This year has certainly been a year like no other. For more than five years, Produce Grower magazine has surveyed the industry by reaching out to growers across North America to see how their operations are faring and we're seeing some new developments. This year, we analyze the impacts of COVID-19 on the market, especially when it comes to e-commerce and staffing issues.

There’s good news in there, too. Direct-to-consumer sales of finished produce hit a five-year high in 2020, and sales of both edible transplant crops and finished produce at independent garden centers rose.

Crop diversity seems to be increasing, with tomatoes and lettuce taking the top two spots, but by a much smaller margin than we’ve witnessed in previous years. Herb production continues to increase, moving into the third spot for the first time this year.

The data seems to indicate that growers are branching out into new territory with many varieties seeing higher numbers like hot peppers, melons, pumpkins, zucchini and spinach.

Read on for more insights into the rapidly changing CEA market. – Kate Spirgen

As traditional outlets for CEA produce struggle in the midst of the coronavirus outbreak in the U.S., growers are looking at new ways to deliver their fruits and vegetables to consumers. In this year’s State of the Industry report, we found a myriad of changes not only in the way growers are selling, but in what they’re selling as well.

While some are seeing great opportunities in the increasing demand for local produce, others are struggling to find workers and fill the gaps left by their once-steady restaurant customers, who are on the front line of COVID-19’s impacts.

Berry production is on the rise and growers are diversifying their crops more than we’ve seen in the past five years. While lettuce, tomatoes and cucumbers still top the charts, they no longer dominate the way they have in years past. Herbs are having their day in the sun, taking over as the third most popular edible crop.

Some of this change in demand, such as more people cooking at home, can be attributed to the coronavirus, but other shifts, like an increasing market for berries, is a trend we’ve seen coming before the pandemic.

The future may be cloudy right now, but one thing is for sure: Consumers are buying online. A full 15% of growers started selling online for the first time this year and direct-to-consumer sales are soaring. It’s a trend floriculture greenhouses and independent garden centers are seeing as well. The ease and simplicity of shopping online are huge draws and will continue to attract customers once the COVID pandemic is under control.

The good news is that it’s not too late to hop on the direct-to-consumer trend. While the coronavirus is pushing it to the forefront, it’s an outlet that consumers have wanted, and it looks like they’ll continue to buy straight from the grower in the coming years. Whether it’s CEA sign-ups, direct-to-door deliveries, subscription programs or the traditional farmers market, today’s consumers prefer to go directly to the source for products they can trust.

Building that trust and creating a lasting connection is something CEA growers can work on now, and for years to come no matter when the pandemic ends.

Sweet basil (Ocimum basilicum) is one of the most popular culinary herbs grown in greenhouses and controlled environments. While most sweet basil grown has green foliage, there are a number of cultivars with purple foliage. While the flavor is the same as green-leaved sweet basil cultivars, the dark foliage creates a unique appearance.

Purple basil is a unique culinary herb with a distinctive appearance in addition to great flavor. However, during the winter and early spring, the purple coloration can diminish during production.

One common problem during the winter and early spring is a lack of purple pigmentation. Foliage will often be mottled, with both green and purple coloration. Since purple basil is marketed primarily for its unique coloration, this can reduce the marketability of the crop, as consumers may think the plants are unhealthy or diseased due to the “off” appearance.

Purple-leaved cultivars

Before we discuss strategies to increase purple pigmentation in basil foliage, we first need to consider the cultivar. As plant pathologists say, you need to know what is normal before you know what can be wrong. The majority of purple basil cultivars have leaves with solid purple pigmentation. However, some cultivars do not produce leaves that are solid purple under any condition and the green-purple mottled coloration is normal for the cultivar. While the intensity of purple can vary depending on the growing environment, mottled-leaved purple basil always have green present.

Improving coloration

Purple basil leaf coloration can be improved with the right light management. Light intensity has a strong influence on purple basil coloration. Under low light intensities and low daily light integrals (DLIs), anthocyanin production is lower and, as a result, the green coloration from chlorophyll is more apparent. Alternatively, as the light intensity or DLI increases, anthocyanin production increases and purple leaf coloration intensifies. This explains why purple basil tends to be mottled during the winter and early spring when ambient light levels are low, but not later in the season in the greenhouse or outside in a sunny garden. Since anthocyanin production is diminished with low light, increasing the amount of photosynthetic light is the best way to achieve the best-looking plants. While keeping your greenhouse glazing material clean and minimizing the number of hanging baskets or other superstructures can increase light transmission into the greenhouse, supplemental light is the only method of appreciably increasing light levels in the greenhouse.

A good starting point to increase light intensities in the greenhouse is to provide 50 to 75 µmol·m–2·d–1. High-pressure sodium (HPS) lamps are the most commonly used lamps for providing supplemental light. Light-emitting diodes (LEDs) also work well for promoting basil growth. In addition to light intensity, research shows light quality can affect anthocyanin development. While there is no data on purple basil, we can look to lessons learned from other purple-leaved crops. Researchers at Michigan State University have found that blue light can promote anthocyanin development in red-leaf lettuce and purple fountain grass. A strategy of using LEDs with a higher proportion of blue light could also be useful for improving coloration of purple basil.

