Swedish grocery store reveals line of produce grown onsite

Located in Halmstad, Sweden, ICA Maxi Högskolan has harvested a range of hydroponically-grown produce for shoppers from Freight Farms’, a manufacturer of container farming technology, flagship container farm, the Leafy Green Machine.

By reducing the length of distribution time between food source and consumers, the produce grown by ICA Maxi Högskolan is more nutrient dense and retains freshness for longer. This then impacts on the amount of food waste produced by retailers and consumers.

Technological developments have aided in the process, as Freight Farms’ containerised farming technology creates and maintains the optimal growing conditions to harvest produce year-round using less than five gallons of water per day. This also expands on the production capabilities of produce that is not native to the Swedish region, and allows producers to harvest crops without concerns about climatic limitations.

Rikard Hillarp, owner of ICA Maxi Högskolan, said: “We’re excited to be the first ICA Maxi store to implement an onsite farm. By growing crops just steps from our shelves, we’re able to offer our customers what are truly the freshest greens possible.”

He continued: “Freight Farms’ technology is especially helpful in Sweden, where our short growing seasons can limit crop availability throughout the year and increase our reliance on imported produce. We’re now able to shorten the distance food travels to get to our customers from 2,000 kilometers to just 30 meters.”