Oh My Greens opens Swedish vertical farm | Article
Netleds Vera vertical agricultural technology will help OMG produce high quality herbs for ICA
The Finnish agtech company Netled’s has announced that its customer, the Swedish herb supplier Oh My Greens (OMG), has opened a vertical farm on an industrial scale in Söderfors, Sweden.
The facility will produce high-quality herbs for ICA, Sweden’s leading grocery store, with the herbs available to consumers in June 2022.
The vertical farm will produce up to 2.7 m of pots with 14 different herbs per year.
According to Netled, ICA will be the first own brand in the Nordic region with vertically grown products. Starting in June 2022, the vertically grown herbs will be available for almost 350 ICA stores north of Avesta city.
“Netleds Vera vertical agricultural technology will allow us to provide customers throughout Sweden with fresher herbs and leafy vegetables, grown hyperlocally and with a significantly reduced carbon footprint,” says Moses Isik, CEO of OMG. “Not only does the customer benefit, but the planet does too.
“The reason why we have ICA as a customer who basically buys all volumes is that they want to be at the forefront when it comes to developing the sustainable food systems of the future.”
According to Netled, OMG’s facility is the first vertical cultivation in the world to supply climate-neutral herbs from seed to shelf, following the Climate Neutral Certification program.
They calculate their emissions footprint at a granular level including ingredients, storage, production, packaging, mobility and upstream and downstream logistics until the products reach the shelf.
The production takes place indoors in a completely controlled environment. Almost everything is automated and operated mechanically with control screens where the amount of nutrients, water, temperature and light are controlled.
Netled noted that its vertical agricultural system Vera meant that production could be up to two and a half times larger, energy consumption 70 percent lower and water consumption up to 95 percent lower compared to traditional greenhouses.
The total carbon footprint can be almost 80 percent smaller than in traditional greenhouse cultivation.
“The reason I went into the vertical agricultural industry is that I see that we are on the way from a cliff with our current food production. I felt a need to be involved and catalyze a change,” said Isik.
“We considered 17 different suppliers of vertical agricultural technology and came to the conclusion that, in terms of its technology, know-how and delivery capacity, Netled is several years ahead of the competition.
“When you want to go to industrial scale and make a big investment, you really need to know that you have a partner who understands the technology, has the employees, the backbone and the history to also be able to create a project like this. There is a lot of complexity. We chose Netled and we are satisfied with our choice “, he added.
“This launch not only allows OMG to produce fantastic products for customers throughout Sweden, but it is a clear example for agricultural operators of the opportunities that our Vera vertical agricultural technology and our experienced project team can offer,” says Netled CEO Niko Kivioja.