Something new and very appealing to environmentally conscious consumers has sprouted in produce sections at Asda.
The first range of vertically grown bagged salads to appear in a UK supermarkets began this week in 270 Asda stores. Called Homegrown – an homage to British growers producing them in Gloucestershire – they feature three SKUs: 80g Mixed Salad, 60g Rocket and 80g Hot & Peppery Cress.
“We’re delighted to be the first British retailer supplying a vertically farmed bagged salad range at this kind of scale, enabling customers to buy nationally and online,” Dom Edwards, Asda Produce Director said. “As well as clear sustainability benefits, the salad leaves aren’t subject to adverse weather – resulting in better availability and more consistent quality for our customers.”
The beauty of these salads, of course, is that they are grown pesticide-free using 90% less water than traditional methods and with 100% renewable energy sources. The balance under artificial lights and with nutrient soil is next to perfect. Weather and seasonality are non-factors, which means these can appear in Asda stores year-round.
Like other UK supermarkets, Asda is looking to achieve goals toward sustainability and net zero carbon emissions. For the past decade it has worked closely with suppliers to ensure that they too are lessening their impact on the environment. Asda recently published its ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) report for 2022, highlighting those efforts.
