Companies say partnership aims to ‘set new benchmark’ in year-round supply of premium British salad
Fischer Farms, the firm behind one of the world’s largest vertical farms, has announced a strategic partnership with Lancashire-based producer Dawndew Salad to grow a variety of cresses and micro greens.
The collaboration combines Fischer Farms’ advanced controlled environment agriculture (CEA) technology with Dawndew’s production experience to supply a growing portfolio of foodservice and wholesale customers.
Using precision-controlled indoor growing environments, Fischer Farms produces leafy greens using significantly less land and water than conventional agriculture, without the use of pesticides.
The company says its technology “enables consistent, high-quality output irrespective of season or weather conditions, reducing reliance on imports and long-distance supply chains, while strengthening UK food resilience”.
Dawndew, meanwhile, is a fifth-generation family business with over a century of heritage in the British salad sector. It specialises in the growing, cutting, washing and packing of salad cress for sandwiches, salads and garnishes and has more recently converted the use of some of its glasshouse for the production of pea shoots and micro leaves.
The two businesses said together they will “set a new standard for what sustainably produced British salad can look like”.
Fischer Farms explained that the partnership demonstrates how large-scale vertical farming can work alongside long-standing fresh produce specialists to enhance supply chain resilience, improve environmental performance, and provide customers with confidence in year-round British-grown availability.
“Together, we are showing what the future of British food production looks like,” said Fischer Farms’ commercial Director Jon Cummings.
James Ingle, director at Dawndew Salad, added: “This partnership is about giving our customers the confidence that they will always have access to the finest British-grown salad, a variety of cresses and micro leaf, whatever the season.”
