From March 2020 to July 2022, Colruyt Group grew its own herbs in a vertical farm. Now there is a renewed commitment to research.
Basil plants at Bio-Planet
At the end of 2019, Colruyt launched its first pilot vertical farming installation in Halle, at their Hellebroek distribution center. The project was a success: basil plants from the vertical farm were available in Bio-Planet stores and on the webshop from March 2020 to July 2022, under their brand, Boni. The high-tech installation had the capacity for 250,000 plants.
They learned a lot from this pilot project. To facilitate further research on scaling up, the installation has now been fully repurposed as a research facility. As a result, the basil currently found in Bio-Planet is no longer produced through vertical farming but through organic pot cultivation.
Cooperation with research institutes
Colruyt's Research & Development department works closely with various academic institutions, such as Ghent University (UGent) and the lighting lab at KU Leuven, to provide the project with a solid scientific foundation. Additionally, a separate research project is currently underway in collaboration with VLAIO, the Flemish Agency for Innovation and Entrepreneurship. To eventually scale up or experiment with other crop varieties, further research, investment, and technological development are necessary.
Belgian strawberries all year round
"Offering our customers locally produced strawberries all year round: that is possible with vertical farming," Colruyt Group continued. "The aim is not to replace the strawberry cultivation of our Belgian growers but to supplement or extend the supply for customers throughout the year. In the summer of 2025, we will start building a larger pilot installation at the Hellebroek distribution center in Halle. The first strawberry plants are expected to be planted in the spring of 2026."
Source: Colruyt Group