German retailer Kaufland is the latest to team up with the vertical farming company, infarm, as it aims to introduce fresh store-grown herbs in its stores.
In May of this year, Aldi Süd partnered with infarm to roll out six varieties of herbs in its outlets in Düsseldorf and Frankfurt.
Initially, Kaufland will offer the herbs in its store in Neckarsulm in northern Baden-Württemberg.
The retailer plans to harvest the first batch of herbs in mid-August from seedlings planted at the end of July.
It will include flat-leaf parsley, Greek basil, mint, and mountain coriander.
Expansion Plans
By October of this year, Kaufland plans to introduce infarm greenhouses in stores in Berlin, Hamburg, Düsseldorf and Regensburg.
It also aims to deliver fresh Infarm herbs to a third of all Kaufland stores in Germany.
Stefan Lukes, managing director of fruit and vegetable purchasing at Kaufland, said, "The cooperation with infarm is a great opportunity to combine freshness, quality and resource conservation.”
Other retailers that have partnered with infarm for store-grown herbs include Irma in Denmark, Marks & Spencer in the UK, and Kroger in the US.
Infarm uses a central cloud-based cultivation platform to grow herbs in a controlled environment under ideal conditions.
© 2020 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Dayeeta Das. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine.
