Greenswell Growers operates a hydroponic greenhouse in Goochland County, where it grows 700,000 pounds of leafy greens annually. (Jack Jacobs photo)
A Goochland-based produce grower is sprouting up at hundreds more grocery stores in 2024 as it continues to plan an expansion of its facilities.
Greenswell Growers, an indoor farming company that grows leafy green vegetables, intends to fill out its presence at Food Lion stores by entering 800 additional locations of the grocery chain by the end of this year, Greenswell President and CEO Carl Gupton said.
Greenswell products are currently available in more than 300 Food Lion stores, including locations in Virginia. This year’s push is anticipated to make the local company’s leafy greens available across Food Lion’s entire footprint of 1,100 stores in the Mid-Atlantic and South.
“Food Lion has really taken off for us in the past couple of months, we’ve picked up about 250 stores from where we were, say, a year ago,” Gupton said in a recent interview. “They’re definitely our growth customer right now.”
Including the current Food Lion stores, Greenswell’s products are in more than 500 retail locations, such as local specialty stores like Libbie Market and Yellow Umbrella Provisions as well as chains like Kroger and Harris Teeter.
The continued retail growth coincides with a planned expansion of Greenswell’s facilities at 1343 Hockett Road at the West Creek Business Park in eastern Goochland.
The company expects to break ground this summer on a $25 million project that will add 134,000 square feet of new facilities, of which 114,000 square feet would be a greenhouse and the rest new warehouse space.
Greenswell Growers President and CEO Carl Gupton. (Jack Jacobs photo)
Netherlands-based firm VB is developing the project, and is also handling the design work for the new facility. Hourigan has been tapped to serve as the project’s general contractor.
It cost the company $17 million to build its existing nearly 80,000-square-foot facility, which has 57,000 square feet of growing space with the rest used as packaging, warehouse and offices.
Gupton said Greenswell currently produces 700,000 pounds of greens annually, and with the expanded facilities would be able to grow more than 2 million pounds per year. Gupton said the company’s indoor, hydroponic facility is able to generate a higher volume of produce compared to a similar-sized piece of land farmed in a traditional way outdoors.
“That’s kind of a big-deal number. If you had the same 1.4 acres in Salinas, where most of our lettuce comes out of California, you get about 32,000 pounds out of that same footprint. Out of our footprint, you’ll get (700,000 pounds), so you got like a 25x. It’s a highly efficient, highly automated facility,” he said.
Greenswell’s leafy greens are sold as retail products and also to food service buyers like restaurants. Gupton said the company anticipates it will remain focused on leafy greens in the expanded space, though in the past Greenswell has expressed interest in growing a wider variety of produce.
The company currently has 16 employees and would look to roughly double the size of its team with the expansion.
Greenswell Growers is planning to expand its operation with a $25 million project, which will add more growing space to the indoor farming company’s facility.
Greenswell revealed its plans to expand its facilities with what it calls its “phase two” of development in 2022. Last year, the company raised funds that it said were intended in part to go toward the expansion project. Ukrop’s Homestyle Foods is a minority owner in Greenswell.
Greenswell began growing greens at its facility in 2021, and has pitched itself as a close-to-home source of leafy greens for customers on the East Coast. Most of the leafy greens grown in America are grown on the West Coast.
The company’s products are available in stores located in Virginia, Maryland, D.C., Delaware, North Carolina, South Carolina, Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia, Florida, West Virginia, Ohio and Pennsylvania.
Greenswell Growers operates a hydroponic greenhouse in Goochland County, where it grows 700,000 pounds of leafy greens annually. (Jack Jacobs photo)
A Goochland-based produce grower is sprouting up at hundreds more grocery stores in 2024 as it continues to plan an expansion of its facilities.
Greenswell Growers, an indoor farming company that grows leafy green vegetables, intends to fill out its presence at Food Lion stores by entering 800 additional locations of the grocery chain by the end of this year, Greenswell President and CEO Carl Gupton said.
Greenswell products are currently available in more than 300 Food Lion stores, including locations in Virginia. This year’s push is anticipated to make the local company’s leafy greens available across Food Lion’s entire footprint of 1,100 stores in the Mid-Atlantic and South.
“Food Lion has really taken off for us in the past couple of months, we’ve picked up about 250 stores from where we were, say, a year ago,” Gupton said in a recent interview. “They’re definitely our growth customer right now.”
Including the current Food Lion stores, Greenswell’s products are in more than 500 retail locations, such as local specialty stores like Libbie Market and Yellow Umbrella Provisions as well as chains like Kroger and Harris Teeter.
The continued retail growth coincides with a planned expansion of Greenswell’s facilities at 1343 Hockett Road at the West Creek Business Park in eastern Goochland.
The company expects to break ground this summer on a $25 million project that will add 134,000 square feet of new facilities, of which 114,000 square feet would be a greenhouse and the rest new warehouse space.
Greenswell Growers President and CEO Carl Gupton. (Jack Jacobs photo)
Netherlands-based firm VB is developing the project, and is also handling the design work for the new facility. Hourigan has been tapped to serve as the project’s general contractor.
It cost the company $17 million to build its existing nearly 80,000-square-foot facility, which has 57,000 square feet of growing space with the rest used as packaging, warehouse and offices.
Gupton said Greenswell currently produces 700,000 pounds of greens annually, and with the expanded facilities would be able to grow more than 2 million pounds per year. Gupton said the company’s indoor, hydroponic facility is able to generate a higher volume of produce compared to a similar-sized piece of land farmed in a traditional way outdoors.
“That’s kind of a big-deal number. If you had the same 1.4 acres in Salinas, where most of our lettuce comes out of California, you get about 32,000 pounds out of that same footprint. Out of our footprint, you’ll get (700,000 pounds), so you got like a 25x. It’s a highly efficient, highly automated facility,” he said.
Greenswell’s leafy greens are sold as retail products and also to food service buyers like restaurants. Gupton said the company anticipates it will remain focused on leafy greens in the expanded space, though in the past Greenswell has expressed interest in growing a wider variety of produce.
The company currently has 16 employees and would look to roughly double the size of its team with the expansion.
Greenswell Growers is planning to expand its operation with a $25 million project, which will add more growing space to the indoor farming company’s facility.
Greenswell revealed its plans to expand its facilities with what it calls its “phase two” of development in 2022. Last year, the company raised funds that it said were intended in part to go toward the expansion project. Ukrop’s Homestyle Foods is a minority owner in Greenswell.
Greenswell began growing greens at its facility in 2021, and has pitched itself as a close-to-home source of leafy greens for customers on the East Coast. Most of the leafy greens grown in America are grown on the West Coast.
The company’s products are available in stores located in Virginia, Maryland, D.C., Delaware, North Carolina, South Carolina, Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia, Florida, West Virginia, Ohio and Pennsylvania.
Let’s go Team!!!
What sounds great about this is the elimination of cross-contamination from livestock fields. I would gladly buy this over the lettuce from California.
Not to mention the tremendous energy saving from not having to truck the green leaves from CA to RVA.
I can no longer find Greenswell products at my local Harris Teeter and Krogers? Are they still available there? Will be disappointed if I have to downgrade to Food Lion now….