Latest news with #LufaFarms
CTV News
08-06-2025
- Business
- CTV News
Lufa Farms partners with Walmart to grow and sell greenhouse produce
With Walmart Canada, Montreal's Lufa Farms will grow produce under a 127,000 square foot greenhouse roof. Lufa Farms partners with Walmart to grow and sell greenhouse produce A partnership involving Lufa Farms is giving buying local a whole new meaning. 'We want to use free space in the cities where the people are and live,' says Lionel Trombert, Lufa Farms vice-president of finance. With Walmart Canada, the food company is taking produce from local to hyperlocal under one 127,000 square foot greenhouse roof. 'Whatever is being grown here is being picked and harvested at night and given to our customers either through the Lufa websites and, in this case, through the Walmart kiosk downstairs on a fresh basis every morning,' Trombert says. From cucumbers to peppers, it's the first time Lufa Farms produce is being sold through a retailer. This is also the first time that Walmart Canada is selling produce from its own roof. On top of filling a demand to buy locally, the partnership is a solution that offers sustainability. Lufa Farms greenhouse Lufa Farms is teaming up with Walmart to grow produce under a 127,000 square foot greenhouse roof. (Anastasia Dextrene/CTV) 'Land and water have become scarce resources and hydroponic systems usually typically consumes only about 5 to 10 per cent of the water of a land farm,' says Trombert. Their site at Marché Central is pesticide-free and you won't find soil or dirt. Instead, you'll find a hydraulic system that's responsible for producing four tonnes of crops each day. The location was chosen as the perfect basis for the project's roots, due to its size and proximity to neighbourhoods. Walmart Canada market leader Jacinthe Langevin says the company purchased more than $3.8 billion worth of products from 460 Quebec retailers last year. 'We are so proud to add Lufa Farms officially to that list,' she said. The hope is that the project will keep growing. 'There's an ask from customers and we've experienced that when we first sold those products ... we sold out almost every day,' Langevin told CTV.
Forbes
02-06-2025
- Business
- Forbes
More Culinary Wonders In Montreal
Yellow and red tomatoes for sale in Jean Talon Farmers' Market in Montreal It's been a few months since I returned from Quebec but I can't stop thinking about how creative the French Canadians are in terms of producing great, and sustainable, food. They are particularly visionary when it comes to sourcing fresh food in winter while looking out for the future of the planet. In the same building where the hydroponic, roof garden Lufa Farms can be found is a cooperative of 20 different businesses called the Centrale Agricole. The most fascinating part of their union is that they are all working in tandem throughout the year to produce—in a stroke of genius—a combination of products that left less than a zero carbon negative. One of the key business partners is the producer of meal worms that address the garbage produced by other businesses. TriCycle and grows mealworms that eat table scraps and so they don't have to, 'generate CO2 emissions by either being sent to landfills or to compost,' notes Kevin Drouin-Léger, Centrale's manager. He adds that no one within the collective has the title of director as is it run by 'horizonal management.' The Overall Take Bee hives at the Coop. This humble cooperative is housed in a modest building. Businesses within in it range from a winery and a cidery to mushrooms and a farmed fish producer. The center was founded in 2019 and has five founding members have continually chosen the other members based on 'diversity of production, innovation, circular economy potential, how that business fits within the ecosystem and economic viability,' according to Drouin-Léger. A few months ago, I had a chance to visit the center and chat in further depth with Drouin-Léger about his vision for the group. He notes that the center has been home to 27 businesses since it has been open and 20 are still part of the group. He expects there to be room for a chosen few more by next year. In a constantly French-Canadian humble yet genial way, Drouin-Léger and the businesses within the center all are working towards a long-term, balanced approach to both food and other product production that is sustainable and environmentally friendly. Some of the Vision It is unusual to see this number of diverse businesses working in unison, particularly with small-production items. 'The coop acts as a catalyst to stimulate and encourage collaborations whether it be by sharing resources, joint ventures, or industrial synergies,' notes Drouin-Léger. Kevin Drouin-Leger heads up the cooperative. He adds that, much like the hydroponic rooftop garden found at Lufa upstairs, the center works at a steady rhythm all year long. 'We aren't as affected by seasonality as conventional growers are. We can consistently fill our orders all year with no pause. We produce more than 400 tons of food a year for our local communities.' Operating spaces are small, but being non-competitive they are all also able to promote each other. 