Buy Fresh Mushrooms: Sprouts' Pound Offer

Smallhold, a company that operates indoor mushroom farms in New York City, Los Angeles, and Austin, Texas, has expanded its partnership with Sprouts Farmers Markets across Western states. Smallhold's fresh, specialty mushrooms, including lion's mane and blue oyster varieties, are now available at Sprouts stores, offering consumers a unique and sustainable food option. With this expansion, Smallhold's mushrooms will be accessible in over 650 retailers and restaurants nationwide, catering to the growing demand for variety and choice in the produce aisle.

Smallhold's fresh mushrooms are now available at Sprouts Farmers Markets

Smallhold has expanded its operations to the West Coast by partnering with Sprouts Farmers Markets. Smallhold's fresh mushrooms are now available at Sprouts Farmers Markets across western states. Smallhold operates indoor mushroom farms in New York City, Los Angeles, and Austin, Texas, and its partnership with Sprouts Farmers Markets will increase the availability of its fresh mushrooms on the West Coast.

Smallhold's mushrooms are grown in technologically advanced chambers designed to optimize yield, taste, and color. The company's centralized sensor system can adjust the chambers' atmospheric parameters, controlling the inputs while accounting for changes in climate. This technology allows Smallhold to optimize its sustainable growing practices and ensure the freshness and quality of its mushrooms.

The expansion into Sprouts Farmers Markets is a significant move for Smallhold, as it increases its reach across the country and brings its mushrooms to over 650 retailers and restaurants across the U.S. Sprouts Farmers Markets is a trusted grocer for anyone looking for high-quality, top-shelf produce, and the partnership with Smallhold aligns with its mission of providing unique, fresh, and sustainable products.

Smallhold's premium specialty mushrooms, including lion's mane and blue oyster, are now proudly available at Sprouts Farmers Markets. The partnership between Smallhold and Sprouts answers the call for low-impact, sustainably grown food that helps contend with the impacts of traditional agriculture, food waste, and climate change. It also responds to the increasing demand from shoppers for more variety and choice in the produce aisle.

The partnership increases the availability of fresh mushrooms on the West Coast

The Sprouts Farmers Markets chain has partnered with Smallhold, a company that operates indoor mushroom farms in New York City, Los Angeles, and Austin, Texas. Smallhold uses advanced technology to grow mushrooms with optimized yield, taste, and color. Their California operations, which include a 34,000-square-foot farm in Vernon, near Los Angeles, provide locally grown, certified-organic specialty mushrooms.

Through this partnership, Sprouts will significantly increase the availability of Smallhold's fresh mushrooms on the West Coast. Smallhold's mushrooms, including lion's mane and blue oyster varieties, will be sold in Sprouts stores. This expansion into Sprouts adds to Smallhold's existing presence in over 650 retailers and restaurants across the US, including Whole Foods Market, Erewhon, Pavilions, Lassen's, Imperfect Foods, and Ralphs.

Sprouts is known for offering high-quality, top-shelf produce, and this partnership aligns with their commitment to providing unique, fresh, and sustainable products. Smallhold's mushrooms are grown sustainably, addressing the growing consumer demand for low-impact, sustainably grown food that helps mitigate the effects of traditional agriculture, food waste, and climate change.

The partnership between Sprouts and Smallhold is a response to shoppers' increasing demand for variety and choice in the produce aisle. It combines Smallhold's innovative and sustainable mushroom farming practices with Sprouts' extensive reach in the Western states. As a result, consumers on the West Coast will have improved access to fresh, specialty mushrooms that meet their expectations for both quality and sustainability.

Smallhold operates indoor mushroom farms in NYC, LA, and Austin, Texas

Smallhold is a company that operates indoor mushroom farms in major cities across the United States, including New York City, Los Angeles, and Austin, Texas. Smallhold's mission is to connect people with their food, environment, and farmers, and to reduce the distance between the dinner plate and where mushrooms are grown.

The company's first farm is located in Brooklyn, New York City, and is the only Certified Organic mushroom farm in the city. This farm, covering 5,000 square feet, grows a variety of mushrooms in the heart of Brooklyn. Smallhold also has a presence in Texas, with its Texas Macro farm serving as an R&D lab for experimenting with new varieties and cultivation methods. Additionally, their Buda macrofarm, located south of Austin, is home to two warehouses dedicated to mushroom farming, contributing to the company's large-scale growing operations.

Smallhold's largest and most advanced farm is situated just south of downtown Los Angeles. This 34,000-square-foot facility in Vernon, California, began delivering locally grown, certified-organic specialty mushrooms in May 2022. The farm utilizes technology to optimize sustainable growing practices, employing technologically advanced chambers to enhance yield, taste, and color. Smallhold's California operations, along with their farms in Brooklyn and Austin, have expanded the company's reach across the country.

