Marks & Spencer has added three vertically farmed salads to its UK shelves: Citrus Sorrel Baby Leaves, Spicy Baby Leaves and Baby Garlic Kale, developed in partnership with Italian vertical farming company Planet Farms. The leaves grow indoors under UV light in a soil-free environment with controlled temperature, water and nutrient delivery and are then packed within 60 seconds of harvest. According to the retailer, the salads stay fresh roughly five days longer than a conventional supermarket bag and need no washing.
The environmental numbers are eye-catching: 96% less water than field-grown salad, around 97% less fertilizer and no pesticides. But M&S is pushing equally hard on flavor. Citrus sorrel and garlic kale aren't standard salad-aisle fare, and a controlled indoor environment lets Planet Farms grow varieties that would be hard to produce consistently in open fields. The products sit under Plan A for Farming, M&S's five-year program aimed at net zero across its supply chain by 2040, which also funds regenerative practices with the chain's conventional growers, including cover cropping, reduced tillage and hedgerow planting.
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Vertical farming has had a punishing few years. Several high-profile startups collapsed or restructured once investors did the math on growing commodity lettuce indoors and realized field production was usually still cheaper. The companies still standing have shifted the pitch. Instead of competing on price, they're selling distinctive varieties, longer shelf life and year-round consistency to retailers willing to pay for them. A national chain putting own-label vertically farmed produce on shelves suggests the model has found commercial footing in premium grocery, even if the original promise of feeding cities at scale remains a long way off.