Swedish consumers can now enjoy locally grown, pesticide-free lettuce throughout the year, following a new collaboration between Axfood and Ljusgårda. The companies have introduced vertically grown crisp lettuce under Axfood's Garant brand across all Axfood chains, including Hemköp, Willys, and City Gross.
© Ljusgarda
The lettuce is cultivated indoors at Ljusgårda's vertical farming facility, where it grows in height on a small footprint within a controlled ecosystem. The production process requires minimal water and no pesticides, resulting in a consistent and sustainable product.
The new product meets growing demand for Swedish-produced options in the salad section and has both a low climate footprint and a long shelf life. According to an independent life cycle analysis from the IVL Swedish Environmental Institute and the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH), Ljusgårda's indoor-grown lettuce has about 50 percent lower climate impact than imported lettuce.
© Ljusgarda
"We want to offer our customers more sustainable, Swedish-produced alternatives in fruit and vegetables. With Ljusgårda as a producer, we can now launch a lettuce that is completely free from pesticides, of high quality, and grown year-round in Sweden," said Fredrik Westerberg, Category Manager for fruit, vegetables, and flowers at Dagab, Axfood's purchasing and logistics company.
Ljusgårda's technology maintains optimal growing conditions, producing nutrient-rich plants and eliminating the weather-related risks typical of outdoor farming.
"We are proud to collaborate with Axfood and Garant and offer Swedish-grown lettuce year-round at Willys, Hemköp, and City Gross. Together we show that sustainable and modern food production is not just the future, it is already here," said Andreas Wilhelmsson, CEO of Ljusgårda.
For more information: 
Ljusgårda AB
[email protected]
www.ljusgarda.se
