Last week (Wednesday 6th September) UK supermarket chain Asda announced that it was the ‘first British retailer to stock vertically grown salad‘. However, UK supermarket chain Iceland began selling vertically farmed produce in February, with Tesco launching a range of vertically farmed ready-to-eat salads on 26th July,
Kent based GrowUp Farms’ lead the charge into UK supermarkets. Iceland sells the vertical farming company’s branded Fresh Leaf Co. red + green salad mix. Tesco sells GrowUp Farms’ Unbeleafable® salad, a range that is grown at the company’s vertical farm in Pepperness.
Asda’s slightly later entry to this market sees them stock a ‘Homegrown’ range that includes 80g Mixed Salad, 60g Rocket and 80g Hot & Peppery Cress. It is grown by Jones Food Company at its Scunthorpe-based vertical farm.
Asda’s Homegrown produce is available online and nationally in 270 Asda stores, GrowUp Farms’ bagged salads are now in around 800+ supermarket stores (Iceland and Tesco) across the UK.
In the Asda statement Dom Edwards, Produce Director said: “We’re delighted to be the first British retailer supplying a vertically farmed bagged salad range at this kind of scale, enabling customers to buy nationally and online. As well as clear sustainability benefits, the salad leaves aren’t subject to adverse weather – resulting in better availability and more consistent quality for our customers.”
Whichever supermarket was first, it’s exciting to see vertically farmed produce being rolled out to consumers at supermarkets that together cover a 43% UK grocery market share (Kantar 6 Aug 23).
