Can food retail help to solve the world’s growing need for food? Viessmann and Vertical farming are rethinking agriculture by helping food retailers become food farmers.
Vertical farming is helping to grow hyper-local food in the cities, on food retailers’ own premises. Vertical farms in logistic centres grow salads and herbs for the local store network all year round without pesticides or the risk of a poor harvest. Morever instore solutions keep the salads growing until they reach the shoppers’ home.
Kalera solutions builds farms into city centers where space is limited. Their farms grow lettuce and greens in vertical layers. Unlike a typical greenhouse, salads and herbs are not exposed to natural light. Instead, the growing process takes place in several layers under LED lights in optimized conditions.
From the vertical farms, the greens and living salads are transported directly to the food retail stores. There are no middlemen and there is no cooling chain whatsoever. Delivering directly to the food retail stores ensures the salads nutrients and flavour are not ruined.
In the retail store, the greens are displayed on their trays in special refrigerated cabinets from Viessmann. The cabinets continue to maintain the ideal conditions, temperature, lighting and humidity, so the salads continue to grow for another 3-4 days. During the whole process, the salads’ roots remain intact keeping them alive and growing. Even at home, the salad still continues to grow before being cut for use. There is no waste or drop in nutrients. Consumers enjoy high-quality greens, rich with flavour and freshness.
Dr. Henner Schwarz, CCO, Kalera GmbH
phone +49 171 762 194 2
email: henner.schwarz@kalera.de
Viessmann is one of the leading European manufacturers of commercial refrigeration and clean room solutions, renowned for their energy efficiency and sustainability together with ease of use and maintenance. Viessmann's refrigeration product and service portfolio includes remote and plug-in refrigeration cabinets, refrigeration systems and cold and clean room solutions as well as accessories and related services. The refrigeration products are manufactured at Viessmann factories in Germany and Finland and are represented by local sales offices in 18 countries throughout Europe, backed up by an extensive network of partner companies.