Purple basil leaf coloration can be improved with the right light management. Light intensity has a strong influence on purple basil coloration.

The take-home message

Purple basil is a unique culinary herb for controlled environments. If you aren’t getting the color you want, take a look at your selected cultivars and light levels. Be sure to select solid-colored cultivars. Consider using supplemental light if the light intensity or DLI inside your greenhouse is low. These steps can keep your purples from causing the blues!

The author is an associate professor in the Department of Horticulture at Iowa State University. ccurrey@iastate.edu

photo © Bro vector

If there is one word that has taken on many new meanings during the COVID-19 pandemic, I would say it is “connectivity.” Connecting with consumers, both in person and digitally, has been challenging for us all. From production to distribution to getting the fresh produce in the hands of the end customer, making connections may require redrawing not only distribution chain lines, but also your entire business model.

If you are a small grower, the cancellation of community farmers markets may have caused a great deal of loss and anxiety for you these past six months. While grocery stores are still trying to operate as best they can, most restaurants have either shut down completely or are doing only pick-up orders with limited sales. I suspect significant challenges such as these will continue for the near future. That said, there is no time like a crisis to force overdue innovation into your business operations.

During these challenging times, you may have realized you must do more direct marketing than you ever have before. To connect directly in new ways with your customer, and create new market opportunities, where do you start?

Look for unmet needs

When it is not safe to go to a grocery store in person — or a customer can’t shop due to risks or quarantine — how do you get them the fresh food they need and want? Some of the most innovative and attractive distribution strategies I have seen are between local restaurants and bakeries, and their local vendors and growers. As restaurants began losing their customer traffic, a few savvy joints started putting together curated boxes of fresh food grocery supplies and produce from their local vendors and growers. The restaurants then marketed these grocery boxes to the community. Customers could order online and do curbside pickup of their boxes. It was brilliant: restaurants could keep their vendors moving products and consumers could still support their favorite local restaurants. Community connections keeping everyone afloat.

To me, this type of partnership represented the very best of local businesses supporting one another during a crisis. Further, distribution partnerships such as these may represent the new face of farmer’s markets for some time to come; until we can all get back to safely congregating for in-person shopping. This type of “share” box hearkens back to the traditional CSA model, with a rebranded distribution and marketing chain. If you have not yet done so, consider reaching out to your local quality restaurants to see if partnering on a share box makes sense for you both.

Fresh and organic produce is important to me. But I have not stepped foot in a grocery store since March. Obviously, I have not hit any local farmers markets either. I have tried to get as much of my grocery and produce delivered to my house as possible. I’ve arranged for pickups, and I have also taken part in a few curated food box options from local restaurants and bakeries. I love them and I do not want these services to go away in the future.

Direct sale opportunities

Another new direct-to-consumer opportunity may be “ugly produce.” You know, those online subscription companies that offer less than perfect produce share boxes delivered direct to doorstep. Imperfect Foods is one such example. They are not exactly local to everyone, but you get the gist. As consumers become more accepting of “imperfect” produce, and get more of their food delivered, you have an opportunity to step into that space locally.

If you do not already have a direct-to-local-consumer CSA membership program, now is the time to consider launching and aggressively marketing one. Consider partnering with other local food producers. If you are looking for some good examples, Johnson’s Backyard Garden is a large CSA that operates here in Texas, offering pick up stations around the state for locally grown produce. Eden’s Organic is another local small grower here in the Dallas area that has developed a robust CSA model.

As restaurants began losing their customer traffic, a few savvy joints started putting together curated boxes of fresh food grocery supplies and produce from their local vendors and growers.

I have noticed a big uptick of use of both “ugly” produce box shares and traditional CSA memberships by many of my friends, who post pictures of their deliveries on social media. Some post images of their imperfect produce or CSA box hauls weekly, then post multiple follow up photos of recipes they made using the produce. That is a lot of free organic marketing for you if you are committed to a digital marketing strategy.

This crisis is forcing growers to innovate and adapt business models and marketing. Consumers communicate personally and professionally online more than ever before. Now, they are being forced to order online for many or most of their needs. If I can order something online, I will. That includes produce. Time has always been my biggest pain point, and that of many consumers. Now, access to product — and produce — rivals that pain point. It is important to consider that customers are being re-trained in their buying habits right now. You may be forced to sell online now as a reaction to the COVID-19 crisis; but that does not mean you are going to be able to stop when it is over. Don’t expect to go back to your old business model once the “new normal” conditions shake out.

If you have lost touch with your local community or did not have good local touchpoints before COVID, now’s the time to reach out and make new connections. Your business and local economy may depend on it.