The global market leaders in premium berries and innovative indoor vertical farming have collaborated to drive category growth in top berry loving cities in the Northeast.
One year after announcing their joint research and development work to grow strawberries indoors, Driscoll’s, the leading consumer brand in fresh premium berries, and Plenty Unlimited Inc. are expanding their relationship to build a new indoor vertical farm dedicated exclusively to strawberries.
After exceeding the goals set forward for the initial stages of the partnership, the two companies are accelerating efforts to grow Driscoll’s proprietary, best-in-class flavorful berries using Plenty’s unique vertical growing platform. This new farm, to serve consumers in the Northeastern United States, will provide fresh, consistent, high-flavor strawberries closer to berry-loving consumers who live in highly dense urban regions. This strategy will provide the fastest category growth to a mature market that has demonstrated appreciation for a high-flavor product offering.
“The Northeast is the largest berry consumption region in the U.S. with a dense population of berry-loving consumers,” said Arama Kukutai, CEO at Plenty. “Our partnership with Driscoll’s, coupled with Plenty’s optimized technology platform, ensures we can consistently grow premium berries closer to where these consumers live, providing fresh, consistent quality. We’ve successfully leveraged the expertise of the world’s largest strawberry breeding program within Plenty’s own controlled growing environment, maximizing the flavor of each berry and optimizing for both texture and size. We’re excited to bring our first indoor vertical farm dedicated to strawberries to life with the undisputed leader in the space.”
Driscoll’s 100 years of farming heritage and focus on delivering “Only the Finest Berries™” has proven to be an ideal partner for Plenty's industry-leading, sustainable, indoor farming technology. Together, the two companies are able to grow consistent, high-quality berries closer to where the consumer lives.
Editor’s Take:
This will be truly interesting to watch as the actual production begins and is marketed in the Northeast area of the U.S. Will they be able to successfully produce a strawberry that rivals the field grown, sunshine-drenched berry that we all know and love? Vertical farming is not a new concept. However, doing it on a very large commercial scale is new and yet to be proven. These major companies feel they have it figured out and we wish them success. It is certainly a trend/idea to watch. Who knows, you could be selling trucks to “urban farmers” in the future!
