Marks & Spencer is setting up vertical farms in its London grocery stores.
Company Marks & Spencer, since 2000, is not limited to the sale of clothing. Its stores are gradually turning into small shopping centers with entertainment areas and cafes. And you can buy there not only clothes and accessories, but also food. And the new project will provide customers with exclusively fresh herbs (mint, coriander, basil and parsley), which will be grown directly in stores, in special vertical farms.
This opportunity came about thanks to a collaboration with Infarm, whose technologies allow the creation of compact vertical farms built using the latest technologies, including artificial intelligence designed to care for plants. All data from each of the farms is sent to a special cloud service, where they are processed and remotely controlled from. Based on the information received, the system learns, which allows it to better care for plants in the future. Twice a week, the farms will be visited by Infarm representatives to harvest and plant new plants.
It is reported that one such farm is capable of replacing 400 square meters. m. traditional agricultural fields. The latest approaches allow the 95% to reduce water use and reduce the amount of fertilizer on the 75%, which would be required in traditional agriculture. And this means that Infarm farms are not only very economical, but also minimize the damage to the environment.
M&S will be the first British retailer to partner with Infarm. So far, the company plans to supply such farms only to London stores, starting with the recently opened M&S Clapham Junction. By the end of the year, 6 more outlets will be covered.
