Grand Rapids food distributor switches salad brand

Courtesy Revolution Farms

Grand Rapids-based S. Abraham & Sons, a c-store distributor and subsidiary of Imperial Trading Company, is switching its Fruit Ridge Farms brand salads to Revolution Farms, a major year-round lettuce farm in Michigan.

The Caledonia-based three-acre hydroponic greenhouse produces lettuce that goes from farm to store in fewer than two days. The indoor farm can produce more than 1.5 million pounds of lettuce and salad greens for the Midwest per year.

The salads will be made from the Revolution Farms Michigan Spring Mix blend, which combines Bibb, Red Oak and Sweet Crisp lettuce.

“Fresh and convenient are two words that we believe can and should go together, and Revolution Farms’ vision of farming means the same freshness you expect at home or in a five-star restaurant can be accessible on-the-go,” said John Green, Revolution Farms CEO. “Our partnership with S. Abraham & Sons brings together our mission to reach more people with fresher, healthier, more nutritious food, and raise awareness of how to eat local greens all year round.”

The farm added two acres to expand it to three acres, designed as part of a fully automated system that grows non-GMO lettuce seeds into lettuce that are packaged hands-free and goes from farm to store within one to two days.

“As families travel more, their food should travel less. Partnering with Revolution Farms brings an incredible innovation to fresh foods on-the-go,” said George Bennett, chief marketing officer at S. Abraham & Sons. “Their lettuce is traveling 95% fewer miles to our kitchens, where it’s made into salads and travels to store shelves in as little as two days. Working with Revolution Farms means our customers get fresher, more nutritious and safer salads that are grown year-round, closer to home. We are thrilled to make this switch and provide more ready-made options at thousands of convenience stores across our marketing area.”

Revolution Farms’ lettuce are available at more than 200 stores in Michigan, including Meijer, D&W Fresh Market, VG’s and Family Fare stores. They are sold at hundreds of independent grocers, through Doorganics for direct consumer delivery and VanEerden, Gordon Food Service and Sysco.