USA – American grocery retailer, Kroger has partnered with German urban farming company, Infarm to launch in-store farming in select outlets in Washington, USA.
The partnership will bring modular living produce farms at two of the 15 stores planned at QFC – a Kroger banner – at locations in Bellevue and Kirkland, Washington.
Kroger’s in store farms will use hydroponic technology to produce groceries which grow on site at the participating QFC stores, removing the need for extended transportation and storage which the retailer said will produce a more eco-conscious product.
According to Kroger, the farms are designed to scale and will provide shoppers the freshest and most sustainable living produce options available.
Suzy Monford, Kroger’s group vice president of fresh said, “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.
“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 US on this journey.”
Erez Galonska, CEO and co-founder at Infarm added: “We want to make fresh, pure, tasty and nutritious produce available and affordable for everyone,”
“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.”
Infarm’s 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.
The company operates 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 UK, and Metro in France.
M&S is the first UK retailer to work with Infarm. Their partnership will be supported by the construction of a series of Infarm distribution centers in and around London.
In June this year, Infarm raised US$100 million in a Series B round to scale the company beyond Europe and grow its research and development, operational, and commercial teams.
