Coop Östra extends partnership with Swegreen across five stores

Swegreen’s growing facilities have been part of the stores’ daily operations for several years. They produce fresh lettuce and herbs directly on-site, year-round, giving customers access to locally grown produce with a short journey from harvest to store shelf.

Trust built on several years of operation

“We have monitored and evaluated in-store farming across our five stores for several years and see clear value in continuing the partnership. Our customers appreciate fresh, locally grown produce, and we have seen how in-store grown lettuce and herbs have become a natural part of our fresh produce offering. Extending the partnership across all five growing facilities therefore feels like a natural decision,” says Andreas Stenman, CEO of COOP Försäljnings AB.

For Swegreen, the decision is particularly significant as it covers five established in-store growing facilities. The extension is not based on a single initiative or a future ambition, but on several years of hands-on experience with operations, customer, response and local in-store production.

“When a customer chooses to continue with all five growing facilities after several years of experience, it is strong evidence that in-store farming works in practice. It shows that local production has moved from being an innovation to becoming an established and long-term part of the store’s business,” says Anders Eriksson, CEO of Swegreen.

A new era for locally grown vegetables

Sweden remains highly dependent on imported vegetables, particularly during the winter months. With Swegreen’s system, ICA Maxi Ängelholm will continue to have access to fresh, locally grown vegetables year-round. The facility eliminates longdistance transportation of the harvested produce, uses no pesticides and reduces water consumption by up to 99 percent compared with traditional cultivation.

Swegreen’s vision and the way forward

Swegreen sees a growing market for in-store farming as consumers increasingly demand sustainability, quality and transparency. Technological developments make it possible to integrate growing facilities into a wide range of environments, from grocery stores and restaurants to larger workplaces and municipal operations.

“Just as in-store bakeries have become a natural part of the grocery store experience, we are now seeing in-store grown vegetables take their place and change the way we think about freshness, taste and sustainability, The Green Bakery”, says Anders Eriksson, CEO of Swegreen.

About Swegreen

Swegreen is a Swedish agtech company offering in-store growing as a service, Farming as a Service (FaaS). Through hydroponic growing systems, fresh vegetables are cultivated directly on-site in grocery stores, restaurants or hotels – with significantly reduced water consumption, no pesticides and minimal transportation requirements. A single installation can produce up to 500 plants per day, including leafy greens and herbs.