted that FairPrice's range of products has also changed to keep pace with Singaporeans' needs and aspirations, enabling the social enterprise started by the labour movement in 1973 to maintain its position as a leading retailer.
The new store includes a small indoor hydroponic farm - where vegetables are grown and harvested - by local urban farming firm ComCrop. Said ComCrop chairman Allan Lim: "When FairPrice approached us and asked if they could have an indoor farm, we thought it was a great idea because we want to educate Singaporeans about hydroponics."
From next month, shoppers can use FairPrice's new "scan and go" mobile app to pay for items through their smartphones. It will also launch a pilot later this year where customers can buy products that are not on its shelves and have them delivered to their home.
Said Ms Heng: "In a fast-evolving retail landscape, FairPrice will continue to strengthen our core while leveraging on our capabilities to adapt and transform in serving our customers' needs."
Increasing Funding Pouring Into Vertical Farming Startups Across The World
Berlin-based vertical farming startup InFarm has raised a US$100 billion fund in its Series B investment led by Atomico with other existing investors including Balderton Capital, Astanor Ventures, Cherry Ventures and TriplePoint Capital joining
July.8, 2019 - Yining Chen
The expanding horticulture LED lighting business marks the development of high-tech farming including vertical farming which has attracted increasing investment recently. Vertical farming companies from Europe and the US have reported funds from worldwide investors.
Berlin-based vertical farming startup InFarm has raised a US$100 mllion fund in its Series B investment led by Atomico with other existing investors including Balderton Capital, Astanor Ventures, Cherry Ventures and TriplePoint Capital joining. Founded in 2013, the Germany company has developed the world’s largest urban farming platform, aiming to create self-sufficient and sustainable food production in worldwide cities. InFarm has partnered with 25 major food retailers in Germany, Switzerland, Austria and France, providing more than 150,000 plants monthly.
(Image: InFarm)
Meanwhile, Scottish vertical farm technology company Intelligent Growth Solutions (IGS) announced a £5.4 million (US$6.76 million) Series A funding led by US-based S2G Ventures. The investment will allow IGS to extend its business in software development, engineering, robotics and automation.
The company develops vertical farming solutions to boost LED grow light efficiency, enhancing plant production. Its R&D team has developed, patented and productized a IoT-enabled power and communications platform consisting of patented electrical, electronic and mechanical technologies. This technical solution enables the potential for reduction of energy usage by up to 50 per cent and labor costs by up to 80 per cent when compared with other indoor growing environments. It also can produce yields of 225 per cent compared to growing under glass.
Furthermore, Ocado, an online grocery company based in the UK, announced that it investing £17 million (US$21.3 million) in high-tech farming. The investment includes forming a joint venture focusing on vertical farming, named Infinite Acres, with Dutch horticulture technology developer Priva and US-based 80 Acres. In addition, Ocado also purchased 58 percent stake in Jones Food, who grows herbs with LED light-based vertical farm.
With the investment, the British on-line supermarket aims to improve food production with its technology expertise in robotics and AI.