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from its own growing centres to more than 1,000 Sobeys stores.

Infarm’s latest development shows vertical farming’s potential beyond fresh produce. In a recent trial, Infarm says it became the first vertical farm to successfully grow wheat indoors, using no soil, no chemical pesticides and much less water than open field farming.

Guelph, Ont.-based GoodLeaf Farms recently raised $150 million in capital to fuel its vertical-farm expansion into Eastern and Western Canada. The company plans to build farms in Calgary and Montreal, in addition to its existing fully automated 50,000-sq.-ft. farm in Guelph where it produces microgreens and baby greens year-round. GoodLeaf’s farms are free of pesticides, herbicides and fungicides, and use less than 5% of the water required in open field farming, according to the company.

Jo-Ann McArthur, president of Nourish Food Marketing, believes vertical farms will be a big part of Canada’s food sovereignty. “We still import a lot of produce, especially from California, which faces droughts and floods,” McArthur says. “We need to reduce our reliance on that and vertical farming is definitely starting to fill that hole.”

And, compared to lab-grown meat, vertical farming is more accessible to consumers. “It’s something consumers can get their heads around and are behind,” McArthur says. “Consumers like the fact that it’s local, it’s year round and it’s reliable, so [vertical farms] make sense.”

The Hartman Group’s Balanko agrees. “Field and kitchen innovations, including vertical farming, tend to be a bit easier to accept because the link between ‘natural,’ conventional food production is that much closer,” she says. “Familiarity is one of the key ways in which consumers are evaluating any new food tech. If it’s familiar or has a direct link to something that is familiar, it’s easier to accept.”

That’s not to say consumers are digging into vertical farms. In The Hartman Group survey, 48% of consumers said the main barrier to trying food and beverages from vertical or hydroponic farms is that they’re too expensive. That was followed by “don’t taste good,” at 45%.

With any food technology, Balanko says, “we have to remember that this is food—and consumers want their food and beverages to taste good.” Products will have to be at least on par in taste and texture, if not superior, for consumers to adopt them. “When consumers are shelling out their hard-earned dollars [for food], it has to taste great, it has to be safe and it has to deliver a personal benefit, like health,” she says.

FOOD-WASTE TECHNOLOGIES

The irony in the conversation about feeding the growing planet is that a whopping one-third of all food produced globally is lost or wasted. That’s not lost on a number of innovative companies that are using technology to help solve the food-waste crisis.

Epic IO, a South Carolina-based tech company specializing in artificial intelligence (AI) and Internet of Things (IoT), has developed a biosecurity solution to help extend the shelf life of fresh foods and reduce spoilage. Typically, farmers and food processors rely on refrigeration to inhibit the growth of microbes or use chemicals to kill them in cold storage and transport. Epic IO’s automated solution modifies the atmosphere with carefully timed micro-doses of FDA-approved ozone and ultraviolet irradiation. Fully autonomous, the solution transforms the air into a disinfectant that destroys bacteria, fungi and viruses.

“The benefit of killing that bacteria and fungus early in the process is that you naturally have far less food waste,” says Ken Mills, CEO of Epic IO. He says the company is looking at its solution across the food chain, from the farm to the distribution centre to the grocery store. In a test phase, for example, the company worked with hatcheries to kill harmful E. coli on eggs, as well as with fresh produce suppliers to kill pathogens during transport.

“We want to make sure that a high percentage of quality food makes it to the grocer, and once the grocer receives that food, we want to make sure the health, wellness and longevity is maintained throughout the shelf life before it hits the table,” Mills says.

Trendi is a Canadian company with an innovative approach to food waste. Based in Burnaby, B.C., the startup’s mission is to rescue “misfit” fruits and vegetables that would otherwise go to waste and upcycle them into shelf-stable products.

Trendi has developed robotic, mobile processing units that go directly to farms and food processors. The units use various processing technologies to create powders or flakes that can be used as ingredients in a range of applications, including food and beverage, pet food and cosmetics.

“We’re thinking about what’s possible and we’re thinking into the future as we work to eliminate food waste at its source,” says Christine Couvelier, president of Trendi, whose 40-year career spans roles as an executive chef, culinary executive and global culinary trendologist. According to Trendi, the powder and flakes are about one-tenth the original weight and size and retain up to 97% of their original nutrients, flavours and colours. “Tomatoes are a great example: When I’m holding the tomato powder, I’m standing in nonna’s garden, without question,” says Couvelier. “It is incredibly colourful, flavourful and vibrant.”

With the powders, manufacturers can reduce their environmental footprint and reduce costs. “You’re shipping truckloads of tomatoes—a perishable product—to your manufacturing facilities, you’re shipping water and you’re shipping weight,” explains Couvelier. In contrast, Trendi powders are lighter, so shipping costs are reduced, and the product is shelf-stable.

Manufacturers can use the powders to create products and communicate that rescued food story to customers. That story, says Couvelier, “can be told on their products, proudly stating the company makes their products from rescued fruits and vegetables that would otherwise go to landfill.”

For Couvelier, too, these are exciting times for food tech, but there’s also a sense of urgency. “We have so much food and yet we can’t feed everyone,” she says. “This is a tipping point. We must make a difference now.” CG

Generation Next Thinking is an ongoing series that explores the cutting- edge topics that are impacting grocery retail today and in the future.