Meijer brings produce from Michigan hydroponic grower to all of its stores

Dive Brief:

Meijer is bringing lettuce and salad greens from Michigan-based hydroponic produce grower Revolution Farms to all of the Midwestern retailer’s 262 locations, the companies announced in a press release last Thursday.
Under the partnership, Revolution Farms is supplying Meijer with products including cut, whole leaf and whole head lettuce under the grower's own brand and providing all the lettuce for the chain’s “Fresh from Meijer” ready-to-eat salad kits.
Meijer is highlighting the environmental benefits of the arrangement and noted that produce from Revolution Farms reaches its shoppers in less than half the time as lettuce that comes from the West Coast.

Dive Insight:

Revolution Farms’ relative proximity to Meijer stores is a key reason why the retailer has turned to the grower to help meet its produce needs, according to the press release.

In addition to helping Meijer reach its sustainability goals by reducing travel distance and offering a longer shelf life, the partnership allows the retailer to provide shoppers with access to locally produced food and serve “as a platform to promote brands that share our passion,” Meijer Produce Buyer Sarah Jennings said in a statement.

Revolution Farms harvests lettuce daily and is able to distribute it to Meijer locations within two days after harvesting it, which the retailer said offers shoppers crispier and crunchier salads while also reducing waste. Meijer runs stores in Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky and Wisconsin.

Produce from Revolution needs 95% fewer miles in a truck to reach grocery stores in the Midwest than other lettuce farms that also provide produce year-round to the region, the grower says on its website. Based in Caledonia, Michigan, the company claims that its produce-growing practices cut water consumption by 90% and require 90% less land than other methods.

Revolution Farms founder and CEO John Green said in the press release that its ability to work with Meijer stems from its recent greenhouse expansion, which spans 85,000 square feet and can accommodate more kinds of lettuce than it could before. The grower is now capable of growing up to 1.5 million pounds of produce per year, according to the announcement.

Meijer’s partnership with Revolution Farms puts the retailer in the company of other grocers that have also spruced up their produce assortment with sustainability in mind. For example, Albertsons announced last year that it had expanded its selection of vertically farmed produce from Bowery Farming to 275 Safeway and Acme stores on the East Coast. Kroger, meanwhile, last spring expanded a deal with indoor farm operator 80 Acres Farms to supply fresh produce to more than 300 supermarkets in Indiana, Kentucky and Ohio.