BerryWorld has partnered with Dutch agritech company Smartkas to grow strawberries in its recently opened UK vertical farm.
Smartkas has agreed to grow BerryWorld’s Eve’s Delight strawberries at the new farm in Harlow, Essex, which boasts more than 27,000 sq m of growing space.
The two businesses have trialled growing varieties over the past 12 months at Smartkas’ R&D site in the Netherlands in a bid to ensure “consistent quality will be achieved” from its harvests.
With production starting at the new Essex facility, the pair said they hoped to provide a consistent, year-round supply of British-grown strawberries to retailers.
The Harlow farm uses “artificial intelligence to control all aspects of the growing cycle” meaning the company can create the “optimal growing environment locally, resulting in a strawberry that not only tastes good but also makes environmental and economic sense”, said Mark Kirby, chief commercial officer at Smartkas.
It is built of 12 layers, with the company claiming the facility has the largest growing capacity of any vertical farm in the UK.
The partnership comes after rival berry supplier Berry Gardens’ announced it had entered into a partnership with vertical farming business Jones Food Company to grow strawberries in its UK facilities last April.
“This project really answers the call for environmentally sustainable production in the heart of our urban landscape, and brings Smartkas and BerryWorld’s shared passion for quality and innovation closer to the consumer,” said Paul Avery, sales director for BerryWorld.
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