New product line combines greenhouse and field-grown greens, offering extended shelf life, higher quality, and sustainable farming practices.
Hippo Harvest has introduced a new line of USDA-certified organic packaged salads, expanding its offerings in the fresh produce market.
This product line features a wide range of leafy greens, sourced primarily from the company’s controlled environment agriculture (CEA) greenhouse in Pescadero, California, and includes a hybrid blend of greenhouse-grown and field-grown greens.
This strategic combination allows Hippo Harvest to provide grocers with a more diverse selection of products compared to other greenhouse growers, as well as consistent supply and higher quality produce with longer shelf life than traditional field-grown options.
Since its founding in 2019, Hippo Harvest has focused on innovative agricultural practices to improve product quality and sustainability. The company’s greenhouse technology offers key advantages over traditional field-grown methods, such as reducing the presence of food safety risks like waterborne pathogens, mold, and mildew.
This is achieved through a patented closed-loop, non-recirculating fertilizer and watering system, which delivers nutrients directly to the plant roots. Additionally, the modular growing system allows for sanitation between harvest cycles, enhancing food safety and traceability at the case level.
One of the major benefits of Hippo Harvest’s approach is its ability to extend the shelf life of leafy greens by up to 30% compared to outdoor-grown produce.
The custom nutrition system, tailored to the plants’ variety and age, combined with the greenhouse microclimate and direct-to-refrigeration harvesting, plays a significant role in maintaining freshness and quality. This not only meets consumer demand for fresh, long-lasting produce but also reduces food waste.
Furthermore, by collaborating with field growers, Hippo Harvest ensures a diversified and scalable supply chain, offering blended product lines alongside their greenhouse-grown SKUs.
As stated in a press release, Hippo Harvest CEO Eitan Marder-Eppstein emphasized the benefits of this new product line. “Traditional field-grown and greenhouse-grown produce have each had limitations,” he explained. “Our USDA organic-certified packaged salads provide the best of both worlds as it relates to cost, quality, surety of supply, and scalability for both consumers and grocers.”
The company’s use of cutting-edge technology is another key differentiator in the marketplace. By leveraging machine learning and advanced robotics, Hippo Harvest can precisely monitor and tend to plants, adjusting water and nutrient levels based on specific growth conditions.
These innovations allow for increased efficiency, using 92% less water, 55% less fertilizer, and 94% less land than conventional farming methods. This sustainable approach aligns with the company’s commitment to environmental stewardship, as evidenced by their signing of The Climate Pledge, a global initiative co-founded by Amazon and Global Optimism to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2040.
Hippo Harvest’s new organic product line includes a variety of leafy greens, such as Baby Spinach, Arugula, Baby Kale, Baby Romaine, and Power Greens, among others.
These products are currently available in several San Francisco Bay Area retailers, including Amazon Fresh and Gus’s Market, with plans for expansion beyond the Bay Area in the near future. As the company continues to grow, it aims to bring sustainable, high-quality produce to more consumers while maintaining competitive prices comparable to traditional field-grown suppliers.
By offering USDA-certified organic products and utilizing a hybrid of greenhouse and field-grown methods, Hippo Harvest is setting a new standard in the fresh produce industry. Their emphasis on sustainability, food safety, and innovative agricultural practices positions them as a leader in the organic packaged salad market, meeting the growing demand for fresh, long-lasting, and environmentally conscious products.