'Since there are few or no duplicates in the businesses' production, each business naturally becomes an ambassador for the coop to push other peoples' products. That can expand market potential for our businesses as well as synchronizing logistics in terms of delivery and such,' notes Drouin-Léger. He concludes that there is,' lots of solidarity in our model.' Mushrooms at the Coop. There are a lot of innovative business practices being applied here that are reflected by Lufa, the upstairs roof garden. A combination of more-permissive laws involving the promotion of the food and wine businesses in Canada and innovation has resulted in a community of food and wine producers who can creatively and effectively cross promote their products. Hopefully more stewards of the land will start thinking more like the Centrale Agricole, if given the chance and support of local government and producers. Drouin-Léger notes that the cooperative has 'been approached by more than 50 organizations that wish to model their businesses after ours. In Quebec mainly, but a bit through Canada, France and Belgium as well.' It would be so exciting, and good for the environment, if American food producers could start working in tandem in order to produce unique products that are good for the environment.
Cision Canada
29-05-2025
- Business
- Cision Canada
From rooftop greenhouse to store in an hour: Walmart Canada and Lufa Farms launch local produce collaboration in Montreal Français
MONTREAL, May 29, 2025 /CNW/ - Walmart Canada and Lufa Farms are now selling hyperlocal produce from Lufa Farms' 127,000 square-foot hydroponic greenhouse atop the Marché Central Walmart Supercentre in the store below. This marks the first time produce from Montreal's Lufa Farms will be sold through a retailer and the first time Walmart Canada will sell produce from a store's rooftop greenhouse. Harvested on demand each morning, the rotating crops of tomatoes, cucumbers and bell peppers will be available for sale in-store in as fast as an hour after being picked. "Rooftops are one of the most underused spaces in cities – and yet they're perfect for growing food," said Mohamed Hage, founder and CEO of Lufa Farms. "Walmart has a huge network of rooftops across the country, and by transforming just one of them into a greenhouse, we're showing what's possible: fresh, local vegetables grown sustainably and sold just downstairs, the same day they're harvested. This is how we can reimagine the future of food in cities." "Across the country, we're proud to work with local farmers and producers to bring their products to Walmart Canada's shelves. This collaboration with Lufa Farms brings that approach even closer to home by offering our customers the opportunity to purchase hyperlocal produce grown in the greenhouse above our Marché Central store," said Sam Wankowski, chief merchandising officer, Walmart Canada. "Our customers will be delighted by the local crops that are grown with more sustainable farming practices and then harvested on-demand each day - available at our every day low prices." "We are invested in Quebec and are proud to employ more than 14,000 associates across this province. Last year alone, Walmart purchased more than $3.8 billion worth of products from more than 460 Quebec suppliers, and we're excited to add Lufa Farms to this list," says Cyrille Ballereau, vice president, operations, Walmart Canada. "It's a proud moment to see us collaborating so closely with another local Quebec supplier to bring this innovative program to market." The project is rooted in Lufa Farms' commitment to fresh, local, responsible farming and Walmart Canada's continued focus on working with local suppliers to deliver innovative and more sustainable options for customers. According to Lufa Farms, their state-of-the-art rooftop greenhouse uses half the energy of a conventional ground-level greenhouse, recycles up to 90 per cent of its water, and relies on energy-efficient LED lighting - all while making use of underutilized urban space. Customers in Walmart's Marché Central Supercentre can now purchase boxes of this rooftop produce grown and harvested by Lufa Farms each day, while quantities last. About Lufa Farms Lufa Farms' mission is to create a better food system by growing food sustainably on city rooftops and partnering with hundreds of farmers and food makers, to provide customers with fresh, local, responsible food via their online Marketplace. For more information about Lufa Farms, please visit their website. About Walmart Canada Walmart Canada is a people-led, tech-powered omnichannel retailer of more than 400 stores nationwide serving 1.5 million customers each day. Walmart Canada's flagship online store, is visited by more than 1.5 million customers daily. With more than 100,000 associates, Walmart Canada is one of Canada's largest employers and is ranked one of the country's top 10 most influential brands. Walmart Canada's extensive philanthropy program is focused on supporting Canadian families in need, and since 1994 Walmart Canada has raised and donated more than $850 million to Canadian charities. Additional information can be found at and on Walmart Canada's social media pages – Facebook, X, Instagram and LinkedIn.
