ORLANDO, Fla. — UP Vertical Farms, a new brand of vertically grown leafy greens, marks The Oppenheimer Group’s move into controlled environment agriculture. The line, which includes Power Greens, Spring Mix, 50/50 (a mix of baby red and green lettuce), Arugula and Romaine, is set to debut in January 2023.
With UP Vertical Farms, Oppy is “reimagining” its greenhouse category, said Aaron Quon, Oppy’s executive category director, at the recent IFPA Global Produce and Floral Show in Orlando, Fla.
Produced in Pitt Meadows, British Columbia, the vertically grown greens use 99% less land, 99% less water and 95% less plastic than traditional clamshell packaging, says Oppy. UP Vertical greens also yield 350 times more lettuce than conventional field-grown greens in the same amount of space, according to the company.
But it’s the extended shelf life of UP Vertical Farms greens that Brothers Bahram and Shahram Rashti, grower partners of Oppy, think will disrupt the salad category.
“The shelf life of our products is now between five and six weeks. This extended shelf life will change the game in our industry,” Bahram Rashti said at the IFPA Show. Rashti also said that UP Vertical Farms “may go further” in extending the shelf life of its products, as it continues to refine the growing process.
The long shelf life will also dramatically reduce shrink, thereby creating a cost savings that can be passed on to the consumer, he added.
Packaging on the new line of vertically grown greens is also a game changer, said Quon. The lettuce is packaged in a bag within a box. Quon said it fits in the same shelf set as bagged lettuce and works in sliders.
UP Vertical Farms’ touchless, highly automated Pitt Meadows facility is located near an existing Oppy distribution center. The company said it plans to build additional vertical farms near its other distribution centers in the future, with the goal of delivering clean, fresh local product to stores within 24 hours of harvest.
