Square Roots expands retail presence with salad mixes
Square Roots expands retail presence with salad mixes
Square Roots, a leader in urban indoor farming, is expanding its retail presence with two new salad mixes, entering the $8.1 billion packaged salads and greens category. Square Roots’ salad mixes include a boost of healthy microgreens and crisp baby leaves grown across the company’s network of cloud connected and climate controlled indoor farms.
“Our new salad mixes disrupt a category that has seen little innovation, while consumers are seeking simple ideas to make eating healthy easier and more convenient,” said Raji Margolin, executive vice president of sales and marketing at Square Roots. “Square Roots is accelerating our retail presence to meet the increased demand we are seeing for our produce from both consumers and customers. We’ve been able to differentiate ourselves in the market by responsibly growing our local produce without pesticides or GMOs, providing long-lasting freshness, and giving consumers 100 percent traceability to learn about the journey of their food.”
The packaged salads and greens market has grown 10 percent over the past 52-week period, according to data tracker SPINS.
The 3.75-ounce salad mixes debut on retail shelves in September and are grown at the company’s new farm in Grand Rapids, MI. This farm design is easily configured for both vertical- and horizontal-stacked growing formats, a unique capability that allows Square Roots to grow a wide range of crops to meet a variety of local market needs. The overall growing capacity of any Square Roots farm can seamlessly scale up or down, depending on demand in the local market.
Square Roots Salad Mixes:
- Spring Mix - Square Roots Spring Mix is a nutrient-packed, bright salad. Made with a refreshing blend of kale, mizuna and tatsoi microgreens with crisp baby lettuce leaves, it is delicious on its own or as an extra crunch on a sandwich or salad.
- Super Mix - Square Roots Super Mix is a nutrient-packed, robust salad. Made with a hearty blend of broccoli, kale and cabbage microgreens with crunchy tatsoi leaves, it is perfect on its own or as an extra burst of flavor on a sandwich or salad.
“The greatest way that Square Roots can make a difference is to make locally grown, nutritious food available to millions of people in cities across America,” said Tobias Peggs, co-founder and CEO of Square Roots. “We’re using technology and data to connect food, farmers and consumers in new ways, propelling Square Roots to ultimately create an ecosystem where local food can be accessibly grown at a global scale, all year round.”
Square Roots’ new salad mixes follow the launch of the company’s expanded herbs range earlier this year, which included cilantro, dill, and parsley also grown in climate controlled local farms in New York and Michigan. Square Roots produce is available in more than 200 stores around the country, including Whole Foods Market, Fresh Thyme Market, FreshDirect, Meijer’s market format stores, Morton Williams and D&W Fresh Market.
Square Roots broke ground on its latest indoor farm in Grand Rapids in December 2020 and planted seeds just three months later in March 2021. Square Roots has a strategic partnership with Gordon Food Service, one of the country’s leading foodservice providers, to deploy farms across the country together and provide fresh, high-quality, local food to consumers across cities, year-round.