Mar 15, 2022

Driscoll’s, Plenty Again Invest in Vertically-Grown Greenhouse Strawberries

More than a year after announcing a joint research and development project to grow strawberries indoors, Driscoll’s and Plenty Unlimited Inc. announced plans to build a new indoor vertical farm dedicated exclusively to strawberries.

After a year as partners in the effort, the two companies are accelerating efforts to grow Driscoll’s proprietary berries using Plenty’s vertical growing platform. Research efforts were conducted at a Plenty facility in Laramie, Wyoming, the companies have said previously.

The new farm will serve consumers in the Northeastern United States, according to a news release from Driscoll’s. The exact location, or other details of the new farm, were not immediately available.

“Our partnership with Driscoll’s, coupled with Plenty’s optimized technology platform, ensures we can consistently grow premium berries closer to where these consumers live, providing fresh, consistent quality,” Arama Kukutai, CEO at Plenty, said in the news release. “We’re excited to bring our first indoor vertical farm dedicated to strawberries to life with the undisputed leader in the space.”

Driscoll’s 100 years of farming heritage and focus on delivering Only the Finest Berries™ has proven an ideal partner for Plenty’s industry-leading, sustainable, indoor farming technology. Together, the two companies are able to grow consistent, high-quality berries closer to where the consumer lives.

“Over the last year Plenty has demonstrated its technological leadership in indoor vertical farming by growing our proprietary strawberries to meet the rigorous flavor and quality required of a Driscoll’s berry,” Driscoll’s Chairman and CEO J. Miles Reiter said in an interview.

Plenty Head of Flavor and Nutrition Mike Schwieterman described the research effort in an interview shortly after the research partnership was first announced in October 2020.

“Indoor farms like Plenty are resilient to climatic variation, have flexible production models, and streamline supply chains,” he said.