Swegreen and Ica Maxi Solna Create Stockholm's Largest In-Store Farm
Ica Maxi Supermarket in Solna is taking the concept of locally produced food to a whole new level by installing Swegreen’s in-store farming system for leafy greens right inside the store. The facility allows the Maxi store to offer its customers high-quality, locally grown fresh salad greens and herbs all year round.
Swegreen’s in-store farming system makes Ica Maxi in Solna the first supermarket in Stockholm to produce leafy greens on a large scale inside the store. Every day, store staff will be able to harvest fresh leafy greens from an eco-friendly farming system where energy, water, and nutrients can be recycled.
"We want to offer our customers something unique that is both climate-smart and locally produced. With this facility, we are making a significant investment in fresh produce, which is becoming an increasingly important part of our range," says Christofer Spångberg, store manager at Ica Maxi Solna.
The farming facility, located in the store's fruit and vegetable department, features floor-to-ceiling glass walls, allowing customers to see the growing process firsthand. The technology used is hydroponic farming – a modern and highly sustainable method where crops grow on small plugs of rockwool instead of soil. Nutrients come directly from water, which is recycled in a circular system.
The growing room is fully enclosed, and the growth process is digitally monitored via sensors. This allows the environment to be precisely controlled and optimized for the best quality in taste and nutritional content. The innovation is developed by the Swedish tech company Swegreen, which has designed both the growing room and the digital control system that uses artificial intelligence to calculate and optimize crop growth.
"We are very proud to collaborate with the Ica Maxi Solna team on this installation. Their commitment to the project—and to hyper-local and climate-smart food production—shows that this is a store at the forefront of innovation," says Swegreen CEO Andreas Dahlin.
"Ordinary vegetables sold in Swedish stores have, on average, traveled 3,000 kilometers, whereas our crops have not been transported at all. This naturally results in better shelf life, better texture—and also better taste and nutritional value," continues Andreas Dahlin.
"With fresh greens produced in-store, we are enhancing our offer with store-grown food. It feels really good. And this autumn, we will be able to offer our customers several exciting surprises from our in-store farm," adds Christofer Spångberg.
Ica Maxi Solna’s new in-store farm will be ready to deliver fresh leafy greens starting in early September and will supply the store with various herbs and spices such as cilantro, dill, and parsley, as well as different types of lettuce. Swegreen’s technical solution guarantees locally grown, high-quality crops with superior taste and nutritional value, completely free of pesticides.
For more information:
Andreas Dahlin, CEO Swegreen: andreas.dahlin@swegreen.se +46 709-24 00 32
Christofer Spångberg, Store Manager Ica Maxi Solna: christofer.spangberg@maxi.ica.se +46 8-522 148 10
Facts about Swegreen’s In-Store Farming System at Ica Maxi Supermarket in Solna:
The growing room is 60 square meters in size.
Consists of four levels, with elevators and automatic movement for optimal efficiency.
Based on hydroponic farming technology.
The plants are illuminated by an LED lighting system with a light recipe optimized for Swegreen’s leafy greens.
The irrigation system is circular – all water not absorbed by the plants is recycled.
Optimized growing conditions inside the in-store farm can produce up to 100 times more yield compared to traditional farming.
No transportation – everything grows from seed to plant inside the facility.
The growing room is kept clean so no bacteria or pests can enter, eliminating the need for pesticides.