This interview details Little Leaf Farms, an indoor farming company based in the United States. The interview is with Paul Sellew, Founder and CEO of Little Leaf Farms.
I grew up helping with my family’s ornamental greenhouse nursery business, Pride’s Corner Farms, but I pursued a career focused on food production. I founded Backyard Farms, a greenhouse tomato company utilizing controlled environment agriculture (CEA), with the goal of producing locally grown, higher-quality food for the New England market. That same goal is what prompted me to start Little Leaf Farms in 2015. I felt there was an opportunity in the lettuce market to grow fresher, better leafy greens that don’t have to travel thousands of miles like lettuce grown on the West Coast.
Since opening our first greenhouse, we’ve been on a mission to build a more resilient food system, pioneering a peri-urban approach in CEA. This means that we’re building our greenhouses in the surrounding regions of major urban centers to minimize the amount our leafy greens have to travel to reach the consumer, resulting in lettuce that lasts longer and tastes better.
Controlled environment agriculture (CEA) makes up less than 4% of the packaged salad category. In order to grow this industry and continue to provide consumers with our leafy greens, additional capacity has to be built and staffed with skilled employees, which can be a challenge. We’re grateful to have a best-in-class team at Little Leaf Farms that’s committed to growing great lettuce, and continuing to retain those folks and attract additional teammates is essential to our success.
At Little Leaf Farms, we approach growing lettuce as a farming company, rather than a tech company. While our technology is cutting-edge, we’re focused on growing sustainable, local lettuce that most importantly tastes great. Our growing methods are also much different than other indoor leafy green producers, as we harness the free power of the sun and utilize captured rainwater that’s disinfected to nurture our plants. We also ensure that our leafy greens are never touched by human hands from seeding to harvesting to packaging, meaning the consumer doesn’t have to wash them before enjoying them.
As part of our commitment to quality, our lettuce is delivered from our greenhouses to grocery store shelves within 24 hours, 365 days a year, spending less time traveling than most other lettuces. This, in addition to our sustainable growing practices, results in fresh, flavorful leafy greens that remain crispy even days after purchase. Our fans agree – we’ve received thousands of positive emails and voicemails from them about how our leafy greens have changed the way they think about lettuce, which we’ve turned into the voice of the brand.
Our total operating greenhouses in Massachusetts and Pennsylvania cover 30 acres, and we will have another 10 acres operating in Pennsylvania before the end of 2024. We use this space efficiently and have 30x more yield than conventional farms. In fact, 10 acres of our indoor greenhouse replaces 300 acres in a traditional farm. As we continue to grow, our goal is to have 100 acres under glass by 2026 to make our leafy greens accessible to more than half the country’s population.
We do use CO2 in our operations, as it promotes photosynthesis and thereby supports plant growth and yield. This is a common and well-established practice in greenhouse cultivation.
We love to hear from our fans how much our leafy greens have changed the way they think about lettuce. Folks can connect with us on our social channels, including Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook, or head to our website, LittleLeafFarms.com, to learn more about Little Leaf Farms and find a retailer near them.
This interview details Local Grown Salads, an indoor farming company based in the United States. The interview is with Zale Tabakman, President of Local Grown Salads. To learn more about Local Grown Salads and other indoor farming companies, click on this link!
View Full InterviewThis interview details Pure Farms, an indoor farming company based in the United States. The interview is with Tom Grams, Farm Manager at Pure Farms. To learn more about Pure Farms and other indoor farming companies, click on this link!
View Full InterviewThis interview details Protealis, an indoor farming company based in Belgium. The interview is with Benjamin Laga, CEO of Protealis. To learn more about Protealis and other indoor farming companies, click on this link!
View Full InterviewThis interview details AloAlto, an indoor farming company based in Spain. The interview is with Alejandro Casacuberta, Co-Founder of AloAlto. To learn more about AloAlto and other indoor farming companies, click on this link!
View Full InterviewThis interview details Maan Biobased Products, a company based in The Netherlands. The interview is with Tjeerd de Looze, Product/Commercial Manager at Maan Biobased Products. To learn more about Maan Biobased Products and other indoor farming companies, click on this link!
View Full InterviewThis interview details the Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research (FFAR), a non-profit company based in the United States. The interview is with John Reich, Ph.D., Scientific Program Director at the Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research. To learn more about FFAR and other indoor farming companies, click on this link!
View Full InterviewThis interview details York Fresh Food Farms, an indoor farming company based in the United States. The interview is with Bruce Manns, Farm Manager at York Fresh Food Farms. To learn more about York Fresh Food Farms and other indoor farming companies, click on this link!
View Full InterviewThis interview details Lone Star Lettuce Growers, an indoor farming company based in the United States. The interview is with Kyle Massey, Owner & Founder of Lone Star Lettuce Growers. To learn more about Lone Star Lettuce Growers and other indoor farming companies, click on this link!
View Full InterviewThis interview details Aquaponi Inc., an indoor farming company based in Japan. The interview is with Kengo Hamada, Founder & CEO of Aquaponi Inc.. To learn more about Aquaponi Inc. and other indoor farming companies, click on this link!
View Full InterviewThis interview details Greenhood, an indoor farming company based in Singapore. The interview is with Gaurav Saraf, CEO & Founder of Greenhood. To learn more about Greenhood and other indoor farming companies, click on this link!
View Full Interview