Bowery partners with Kayco on no-need-to-wash kosher greens

Bowery, a New York-based vertical farming company, has partnered with kosher retail and foodservice distributor Kayco to make five varieties of greens available at hundreds of kosher supermarkets within a 200-mile radius of Kayco’s Bayonne, N.J., headquarters.

Baby Butter, Romaine, Crispy Leaf, Mixed Greens, and Spring Mix are now available under the Bowery Mehadrin brand. The greens are Orthodox Union kosher certified and carry an additional rabbinical certification: Tartikov.

Bowery is now offering the only greens in kosher stores that don’t need to be washed, according to a news release.

“At Bowery, our mission is to grow food smarter, for more people, in more places. The launch of this partnership with Kayco will help us meet the demand for kosher, no-need-to-wash greens in the tri-state area,” Katie Seawell, chief commercial officer for Bowery, said in the release.

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Bowery’s vertically grown greens are pesticide-free and can be eaten fresh out of the container. There is no need to wash, and no bug checks are required, says the company.

The vertical farming company says its indoor-grown produce stays fresher longer, going from harvest to shelf in just a few days. By growing closer to communities, it travels fewer food miles from harvest to store, the release said.

“We are extremely proud of our newly formed relationship with Bowery. Supplying fresh produce to our respective communities has been our goal for a while now. We recognized that state-of-the-art logistics, world-class tracking, and speed to market would be crucial to the success in this category,” Charles Herzog, president of Kayco, said in the release. “Bowery has been a great partner in working with us to adapt our special kosher standards and shipping schedules to pull this off, and we believe this will have a significant positive impact on the availability of fresh leafy greens in our market to a highly receptive consumer.”

Bowery is now serving more than 1,400 grocery stores and has increased its retail footprint by over 15 times since 2020, the release said.