Hamilton-based vertical farming startup 80 Acres Farms is ready to roll out its first new crop in five years: Strawberries are finally coming to a produce aisle near you.
The company, known largely for its leafy greens and more, said Wednesday a new harvest – called “Strawberry Sparklers” – will be available soon at retailers across Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky and Tennessee.
How soon? Strawberries will debut at Dayton-based Dorothy Lane Market locations this fall, and consumers also will be able to try the berries at select restaurants, including Salazar, Mita's and Goose & Elder in Cincinnati.
The rollout will continue at a variety of the company's retail partners, although the company did not give a timeline nor specify which stores. 80 Acres currently sells at Kroger, Whole Foods, Fresh Market, Jungle Jim's and more.
The release is the first new crop for 80 Acres since its popular “Fireworks Tomatoes” and cucumbers launched in 2017.
Officials said retailers have been asking them for a pesticide-free, indoor-grown berry “for years.”
"We showed what we could do with fruiting crops when we released our tomatoes ... which have been selling out for five years," Tisha Livingston, co-founder of 80 Acres Farms and CEO of Infinite Acres, the company's tech-focused subsidiary, said in a release. "We set the bar high, and now we're using our proprietary growing system to produce the freshest, most flavorful strawberries possible."
The “always-in-season” berries will be grown at 80 Acres’ indoor farm in Cincinnati. The company's newest farming sites, underway in Kentucky and Georgia, are also expected to have capacity for strawberries.
Adding fruit to its line of crops has long been part of the plan. Strawberries routinely rank atop the “Dirty Dozen,” an EWG's shopper’s guide of the fruits and vegetables with the highest pesticide content. This offering gives consumers “a clean, locally grown strawberry they can confidently share with their families," 80 Acres Farms co-founder and CEO Mike Zelkind said.
He said the strawberries will be packaged in a 10-ounce, revolutionary, fully recyclable paperboard.
Besides strawberries, 80 Acres has talked about growing grapes and blackberries, too. The company, in April 2021, signed a master research agreement with the University of Arkansas and the Arkansas Agriculture Experiment Station to expedite its efforts.
Cost has been one of the biggest barriers to growing produce indoors. Victor Verlage, chief agronomy and research and development officer at 80 Acres, told me last year the company expected to have its first commercially viable crop of fruit sometime this year. He said 80 Acres would leverage technology to grow something more consistent, and affordable, for the average consumer.
While 80 Acres said shelf price will be determined by each retailer, it's expected the company will compete price wise. By comparison, Oishii, a New Jersey-based vertical farmer, rolled out its Japanese heirloom strawberries in June 2021 for $5-$6 apiece, while Bowery Farming, a New York grower, has been selling a limited-edition 8-ounce pack for $14.99.
In addition to strawberries, tomatoes and cucumbers, 80 Acres sells salad blends, microgreens and herbs to more than 500 retailers and restaurants. Its partnership with gourmet grocer Dorothy Lane, for one, dates back a number of years.
Dorothy Lane Market operates three stores in the Dayton area, with plans to open its first Greater Cincinnati location in Mason. Dorothy Lane will anchor a $150 million mixed-use project at the corner of Mason-Montgomery and Western Row roads.
Calvin Mayne, president of Dorothy Lane Market, said he’s been impressed with the 80 Acres team, and their advanced indoor farming methods, since their first meeting.
"We want to make our customers happy by giving them a wonderful food shopping experience," Mayne said in the release. “We love (80 Acres') salads and herbs and are thrilled to be the first to introduce their latest product – fresh, local strawberries that taste as good now as in the summertime."
80 Acres Farms, founded in 2015, grows its produce indoors, year-round, using LED lighting, artificial intelligence, robotics and more. The company is one of Greater Cincinnati's top venture-backed startups. 80 Acres has raised more than $250 million in funding, including a $160 million Series B in August 2021, which, at the time, stood as the region's largest raise.
It has eight indoor farms across the country, including four in the Greater Cincinnati region, with two more sites in the works: A $74 million, 200,000-square-foot farm in Northern Kentucky will begin production this year, and a $120 million, 200,000-square foot farm outside Atlanta, Ga., will open in 2023.
When fully operational, the farms will employ 275 additional team members and increase production by more than 700%.
