“Last year, we acquired neighboring properties to prepare for significant expansion,” said Helena Beckett, director of retail sales for the San Marcos, CA-based company. “Land preparation took several months, and we are now in the process of building new greenhouses that will start producing in the spring, doubling our capacity.”
BrightFresh experienced a major upgrade in 2024 and becoming a national brand is closer than ever before. Throughout the year, BrightFresh focused on engaging consumers directly to familiarize them with microgreens, showing them how easy it is to incorporate them into any meal.
“We continue to see the benefits of this going into 2025 through increased demand at our retail stores, ongoing growth in online grocery sales and social media engagement,” Beckett said. “Another important part of our consumer engagement strategy was upgrading our packaging in April. The new packaging is resealable and uses less plastic than our traditional clamshell. We recognized that there was significant interest in microgreens but most people didn’t understand how to use them and so we illustrate the simplicity and versatility of microgreens through our elevated packaging.”
BrightFresh grows outdoors in greenhouses with natural sunlight, year-round near San Diego.
“The microclimate of San Marcos allows us to manage growing temperatures by taking advantage of natural sunlight and the ocean breeze, opening and closing the greenhouses to warm or cool the space as needed,” Beckett said. “We have been researching, growing, and refining our microgreen program in San Marcos for over 20 years, which has benefited us with superior quality and category leadership.”
She said microgreens are flavorful, nutrient-dense and require very low prep; a quick rinse and 1-2 minutes to dry in a soft, clean towel.
“San Diego Farms has been growing microgreens for over 20 years,” Beckett said. “The varieties and flavors that BrightFresh brings to retail have been tested for decades. We selected varieties with the best flavor profiles and shelf-life so that BrightFresh consumers can enjoy microgreens as part of their daily routine.”
BrightFresh Supergreens Micro Medley launched at select Costco locations in October 2024. The blend is only available there and features pea greens, broccoli, beets and arugula.
“It is full of flavor, color and beautiful textures,” Beckett said. “Demand has been better than expected for this 6-ounce pack, allowing us to expand into our new greenhouses immediately.
Our bestsellers in our traditional retail format are BrightFresh Micro Rainbow and BrightFresh Micro Arugula. Same-store growth for these products ranges from 10-30 percent.”
BrightFresh microgreens are tasty, healthy and versatile and the company makes dish recommendations using illustrations on its packaging and work with Instagram (@BrightFreshMicrogreens) influencer partners to share easy, quick, delicious ways to brighten meals.
“Our retail customers include independents, natural grocers, traditional grocery, supercenters and mass merchandisers,” Beckett said. “We distribute all over the West Coast and Southwest U.S., as far east as Nashville and as far south as New Orleans.”
While the company has found consumers are interested and eager to incorporate microgreens into their lifestyle, the challenge has been convincing some retailers to give us space on the shelf.
“Once they get on board, they kick themselves for not doing it sooner,” Beckett said. “We have seen tremendous sales growth through our partnerships with Instacart and Ibotta and are investing more in those platforms in 2025. Our exemplary marketing team has selected an impressive group of influencers for our social media campaigns and plans a packaging refresh that will make it easier for consumers to visually distinguish between different product types on display. We will launch a premium line of microgreens and edible flowers in Q2.”
