Hippo Harvest, a grower, packer and shipper of packaged salads, has officially announced the launch of its newly USDA certified organic packaged salad product line
According to certain reports, the stated product line comes bearing a full selection of leafy green products sourced exclusively from the company’s controlled environment agriculture (CEA) greenhouse. This includes a hybrid blend of greenhouse and field-grown leafy greens. Anyway, more on the same would reveal how the company’s novel approach offers key benefits to grocery retailers including a wider assortment of products that meet the consumer preferences through higher quality, longer shelf life, and more consistent supply, as compared to traditional field growers alone.
Talk about Hippo’s products on a slightly deeper level, we begin from its greens that have consistently tasted better with less bitterness and a juicier mouthfeel, if pitted against field grown greens.
Next up, we must dig into how the company’s proprietary system significantly cuts down on food safety risks, such as water borne pathogens, mold, and mildew, by growing in a patented closed-loop, non-recirculating, direct-to-root fertilizer, and watering system. Alongside that, the modular nature of this system also makes a point to provide unmatched traceability to the case level, while simultaneously allowing trays to be sanitized between each harvest cycle for preventing the build-up of microbes.
Another detail worth a mention here is rooted in Hippo’s bid to protect its products from weather. It also indicates an ability on its system’s part to deliver custom nutrition based on the plants’ variety, age, and the greenhouse microclimate. Together, these components tread up a long distance in helping the company conceive consistent quality and yield.
“Traditional field-grown and greenhouse-grown produce have each had limitations,” said Eitan Marder-Eppstein, CEO of Hippo Harvest. “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.”
Moving on, Hippo’s products are also well-equipped when it comes to providing custom nutrition, low microbial pressure, and direct-to-refrigeration harvesting. The result is a 30% extended shelf life, as compared to outdoor grown greens. Then, there are partnerships that the company has with field growers, partnerships that allow the company’s greenhouses to diversify supply for surety, scalability, and cost optimization. This empowers Hippo to offer blended product lines alongside greenhouse-grown SKUs.
Markedly enough, even for delivering these benefits, Hippo has come out with an advanced machine learning and purpose-built robotic technology. The said technology’s utility to monitoring, tending to, and harvesting plants, thus delivering precise levels of water and nutrition. Furthermore, we referred to the company’s modular grow-trays; they can optimize operations for every 10 square feet of plant growth to enhance efficiency. All in all, Hippo’s approach uses 92% less water, 55% less fertilizer, and 94% less land compared to traditional farming, while simultaneously offering superior quality and prices that are competitive with field grown suppliers.
Coming back to the company’s new selection of products, it includes Baby Spinach, Spring Mix, Arugula, 50:50 Mix, Power Greens, Baby Kale, Baby Romaine, Crispy Leaf, and Tender Greens. As for the availability part, just like other Hippo Harvest’s products, they can be purchased from various San Francisco Bay Area retailers, including Amazon Fresh and Gus’s Market. To further optimize its reach, though, the company already has a plan in place of moving outside of the Bay Area within the coming year.
