A Swedish company is building farms in supermarkets as an eco-friendly solution to growing fruit and vegetables. The SweGreen solution, already available in Sweden and Germany, is a way to address water scarcity, lack of agricultural land and dependence on global geopolitics, reports Euronews.
Growing the vegetables locally will also reduce transport emissions, ensure a longer shelf life and improve their taste. This in-store grow solution uses a hydroponic method where plants are grown vertically in mineral wool plugs in water without soil.
Each growing platform can grow the equivalent amount of food on up to three hectares of farmland. Customers can watch the vegetables grow and be picked before their eyes to then pick them up from the shelf.
Currently, SweGreen can grow up to 100 different types of crops, which include lettuce, dill, mint and parsley.
"We are adding microgreens to our portfolio, testing fruiting plants and considering growing strawberries as well," says Sepper Mousavi, chief innovation officer and head of SweGreen X.
How does AI help SweGreen's vertical farms?
Some consumer trends are easy to spot.
"During the summer festivals, the only thing sold in Sweden is dill. And in the middle of summer, the main product will be, for example, mint," says Mousavi.
However, plant growth times, seasonality and consumer preferences create challenges, so the company is turning to artificial intelligence to help with the decision-making process.
"This is one of the cases of using artificial intelligence in agriculture. We have an AI tool that gives the recipe for growth to our producers, so that the people who work in the supermarket get a to-do list that gets them exactly the products that are needed that day,” Mousavi says.
Depending on the size of the supermarket and its needs, SweGreen customers can choose between 45 square meters in the largest stores, where there is a capacity of 300 crops per day, to 12 square meters in the smallest stores with 116 crops per day.
Move the farm in different landscapes
Supermarkets are not the only ones looking locally for an eco-friendly solution – restaurants, hotels, universities and property owners also want to get in on the game.
Fotografiska Stockholm, a contemporary museum of photography, art and culture, adopted this fine dining solution in its restaurant to keep the menu seasonal and sustainable.
“With these guys and their star chefs, we explored what kind of plants they could have for garnishes, to complement, to eat, to flavor, to flavor, to complement things. We were also looking for a practical food that is nutritious, has taste, but can be used as a centerpiece in dishes, for example," Mousavi explains.
SweGreen has been awarded and nominated several times for its sustainable food production. In 2023, the company won the IKANO Sustainability Award and was nominated for the third consecutive year in the FoodTech 500, a global list that highlights the world's most influential startups and growth companies for the future of food, technology and sustainability.