Seven supermarkets in the Japanese capital are growing some of their herbs and vegetables in little LED-lit vertical farms in-store to cut the energy used for shipping, greenhouse gas emissions, and food waste. The small versions that began being installed in the seven supermarkets in January 2021 are the work of the Japanese subsidiary of Infarm, a Dutch company that runs vertical farms mostly in Europe and North America.
Now, the stores grow their own leafy greens like cilantro and Italian basil from seedlings shipped from a production center in Tokyo. They are harvested and sold after about three weeks, at prices that stay stable because the growing process is unaffected by unseasonable weather, bugs, or natural catastrophes.
"We hope this will help inspire people to value food production and consumption with a low environmental impact," Infarm PR representative Hikaru Ohki, 30, said.
At the Summit supermarket chain's Gotanno branch in Tokyo's Adachi Ward, the racks of growing greens are right beside the vegetable section, and the produce is sold on the spot. Supermarket manager Yasuhiro Shibata, 50, said, "We're glad to see the initiative's effect, and not only in the numbers. Children get really interested in the process, watching the plants being grown and then harvested."
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