There’s more than one way to grow fresh leafy greens and produce. Increasingly, indoor, hydroponic and greenhouse growers are claiming their seats at the table, gaining market share and scaling up operations.
At the 2022 International Fresh Produce Association Global Produce and Floral Show, producers, tech leaders and retailers gathered to weigh in on the future on Controlled Environment Agriculture.
In a lively, 45-minute education panel discussion, IFPA Vice President of Technology and Agriculture Vonnie Estes led a conversation with panelists Michael Yates, senior director of innovation and agricultural strategy for Walmart; Abby Prior, chief commercial officer for BrightFarms; Katy Seawell, chief commercial officer for Bowery Farming; and Mark Oshima, co-founder and chief marketing officer for AeroFarms.
Controlled environment agriculture gains support
In dialogue, panelists found common ground and agreement that the CEA movement was maturing past infancy stage. According to the speakers, CEA is primed to expand and leverage what differentiates this innovative approach to growing produce to compete with larger, more traditional growers.
Acknowledging the rapid growth and increased adoption of CEA the in the past year, BrightFarms’ Abby Prior said there’s an opportunity for the industry to scale up.
“We’ve gone past ‘is this a good idea?’ to ‘how big can we make this?’” Prior said. “We are maturing as an industry because the demand is there.”
BrightFarms’ recent growth matches this assessment. Prior has found that while CEA growers once had to explain themselves, CEA brands have “now become a category driver.”
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New York-based Bowery Farming’s Katy Seawell agreed. Her experience matched what she witnessed at Bowery Farms in the past year, along with the growing pains that accompanied expansion. The next challenge for the CEA movement, according to Seawell, was to deliver compelling storytelling and marketing to consumers.
“The amount of food that we can grow with fewer inputs is really starting to resonate with consumers,” Seawell said. “We have a real opportunity to sharpen this connection.”
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What’s more, according to Michael Yates of Walmart, “we have the opportunity to reimagine the fresh supply chain.”
Yates, leading agricultural strategy for the company, said that CEA is ready to expand its market share and compete with traditional agriculture.
“We’re at a point now where the industry needs to take the consumer along for the journey. [We] want to create a message of what CEA stands for to the consumer,” he said.
Mark Oshima at AeroFarms noted that growth might come down to making one’s CEA-grown produce more available. “Make the easy choice, the right choice. How do we make it accessible?” he said.
