Whole Foods Market Receiving Fresh Greens Grown on Robotic Vertical Farm
Boasting a space-efficient modular design, Opollo Farm is a fully automated vertical farm built by AutoStore and OnePointOne that uses advanced robotics to boost the local food supply and deliver harvest-ready crops grown without pesticides in as short a time as 15 days. Leveraging AutoStore’s cube storage system, the Arizona farm is supplying select Phoenix-area Whole Foods Market stores with fresh leafy greens under the Willo brand.
“At Whole Foods Market, we’re constantly exploring new ways to bring fresh, sustainable food to our customers,” noted Chris Petroulakis, category merchant for produce at the food retailer. “Opollo Farm is a perfect example of how advanced technology can revolutionize local agriculture, helping to deliver high-quality, locally grown produce right to our stores faster and fresher than ever before.”
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Currently being piloted by AutoStore and OnePointOne, the fully integrated vertical-farming platform combines automation, lighting, irrigation and climate control (HVAC) to create the optimal growing environment. Robots travel along the top of the cubic-storage grid to manage watering, while advanced software continuously monitors each plant’s status and adjusts conditions in real time. In contrast to traditional farms, Opollo Farm operates entirely indoors, providing complete control over the plants’ environment. Its compact, automated design enables it to be situated close to urban centers or co-located with distribution hubs, maximizing floor space and minimizing food miles.
“Opollo Farm shows what’s possible when proven automation meets global challenges like food supply resilience and sustainability,” said Parth Joshi, chief product officer at AutoStore, whose U.S. headquarters is in Boston. “Our work with OnePointOne highlights the versatility of AutoStore, moving and storing goods for everyone, everywhere, across diverse industries and use cases. From order fulfillment for leading brands to scaling urban farming, we’re enabling smarter, more resilient solutions.”
“Traditional farming consumes vast amounts of water and land — resources that are becoming scarce,” added Sam Bertram, CEO of Avondale, Ariz.-based OnePointOne. “With AutoStore’s modular robotics and our plant-production technology, we can grow food almost anywhere, using a fraction of those resources. This collaboration helps overcome the cost and scalability challenges of vertical farming, finally making locally grown produce — the No. 1 priority for U.S. consumers — possible even in urban areas.”
AutoStore and OnePointOne have plans to scale and explore new crop varieties beyond greens and herbs, as well as evaluating opportunities to implement the system in urban environments once it becomes commercially available.
Part of Amazon’s Worldwide Grocery Stores, Austin, Texas-based Whole Foods serves customers in more than 535 stores across the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. Parent company Amazon is No. 2 on The PG 100, Progressive Grocer’s 2024 list of the top food and consumables retailers in North America. Both Whole Foods and Amazon were named among PG’s Retailers of the Century and the Most Sustainable Grocers.
