Kroger, Gotham Greens Expand Collaboration
As part of its mission to create a sustainable food system, The Kroger Co. is bringing greenhouse-grown produce and plant-based foods from indoor-farming company Gotham Greens to more customers across its footprint. Gotham Greens’ produce is currently available in 300 Kroger stores, with the grocer planning to expand to 1,000 stores by the end of the year.
Gotham Greens’ produce includes greenhouse-grown leafy greens and herbs. Additionally, the company’s line of plant-based dips, cooking sauces and dressings will expand to nearly 2,000 Kroger locations across the country.
[Read more: "Gotham Greens Harvests New Funds"]
"We're proud to expand our collaboration with Gotham Greens as we work together to bring fresh, local, high-quality and longer-lasting produce to our customers in an environmentally sustainable way," said Dan De La Rosa, Kroger's group VP of fresh merchandising. "Gotham Greens' state-of-the-art, climate-controlled greenhouses reduce the number of days the products spend between harvest and our store shelves, while removing unpredictable weather challenges and improving product quality and shelf life. These factors ultimately reduce food waste, both in stores and in consumers' homes."
For its part, Kroger is focused on reducing climate impact by reducing food waste and is committed to achieving zero food waste to landfill company-wide by 2025. The grocer has worked to embed retail best practices to extend freshness and reduce waste in its operations since 2017.
"Kroger and Gotham Greens share a commitment to building a more resilient and equitable food system, putting people and our planet at the forefront of everything we do," said Viraj Puri, co-founder and CEO of New York-based Gotham Greens. "With increasing climate and supply chain related issues facing our food system, it's more important than ever to bring innovative farming solutions that grow high-quality produce while using fewer precious natural resources. Gotham Greens is growing fast, and we look forward to bringing our brand to new markets in the coming months."
By summer 2023, Gotham Greens will own and operate 13 greenhouses, totaling more than 40 acres across nine states. The company produces non-GMO, pesticide-free salad greens and herbs 365 days of the year using hydroponic growing systems in sunlight-powered greenhouses.
This is the latest commitment Kroger has made to fresh foods. The grocer recently expanded its partnership with Market Wagon to bring the Kroger Farmers Market concept, which was developed as an e-commerce marketplace for local farmers and businesses, to more markets.
Serving 60 million households annually nationwide through a digital shopping experience, and almost 2,800 retail food stores under a variety of banner names, Cincinnati-based Kroger is No. 4 on The PG 100, Progressive Grocer’s 2022 list of the top food and consumables retailers in North America.
