Several retailers now experimenting with growing own produce

Catering to ever-growing customer demand for fresh and hyperlocal products, West Des Moines, Iowa-based Hy-Vee has joined several other grocery retailers in growing produce in, on or outside of the store.

At a Hy-Vee store in Davenport, Iowa, two eight-tower hydroponic Grow Walls (vertical gardens) were  installed earlier this year on the outside of the store by Friday’s Fresh Market, an Iowa firm specializing in hydroponics and indoor agriculture, according to an article on Inhabitat.com. Using a growing medium made from recycled plastic bottles, the Grow Walls are producing lettuce, basil and mint and have the capacity to grow 10 to 15 pounds of produce per week, depending on the crop.

The Davenport Hy-Vee also has a smaller Grow Wall in the store by the display of the fresh-grown produce.

An article on FoodDive.com noted that the following supermarkets are also growing their own produce:

• Whole Foods Market’s Gowanus Brooklyn store has a rooftop greenhouse with more than 20,000 square feet of space. Installed in 2013, the greenhouse was designed and is operated by New York-based Gotham Greens and grows roughly 250,000 pounds of leafy greens, herbs and tomatoes each year.

• Similarly, Thibodaux, La.-headquartered Rouses Supermarkets started its “Roots on the Rooftop” initiative in 2012 at one of its Thibodaux stores. Later, the store added a vertical aeroponic tower garden that uses water rather than soil and “allows the crops to grrow up instead of out.”

• In addition to operating its own farm, San Francisco-based Bi-Rite has an herb garden and raises bees on the rooftops of its two stores.

• As Store Brands reported previously, H-E-B-owned Central Market is growing its own produce right outside one of its Dallas store in a Growtainer greenhouse trailer manufactured by GreenTech Agro.

“Although many of these ultra-local ventures aren't scalable or profitable, the returns come through offering a unique experience at a time when shoppers are looking for something different,” wrote FoodDive’s Jeff Wells.