Bean sprouts are in Grow Up FARMs & Greenow’s DNA
The corner stone of the Greenow family business was laid back in 1966, when the first generation pioneered the professional cultivation of bean sprouts. It turned into a success and still is - who does not regularly add the crisp and healthy bean sprouts to the shopping cart? Sales of organic bean sprouts are growing steadily, and this has led Greenow to seek a more efficient packaging solution.
Fresh and crisp produce
Initially, the Schur®Star Packaging Machine was only planned for packing bean sprouts fully automatically into reclosable bags. Often, one does not eat all the sprouts at once; but in a reclosable bag, the sprouts do not desiccate in the refrigerator, but will retain their crispness for up to eight days. Hereby, the consumer can make his contribution to reducing problematic food waste, which is today an issue in both the retail outlet and the home. Usually, bean sprouts are packed in a tray and then flow wrapped, so the consumer would have to repack any sprouts that may be left over. But now this is history!I
Capacity for new project
With its large capacity, the Schur®Star Packaging Machine has given Greenow & Grow Up FARM the opportunity to realize the Eat-Grow-Repeat project. The pea plants are initially grown in an entirely new, vertical greenhouse – on five floors, in a 100% controlled climate, with recirculated water, under artificial light and completely without soil. And to match the 100% compostable contents, the bag is produced of PE, a single-layer material that does not require separation to be processed in a recycling system.
The Schur®Star Concept gives us a lot of opportunities
”Bean sprouts are our core product, for which we chose the Schur®Star Concept ”, says Lasse Vilmar, CEO and third generation in the company. ”But because of the versatility of the packaging machine and its high capacity, we decided to speed up the new Eat-Grow-Repeat project. When starting up a new project, flexibility is of the utmost importance, as you must be able to quickly adapt to market reactions”.
Lasse Vilmar continues: ”Now we can change from a fully automatic to a manual packing process in a few minutes – e.g. if we want to pack meal salads with different elements. Also in terms of bag constructions we are not at all limited to the two bag types that we started up with. We are excited about the new flexibility and the many options, and we feel convinced that the market will welcome our novelties: Healthy and tasty products in convenient packaging solutions.”