Yahoo
29-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
From rooftop greenhouse to store in an hour: Walmart Canada and Lufa Farms launch local produce collaboration in Montreal
MONTREAL, May 29, 2025 /CNW/ - Walmart Canada and Lufa Farms are now selling hyperlocal produce from Lufa Farms' 127,000 square-foot hydroponic greenhouse atop the Marché Central Walmart Supercentre in the store below. This marks the first time produce from Montreal's Lufa Farms will be sold through a retailer and the first time Walmart Canada will sell produce from a store's rooftop greenhouse. Harvested on demand each morning, the rotating crops of tomatoes, cucumbers and bell peppers will be available for sale in-store in as fast as an hour after being picked. "Rooftops are one of the most underused spaces in cities – and yet they're perfect for growing food," said Mohamed Hage, founder and CEO of Lufa Farms. "Walmart has a huge network of rooftops across the country, and by transforming just one of them into a greenhouse, we're showing what's possible: fresh, local vegetables grown sustainably and sold just downstairs, the same day they're harvested. This is how we can reimagine the future of food in cities." "Across the country, we're proud to work with local farmers and producers to bring their products to Walmart Canada's shelves. This collaboration with Lufa Farms brings that approach even closer to home by offering our customers the opportunity to purchase hyperlocal produce grown in the greenhouse above our Marché Central store," said Sam Wankowski, chief merchandising officer, Walmart Canada. "Our customers will be delighted by the local crops that are grown with more sustainable farming practices and then harvested on-demand each day - available at our every day low prices." "We are invested in Quebec and are proud to employ more than 14,000 associates across this province. Last year alone, Walmart purchased more than $3.8 billion worth of products from more than 460 Quebec suppliers, and we're excited to add Lufa Farms to this list," says Cyrille Ballereau, vice president, operations, Walmart Canada. "It's a proud moment to see us collaborating so closely with another local Quebec supplier to bring this innovative program to market." The project is rooted in Lufa Farms' commitment to fresh, local, responsible farming and Walmart Canada's continued focus on working with local suppliers to deliver innovative and more sustainable options for customers. According to Lufa Farms, their state-of-the-art rooftop greenhouse uses half the energy of a conventional ground-level greenhouse, recycles up to 90 per cent of its water, and relies on energy-efficient LED lighting - all while making use of underutilized urban space. Customers in Walmart's Marché Central Supercentre can now purchase boxes of this rooftop produce grown and harvested by Lufa Farms each day, while quantities last. About Lufa FarmsLufa Farms' mission is to create a better food system by growing food sustainably on city rooftops and partnering with hundreds of farmers and food makers, to provide customers with fresh, local, responsible food via their online Marketplace. For more information about Lufa Farms, please visit their website. About Walmart CanadaWalmart Canada is a people-led, tech-powered omnichannel retailer of more than 400 stores nationwide serving 1.5 million customers each day. Walmart Canada's flagship online store, is visited by more than 1.5 million customers daily. With more than 100,000 associates, Walmart Canada is one of Canada's largest employers and is ranked one of the country's top 10 most influential brands. Walmart Canada's extensive philanthropy program is focused on supporting Canadian families in need, and since 1994 Walmart Canada has raised and donated more than $850 million to Canadian charities. Additional information can be found at and on Walmart Canada's social media pages – Facebook, X, Instagram and LinkedIn. SOURCE Wal-Mart Canada Corp. View original content to download multimedia: Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
