Indoor Vertical Farming Expands Retail Presence
Indoor vertical farming company AeroFarms is expanding the retail presence of its leafy greens in the Northeast with current long-time customers – Whole Foods Market, FreshDirect and Amazon Fresh – and with Walmart in the Mid-Atlantic region.
AeroFarms’ retail brand of leafy greens is grown using proprietary aeroponics and indoor vertical farming technologies, which yield annual productivity up to 390 times greater than traditional field farming, while using up to 95% less water and zero pesticides. The ready-to-eat greens don't require any washing, providing a major benefit to consumers looking for safety and convenience.
Due to the popularity of its leafy greens, the sustainable company is doubling its product offering with Whole Foods. For Amazon Fresh, AeroFarms recently expanded from one to five distribution centers, increasing its availability throughout the New York Tri-State Area. For FreshDirect, AeroFarms expanded from one to three distribution centers now offering same-day delivery through FreshDirect’s Express service. In addition, the AgTech company is executing a pilot initiative at select Walmart stores in Virginia where AeroFarms recently broke ground on its latest indoor vertical farm in Danville, Va.
“Our company is committed to our long-term retail partners, and we are excited to expand our distribution and penetration with them,” said David Rosenberg, co-founder and CEO of AeroFarms. “Our leafy greens are consistently praised for their quality, texture, and flavor, and our customers connect with our brand because of our authentic and transparent approach to sustainable farming. We’re looking forward to giving our customers more choice and flavor options as we continue to scale the business and broaden our reach.”
All AeroFarms leafy greens are safely grown year-round at its commercial indoor vertical farms that are certified for USDA Good Agricultural Practices, SQF Level 2 Good Manufacturing Practices, Non-GMO Project Verification and OU Kosher. It recently picked up a new award for its technology-enabled indoor-agriculture operation, receiving a 2021 CEA Brand Excellence Award for its leadership in controlled-environment agriculture.
AeroFarms is a Certified B Corp company with global headquarters in Newark, N.J. Since 2004, it has been leading the way for indoor vertical farming and championing transformational innovation for agriculture. On March 26, AeroFarms announced a definitive business combination agreement with Dallas-based Spring Valley Acquisition Corp. Upon the closing of the business combination, AeroFarms will become publicly traded on Nasdaq under the new ticker symbol ARFM.
Austin, Texas-based Whole Foods has more than 500 stores in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. The grocer is No. 24 on The PG 100 list, Progressive Grocer’s 2020 list of the top food and consumables retailers in North America, while its parent company, Seattle-based Amazon, is No. 2 on PG’s list. Ahold Delhaize USA, a division of Zaandam, Netherlands-based Ahold Delhaize and the parent company of FreshDirect, is No. 11 on The PG 100, and Bentonville, Ark.-based Walmart U.S. is No. 1 on the list.
