Fifth Season, Kroger enter into partnership

AI- and robotics-equipped indoor vertical farming startup Fifth Season scored one of its biggest grocery store partnerships since the company's founding in 2016, putting its products on shelves in about 200 Kroger stores in Ohio and Michigan.

It makes the first partnership for the startup and Cincinnati-based Kroger Co., the nation's second-largest grocery store company behind Walmart Inc. The debut of its products in these 200 new stores — about 100 in each state — increases the footprint of stores where its products are available by 57%.

And while it's not the first time the company has sold its products in either state, it is the largest expansion of its product availability in either one thus far.

"We already had a presence in Cleveland and Columbus through Giant Eagle; they've been a foundational partner to us for a long time, but this is our first relationship here with Kroger. And we've had a little bit of distribution in Michigan, but this is definitely our biggest presence that we've ever had in Michigan," Fifth Season Chief Category Officer Grant Vandenbussche said.

"It's going to almost double our business with one of the leading retailers in fresh food."

Read the full story here. For more on Fifth Season, read Produce Grower's 2020 cover story on the Pittsburgh-based company.