There’s less of an excuse to choose the candy or chips when you have fresh salad options in vending machines.
Consumers say convenience is often a roadblock in eating fresh produce, especially vegetables.
But now a new, limited-time-only peach and herbed goat cheese salad, featuring Bowery Crispy Leaf and Baby Kale, is available at government offices, universities and hospitals, according to a news release.
New York-based Bowery, a vertical farming company serving more than 2,000 grocery stores and major e-commerce platforms, has collaborated with Wellfound Foods, a company bringing tech-enabled smart fridges for healthy eating to more than 75 government, healthcare and education sites across Maryland, Washington, D.C., and Virginia.
Developed by chef Mark Locraft, the Bowery and Wellfound Foods salad features fresh peaches, goat cheese, cucumber, grape tomatoes, smoked almonds, caramelized onions and honey balsamic dressing over a bed of Bowery Crispy Leaf, Baby Kale and Basil.
The salad is now available 24 hours a day, seven days a week at Wellfound SmartMarkets, expanding access to healthy, local food options at transit hubs, educational institutions and health care providers, according to the release.
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The partnership of these two companies helps meet the demand for healthy, delicious food in a modern grab-and-go experience, the release said. Wellfound Foods does frequent menu updates to the cashless smart fridges at locations such as train stations, college campuses and Capitol Hill. People can find their closest SmartMarket by downloading the Wellfound app on Apple and Android.
“The idea for Wellfound Foods is simple: If you eat on-the-go, you shouldn’t have to compromise quality for convenience,” Wellfound Foods CEO and founder Sarah Frimpong said in the release. “Our mission is to bring better, healthier grab-and-go snacks and meals to our communities, and this collaboration with Bowery is accomplishing just that. Fresh, delicious greens are the base of this salad recipe, enlivened by fresh peaches and creamy goat cheese. And our smart fridges offer extras like hard-boiled eggs and blackened chicken, for customers who want a protein boost, too.”
Bowery recently launched new salad greens, which are versatile enough to also be cooking greens: spinach and bok choy, the latest release from Bowery’s Farmer’s Selection line. The company increased its retail footprint by more than 19 times between 2020 and 2023, according to the release.
Bowery is scaling up with five farms in operation, including R&D and innovation farms for pioneering indoor agriculture science, and two commercial farms under development that will more than double the company’s total production. Bowery’s brand has been in the market since 2016 and is sold in locations including Whole Foods, Ahold Delhaize, Amazon, Safeway/Albertsons and Walmart.
Bowery’s financial position is backed $647 million in equity and debt raised from investors including Fidelity, Temasek, Google Ventures, KKR, General Catalyst, GGV Capital, First Round Capital, and people including Jeff Wilke, Tom Colicchio, José Andrés and David Barber of Blue Hill, according to the release.
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