Smallhold's innovative approach involves the use of climate-controlled, free-standing units called "minifarms," which can produce around 60 lbs of mushrooms per week. These minifarms can be seamlessly integrated into grocery stores and restaurants, making fresh mushrooms easily accessible. The company's use of technology, such as the FarmLinc system, ensures ideal growing conditions and connects their farms across the country. By growing mushrooms locally and utilizing waste byproduct media, Smallhold is committed to sustainable practices and reducing the environmental impact of traditional agriculture.

Sprouts will stock Smallhold's lion's mane and blue oyster mushrooms

Sprouts Farmers Market has partnered with Smallhold to bring an exotic variety of mushrooms to its customers. Smallhold is a specialty mushroom grower based in Brooklyn, NY, with indoor mushroom farms in New York City, Los Angeles, and Austin, Texas. With this new collaboration, Sprouts will now stock Smallhold's lion's mane and blue oyster mushrooms, along with other exotic varieties.

This expansion into Sprouts Farmers Markets across western states, including California, Arizona, and Nevada, will see Smallhold's mushrooms hit the shelves at 192 Sprouts locations. Sprouts customers will be able to purchase these specialty mushrooms, which offer a unique and fresh alternative to the standard white button mushrooms typically found in produce aisles.

Smallhold's mushrooms are grown using innovative and sustainable practices. The company utilizes technology to optimize growing conditions, with mushrooms cultivated in technologically advanced chambers that control atmospheric parameters. By growing mushrooms on waste byproduct mediums, such as sawdust from the timber industry, Smallhold prioritizes sustainability and low-impact agricultural practices.

The partnership between Sprouts and Smallhold is a response to the increasing demand for variety and choice in the produce aisle. Shoppers are no longer satisfied with the typical mushroom offerings of button, cremini, and portabella mushrooms. With Smallhold's specialty mushrooms, Sprouts customers can explore new flavors and culinary experiences while supporting sustainable and locally grown produce.

Sprouts' decision to stock Smallhold's lion's mane and blue oyster mushrooms reflects a commitment to providing unique, fresh, and sustainable products to its customers. This collaboration benefits both companies, as Smallhold expands its reach to over 650 retailers and restaurants across the US, making their specialty mushrooms more accessible to consumers who are seeking a diverse and exciting range of produce options.

Smallhold uses technology to optimise sustainable growing practices

Smallholder farmers are small-scale farmers, pastoralists, forest keepers, and fishers who manage smaller tracts of land, primarily using family labour. They are key to ensuring food security, especially in developing countries, and produce some of the world's most important agricultural products. For example, smallholder farmers in Kenya are responsible for 17% of horticultural exports and over half of the country's fruit exports.

However, smallholder farmers face various challenges, including vulnerability to market shocks, low soil productivity, and isolation. They are also disproportionately impacted by climate change and climate shocks, yet they receive only a small fraction of total climate finance. Additionally, they may lack access to modern agrifood supply chains, such as roads or transport to get their produce to market, suitable storage facilities, and technology to communicate with buyers or learn about food safety and quality control requirements.

To address these challenges and optimise sustainable growing practices, Smallhold can leverage technology in several ways. Firstly, Smallhold can utilise AI solutions, which have the potential to boost productivity, provide better market access, and secure the economic future of smallholder farmers. Large agriculture technology vendors offer AI-powered software platforms that deliver production recommendations. However, a challenge arises due to the lack of data from smallholder farming practices, as large datasets are necessary for effective AI solutions. To overcome this, Smallhold can focus on collecting and providing diverse and representative data from smallholder farms, ensuring cultural sensitivity in data labelling.

Moreover, Smallhold can explore blended finance options, which involve the strategic use of development finance and philanthropic funds to attract private capital investments. Blended finance reduces investment risks and has been beneficial for smallholder farmers, with around 22% of blended finance transactions globally supporting rural and smallholder farmers between 2014 and 2019. Smallhold can also advocate for public and private financing initiatives to encourage the adoption of sustainable agricultural practices, as smallholder farmers often lack the necessary financial resources.

Additionally, Smallhold can provide digital intervention services to smallholder farmers, including access to advisory services, land registration and titling, risk management, and supply chain transparency. These interventions can bridge the digital divide and enable smallholder farmers to participate in the digital economy, accessing financial value and connecting with other value chain actors.

By leveraging technology and finance solutions, Smallhold can empower smallholder farmers to optimise their sustainable growing practices, increase their resilience to climate change, and secure their economic future.

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