Fresh Direct secures tieup with third British vertical farming supplier

Fresh Direct has doubled down on its backing for vertical farming by partnering with a third British business in the shape of GrowUp Farms.

The foodservice supplier noted that all of its vertical farming partners are British and cover a wide range of herbs, salad and baby leaves, providing year-round access to the crops. 

GrowUp Farms is a certified B Corp, and operates a farm powered by renewable energy from the bioenergy plant next to the facility. The company points out that it does not cause soil erosion, and produces longlasting products year-round in the UK, which cuts down food waste and lorry miles.

GrowUp also aims to use 90 per cent less water when fully operational and, because the farm is a completely enclosed process, requires no pesticides, fungicides or weedkiller.

Fresh Direct claimed its development chefs found that the products, in addition to their sustainability credentials, “significantly outperformed conventional leaves for quality and freshness”.

Paul Nieduszynski, chief executive at Sysco GB, said: “Vertical farming has made some fantastic strides forward in the past couple of years, and has become a much more practical solution, helping to support conventionally grown produce. We want to support British agriculture in all its forms and have been an early adopter of this technology, which gives us a year-round solution with enviable quality.

“Adding GrowUp to our portfolio of vertical growers gives our customers even greater access to high-quality, locally grown produce with no concerns about the weather, seasonal changes or quality.”