Future of food: Seiyu Group to grow hydroponic produce in its supermarkets
※This is a machine-translated text of the original article.
Seiyu GK announced on February 26 that it would open an in-store plant factory at Seiyu-Kami Fukuoka Store in collaboration with Plants Laboratory Inc, which is engaged in research and development and consulting on plant factories.
“In-store plant factory” to be introduced this time will be operated by installing hydroponic cultivation equipment of the plant laboratory in the plot of about 45 tsubo (148.7 square meters) on the 3rd floor of Seiyu Kami-Fukuoka store.
Lettuce harvested and packaged daily by a dedicated staff in the plant shop will be immediately sold at Seiyu’s vegetable shop on the first basement floor for ¥137 per stock.
Recently, users of vegetables with visible producers, such as local vegetables and contract vegetables, and fresh vegetables have become increasingly demanding in terms of security, safety, and close distance from the place of production.
In addition to attracting existing tenant formats to Seiyu stores, the plant factory in the store believes it is a leader in new effective use of store space.
The company aims to raise the ratio of local vegetables to contract vegetables to about 10% by the end of this fiscal year.
The company believes that vegetables cultivated at plant factories can be supplied stably regardless of the weather, and that they can be cultivated without agricultural chemicals and that they can contribute to sustainability.
In the future, fresh foods such as vegetables and fruits will be regarded as an important growth strategy, and the plan is to implement measures to meet the needs of users.
Original Text: https://ampmedia.jp/2020/02/13/seiyu/