The partnership will launch its living produce farms this month at two of the 15 stores planned at QFC, a Kroger banner, at locations in Bellevue and Kirkland, Washington

Kroger

Kroger headquarters building in Cincinnati. Photo: Courtesy of Tysto/Wikipedia.org

American grocery retailer Kroger has partnered with German vertical farming business Infarm to launch modular living produce farms in North America.

The partnership will launch its living produce farms this month at two of the 15 stores planned at QFC, a Kroger banner, at locations in Bellevue and Kirkland, Washington.

Infarm’s uses hydroponic technology to grow on site at the participating QFC stores and will remove the need for extended transportation, storage. Thus a more eco-conscious product can be produced at the store itself. The in-house farms have been designed for scaling and will offer shoppers fresh and sustainable living produce options.

Founded in 2013 in Berlin, Infarm combines vertical farming with IoT technologies and machine learning to offer an alternative food system which is resilient, transparent and affordable.

The firm supplies its farms across urban environment to grow fresh produce for a city’s inhabitants. Infarm aims to help cities become more self-sufficient in their food production while significantly improving the safety, quality and environmental footprint of food.

The company claims to have more than 500 farms across stores and distribution centres around the world and has also partnered with more than 25 major retailers across seven countries such as Germany, France, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Denmark, the UK and the US.

Kroger’s partnership with Infarm is claimed to be a model of innovation in grocery industry

Kroger claims that its partnership with Infarm is a model of innovation in the grocery industry as it has fully invested in its Zero Hunger | Zero Waste social impact plan that aims to end hunger across local communities, while eliminating food waste across the company by 2025.

Kroger fresh group vice president Suzy Monford said: “Kroger believes that everyone deserves to have access to fresh, affordable and delicious food, no matter who you are, how you shop or what you like to eat.

“Our partnership with Infarm allows us to innovate by combining ground-breaking in-store farming technology with our passion for fresh, local produce and ecological sourcing. Kroger is excited to be first to market and offer the best of the season, and we’re proud to lead the U.S. on this journey.”

Infarm CEO and co-founder Erez Galonska said: “We want to make fresh, pure, tasty and nutritious produce available and affordable for everyone.

“Kroger’s commitment to innovation, quality and flavor makes them the perfect partner with which to launch our business in the United States and for the first time in North America.”