TruLeaf wins contract to sell hydroponic lettuce in Atlantic Canada

A Truro company that grows hydroponic lettuce has won a large contract to put its product on grocery shelves in Atlantic Canada.

TruLeaf has spent five years developing a growing system for baby lettuce greens. Plants are placed underneath LED lights and are irrigatedwith re-circulated water. The temperature in the room is kept constant; no insects or bacteria can get in, andno pesticides or herbicides are added.

"For the entire growing cycle they're in there, being kept happy with a good irrigation cycle," said Krilen Ramanaidu, TruLeaf's director of farming systems.

"In three weeks we just take them out, they're all hand-harvested with scissors, they're packed in small clamshells, and they're cooled immediately afterward."

TruLeaf is experimenting to see how long the shelf life for its baby lettuce can last. As of right now, the lettuce keeps about five weeks in a refrigerator without spoiling.

"We're really proud of the fact that our product is probably going to last about two times as long as traditional-grown product that's coming from California," said Greg Veinott, who's in charge of marketing at the company.

Growing science

The five-week old greens impressed the executives at a national grocery chain so much, TruLeaf won a seven-figure contract to put their packs in Atlantic Canadian stores this fall.

Truleaf won't say yet which retailer they're selling to, or exactly how much the contract is worth. However, President and CEO Gregg Curwin says it is a national chain, so there's potential for the 12-person startup to expand across Canada.

The company has already started construction to convert an old school gymnasium in Bible Hill into a growing facility 10times the size of its current plant. It also plans to hire five or six people to work in the facility over this summer.

Curwin saidthe long-term plan is not just to sell leafy greens, but to also market the technology TruLeaf has developed.

"We've had significant interest from China, but you absolutely have to be ready when you go over there, to sell your systems," he said.

"Ultimately, licensing and selling the systems globally. And I think we'll be ready for that next year."

The company plans to sell the clamshell packs for around the same price as regular California lettuce, and to offer several varieties of lettuce including spinach, kale, and romaine.