Coop Danmark and Infarm announce nationwide expansion

Infarm, the rapidly growing urban farming company with a global presence, and Coop Danmark, one of the biggest consumer goods retailers in Denmark, have announced a new agreement on a nationwide rollout in all of Coop's retail store chains. In addition to Irma stores in Copenhagen, where Infarm's fresh produce is available since 2019, all five Coop-owned chains Kvickly, Fakta/Coop365, SuperBrugsen and Dagli'Brugsen will offer Infarm's sustainability grown produce starting in summer 2022.

"We are very pleased to continue and expand our successful partnership with Coop Danmark, which started in 2019 in Irma stores in Copenhagen. Now it is time for the next step. We look forward to seeing Infarm grow with Coop, bringing our locally grown, fresh herbs and salads to a total of 1.000 stores of all five Coop brands across Denmark. Danish consumers can look forward to very tasty seasons as our produce is available all year round", says Daniel Kats, Executive Vice President Sales at Infarm.

"In a world where population numbers are on the rise, and more and more food is required, it's exciting to see what can be achieved with these new ways of cultivating", says Thomas Mřller-Larsen, Group Category Manager at Coop.

"At Irma, we now have a couple of years of experience with Infarm, and are now ready to examine how the concept can be expanded to other parts of the country besides Copenhagen.", says Thomas Mřller-Larsen.

From summer 2022 onwards, Danish customers can choose from a broad selection of Infarm's herbs like rosemary, thyme, coriander or sage. New varieties will also be introduced, like tarragon and chervil. Infarm's new pots will also make their first appearance in the Danish market.

The partnership with Coop will add 1.000 stores all over Denmark and its main cities Copenhagen, Ĺlborg, Ĺrhus, and Odense, to Infarm's network. Infarm's produce will be grown in instore farming units, which need just 2m˛ of ground space, or will be directly delivered to the supermarkets from Infarm's Growing Center in Greve, near Copenhagen.

Infarm's Growing Center in Greve has more than 6,500m˛ and will be set up with high-capacity farming units. Infarm's modular approach to vertical farming allows the company to build its cloud-connected farming units and start production in a short time period. This data-driven, and distributed approach — a combination of big data, IoT, and cloud analytics, in addition to rapid growth at a global scale — allows the company to meet full retailer demand while remaining flexible and responsive to retailer adjustment and being independent of climate changes, seasons and supply chain disruptions. In Denmark, Infarm has a renewable energy certificate for electricity consumption, with a Guarantee of Origin based on 100% wind power. 

Source: HortiBiz