Driscoll's Aims High in New Strawberry Growing Venture

Posted by Growing Produce Staff|March 17, 2022

One year after announcing their joint research and development work to grow strawberries indoors, Driscoll’s and Plenty Unlimited Inc. are expanding their relationship to build a new indoor vertical farm dedicated exclusively to strawberries.

After exceeding the goals set forward for the initial stages of the partnership, the two companies are accelerating efforts to grow Driscoll’s proprietary berries using Plenty’s unique vertical growing platform. This new farm, to serve consumers in the Northeastern U.S., will provide fresh, consistent, high-flavor strawberries closer to consumers who live in highly dense urban regions.

“The Northeast is the largest berry consumption region in the U.S., with a dense population of berry-loving consumers,” says Arama Kukutai, CEO at Plenty. “Our partnership with Driscoll’s, coupled with Plenty’s optimized technology platform, ensures we can consistently grow premium berries closer to where these consumers live, providing fresh, consistent quality. We’ve successfully leveraged the expertise of the world’s largest strawberry breeding program within Plenty’s own controlled growing environment, maximizing the flavor of each berry and optimizing for both texture and size. We’re excited to bring our first indoor vertical farm dedicated to strawberries to life with the undisputed leader in the space.”

As part of the partnership, Driscoll’s strawberries were initially grown in Plenty’s Laramie, WY, farm, the largest indoor plant science research facility of its kind.

“Over the last year, Plenty has demonstrated its technological leadership in indoor vertical farming by growing our proprietary strawberries to meet the rigorous flavor and quality required of a Driscoll’s berry,” says J. Miles Reiter, Driscoll’s Chairman and CEO. “We are excited to see the initial success of our collaboration and look forward to expanding our relationship with a new farm that will drive category growth to the Northeastern part of the US.”