Rami Levy Chain Stores Hashikma Marketing 2006 Ltd. (TASE:RMLI) has signed an agreement with Israeli company Vertical Field for the installation of its vertical farms at dozens of outlets over the next five years. The supermarket chain will be able to sell lettuce and other produce that grows vertically inside Vertical Field's proprietary geoponic, soil-based, container technology.
Vertical Field's produce is grown in a sterile indoor environment without the use of chemical pesticides or fertilizers. The vegetables are cultivated under controlled conditions that ensure a consistent and predictable yield throughout the year with no seasonality or weather effects. The produce includes lettuce, basil, parsley, kale, mint and more, at competitive prices.
Vertical Field’s solution is called a "vertical farm" and has been developed at the company’s research headquarters in Ra’anana. Produce inside the farm grows vertically on the container’s walls on a proprietary platform that is designed for vegetables to grow on a bed of nutrient-rich soil. The methods used increase efficiency, minimizing both water consumption and use of soil.
The produce will be sold daily directly to clients after it has been harvested. Customers will have the option of purchasing the produce with the soil bedding so that customers can enjoy the nutritional benefits of a freshly harvested crop and longer shelf life.
Vertical Farm CEO Guy Elitzur said, "One of the realizations that have surfaced during the Covid-19 crisis is the need to develop solutions that allow urban residents access to healthy food, with minimal human handling and without depending on transportation and shipping from remote locations. The portable urban farm that we have developed is designed to be located in indoor and outdoor spaces at supermarkets, restaurants, shopping malls, rooftops, and other on-premise locations. Over the past year we conducted a number of successful pilot projects, and installed vertical farms adjacent to supermarkets and restaurants in the US and Israel."
Rami Levy VP marketing Yafit Attias Levy said, "The Rami Levy chain understands the social responsibility that it has for customers as related to food security and supplying the highest quality products while maintaining low prices. Our customers bought Vertical Field’s produce during the pilot, and returned to purchase more. We have decided to expand the partnership with Vertical Field to additional branches of the supermarket, and to offer fresh, high-quality, and pesticide-free produce in a way that increases shelf-life for our customers."
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on December 14, 2020
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