IKEA and Infarm start urban herbs farming project

Pilot project for joint, sustainable cultivation of herbs in furniture stores

Source: Infarm

Demand is growing for high-quality food that is produced locally and with as little environmental impact as possible. To meet this, IKEA and Infarm are growing high-quality herbs in Infarm's vertical farms in the customer restaurants in three IKEA stores in Germany.

The partnership aims to inspire IKEA employees and customers to lead healthier and more sustainable lives. Customers of IKEA Kaarst, IKEA Duisburg, and IKEA Munich-Eching, can watch Infarm’s herbs, such as dill, curly parsley, and Italian basil grow in modular, in-store vertical farms and, upon ordering at the restaurant, enjoy their delicious flavours and aromas.

Sustainable and healthy food that tastes good

Increased awareness of healthy and sustainable diets and the potentially harmful effects of chemicals commonly used in food production has led to the development of many new agricultural technologies and approaches. One example is Infarm’s modular technology that allows for the implementation of vertical farms of varying sizes. The rapidly growing global farming company relies on the vertical cultivation of food crops in a controlled environment that uses 95% less water and land than conventional agriculture and does not require chemical pesticides.

“Infarm’s concept convinced us because we can make the topics of sustainability and healthy eating tangible for our employees and customers in a prominent place in our furniture stores,” says Tanja Schramm, Country Food Manager IKEA Germany. “As part of our People & Planet Positive strategy, we aim to inspire and empower people to lead healthier, more sustainable lives. That’s why we’re increasingly focusing on plant-based foods and dishes with a lower environmental impact and at a price that everyone can afford.”

“Infarm and IKEA come from different industries, but we have something in common: the goal to revolutionise our respective industries’ status quo for how we produce our food and how we live”, says Daniel Kats, Executive Vice President Corporate Sales at Infarm. “IKEA’s restaurants are the most visited globally: In the fiscal year 2021, 2.5 million people ate at the Sweden restaurants in Germany. Starting with three locations in Germany, we clearly see the benefit of positioning our instore farms in the restaurants and offering IKEA customers the chance to top up their meals with our delicious herbs, especially those who have not tried our produce before.”