Vertical farm to provide fresh herbs to retailers in Texas, Oklahoma
Texas-based vertical indoor farm Eden Green Technology announced Tuesday it has launched an herb program, aiming to supply fresh greenhouse herbs to retailers in Texas and Oklahoma.
Founded in 2017, Eden Green operates two 100,000-square-foot greenhouses in Cleburne, just outside the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex. The company has been supplying greenhouse-grown romaine and butterhead lettuce to more than 400 stores in the region.
CEO Eddy Badrina said Eden Green Technology decided to launch the herb program because of demand from customers.
“We heard from our customers in both food service and retail through our distributor Robinson Fresh that while there is a steady demand for leafy greens, there is a larger demand for herbs because of the inconsistencies that they saw within their supply chain,” Badrina told FreightWaves.
Eden Green will grow more than 10 herb varieties, including basil, cilantro, chives, dill, mint, oregano, parsley, rosemary, sage and thyme. Badrina said Eden Green is the first controlled-environment agriculture (CEA) firm to grow, package and ship a full suite of major herbs from a single facility.
“Our herb program is about nine months in the making of really testing out just how expensive our herb offering could be before we rolled this out,” Badrina said.
Eden Green will produce 350,000 to 400,000 pounds of fresh herbs a year from one of its two greenhouses. The other greenhouse is used to grow, package and ship leafy greens, such as romaine and butterhead lettuce.
“The reason we’re growing a full suite of herbs is because most large food service and retail companies don’t want just one herb; you have to sell the whole suite,” Badrina said. “It’s a testament to our technology and our team that we were able to roll this out.”
Eden Green will provide herbs to some of the largest retailers and food service companies in the U.S. through its distributor, Robinson Fresh. One of Eden Green’s customers is Walmart, which operates a distribution center near the firm’s two vertical greenhouses.
Eden Green can grow herbs from seeds and harvest them within about 35 days. The company will be able to deliver herbs from farm to shelf within 48 hours.
Badrina said the herbs logistics chain for most food service and retail companies is pieced together from suppliers all over the U.S.
“Some herbs you can grow locally but really not in mass. Other herbs grow really well down in the southeast U.S.,” Badrina said. “Basil in particular is a hard one, because it’s a tropical plant, and I would say 99% of basil right now in the United States that we’re eating is sourced from either Hawaii or Central and South America.”
Eden Green is building two additional 100,000-square-foot greenhouses in Cleburne to increase its capacity and allow the company to supply more fresh produce to customers.
“The two more greenhouses being built are right on schedule for the second quarter of [2025],” Badrina said.
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