"Frustrated by the lack of fresh, high-quality greens, I envisioned a better way—sustainably grown, pesticide-free leafy greens, grown in an advanced, fully automated greenhouse," says CEO and founder Jay Willmot. "Every detail of our state-of-the-art greenhouse is a labour of love, delivering crisp, flavourful greens that are redefining freshness and quality across North America."
Rooted in a 55-year family farming legacy, Haven Greens was established to provide fresh, high-quality, and sustainably grown leafy greens to the market. Jay drew on his passion for sustainability and his commitment to addressing food insecurity while supporting the local community.
Understanding the market trends
The market for leafy greens is evolving, driven by shifting consumer preferences and economic realities. According to Jay, three key trends are shaping the industry.
"Consumers and restaurants prioritize higher-quality produce sourced closer to home," he explains. "The preference for local extends to both retail and food service as freshness and supply consistency gain importance."
"There is strong consumer interest in supporting Canadian-grown products, or 'Buy Canada' sentiment," he says. "However, cost remains a critical factor, creating opportunities for competitively priced alternatives from imported field greens."
"Organic produce is losing momentum as consumers recognize that indoor-grown, pesticide free, conventional produce offers similar quality at a more affordable price," he notes. "Price sensitivity is driving shifts towards new indoor-grown options, especially in key categories like leafy greens."
Strategic expansion and target markets
Haven Greens is focused on serving key markets, with a primary focus on the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). However, the company's reach extends beyond Ontario, with plans to expand into Quebec, Manitoba, and the Northeast United States.
"We see significant opportunities both in retail and food service sales across these regions," Jay mentions.
Advanced horticultural techniques
"We use high-performance hydroponic fertigation techniques coupled with robust microbial ecology in the plant rhizosphere," Eric Highfield, newly appointed Chief Agricultural Officer mentions.
"This allows us to achieve the best possible yield while maintaining product quality on par with organically grown produce."
The company places a strong emphasis on climate control within its greenhouse environment. "Maintaining an optimized climate is critical to maximizing qualitative and quantitative outputs," he adds.
Photo right: Eric Highfield
"We harvest our greens in a refrigerated environment, enabling us to remove the field heat prior to cutting the leaf from the rootstock," he explains. "This results in significantly longer shelf life for our customers."
Adding value to the company
Eric brings 25 years of expertise in hydroponic and controlled environment agriculture.
"I guess you could say I'm the horticultural mind behind Haven Greens," he says. "Initially, we are focused on dialing in our advanced climate and irrigation systems to ensure we can walk before we run, so to speak."
He highlights the company's drive to continuous innovation: "We are also fine-tuning our microbial inoculations and developing our preventive biological IPM strategy. Once this is well established, we anticipate being able to push our yields to the limit with the technology we have implemented and the experience of our cultivation team."
The company is also conducting trials of novel lettuce varieties. "We are able to precisely monitor yield data for these trials thanks to the load cell conveyors and enhanced data services from Green Automation," he adds.
Haven Greens plans to expand its retail offerings. "We hope to add salad kits to our retail lineup soon," Eric shares.
For more information:
Haven Greens
hello@havengreens.ca
havengreens.ca