7-Eleven Inc. has formed a new venture with indoor vertical farming company Plenty Unlimited Inc. “to further its commitment to sustainability through the availability of fresh, sustainably grown produce.” 7-Eleven will offer lettuce from Plenty’s Compton, California, indoor farm in salads sold at approximately 1,300 convenience stores in California.
This is a significant step for 7-Eleven in providing customers with locally grown produce that meets rigorous sustainability standards, it said. Plenty’s indoor vertical farming technology creates fresh produce that can be harvested with peak-season flavor year-round, it said.
Plenty champions efficiency and environmental stewardship. Its certified pesticide-free leafy greens use 1% of the land typically required by traditional farms to achieve yields up to 350 times greater per acre, according to the company. Plenty’s approach also reduces water usage by up to 90% compared to traditional farming, employing only a fraction of the water per kilogram of leafy greens produced, it said.
“We are thrilled to introduce Plenty to our salad offerings and bring their innovative and sustainable approach to fresh produce to our customers,” said Marissa Jarratt, chief marketing and sustainability officer at 7-Eleven. “As part of 7-Eleven’s Good Made Easy approach, we are continuing to find opportunities to offer products that not only meet our customers’ expectations for quality and convenience but also contribute positively to environmental sustainability at scale.”
Customers can enjoy these greens in two salad options:
- California Cobb Salad: Featuring Plenty’s Crispy Lettuce, topped with white meat chicken, sliced egg, grape tomatoes, applewood bacon and a cheddar and Monterey Jack cheese blend, served with ranch dressing.
- Chicken Caesar Salad: Prepared with Plenty’s Crispy Lettuce, white meat chicken, parmesan cheese, crunchy croutons, parmesan cheese crisps and a lemon wedge, accompanied by classic Caesar dressing.
“Our team is always on the lookout for ways to innovate and introduce new products that our customers can feel good about purchasing,” said Deanna Hall, senior product director at 7-Eleven. “Introducing Plenty to our salad offerings in California is just one of the many ways we’re continuing to evolve our fresh food to satisfy customer preferences.”
“We’re proud to be working with 7-Eleven to bring sustainably grown produce into the heart of communities across California,” said Dana Worth, senior vice president of commercial at Plenty. “Expanding our footprint into convenience stores with 7-Eleven marks an important milestone in making fresh, locally grown produce more accessible, and we look forward to continued collaboration with 7-Eleven to offer customers convenient, fresh products.”
South San Francisco, California-based Plenty’s proprietary approach is designed to preserve the world’s natural resources, make fresh produce available to all communities and create resilience in food systems against weather, location, pests and climate effects, the company said. It is building a vertical farm to grow strawberries indoors at scale near Richmond, Virginia; a farm in Abu Dhabi; and a vertical farming research center in Laramie, Wyoming.
- 7-Eleven is No. 1 on CSP’s 2024 Top 202 ranking of U.S. c-store chains by store count.
Irving, Texas-based 7-Eleven operates, franchises or licenses more than 83,000 convenience stores in 19 countries and regions, including more than 13,000 7-Eleven convenience stores in the United States. In addition to 7-Eleven c-stores, the company operates and franchises Speedway and Stripes c-stores and the Laredo Taco Company, Speedy Cafe and Raise the Roost Chicken and Biscuits restaurant brands.
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