"Our Goal is to Bring Containerised Vertical Farms to Every Major City in South Africa"
Vertically farmed salad mix reaches major retail shelves
Photo: © Hein Duvenhage
Arable Grow has achieved a significant milestone, with their vertically farmed Superfood Salad Mix now on the shelves at Food Lovers Market. For those unfamiliar with what it takes to get a fresh product into a major retailer, the journey began with Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) compliance.
A GAP certification is not a form to be filled in, but a complete audit of how produce is grown, handled, and traced. Arable Grow had to build systems from the ground up to demonstrate food safety and process repeatability.
Label law followed. South Africa's R146 regulations dictate precisely what can and cannot appear on a label, down to the declaration of nutritional values and health claims. Then came packaging, not merely printing an attractive bag, but engineering the psychology of what compels a consumer to pick up a product, read it, and choose it over the ten others beside it. Colour, layout, messaging, and shelf presence all had to be carefully considered.
"Vertical farming has a bad reputation in business circles. 'The unit economics don't work.' 'It's a science project, not a company.' We've heard it all. And honestly, a lot of vertical farming ventures have earned that scepticism," said Hein Duvenhage, CEO of Arable Grow.
For more information:
Arable
Hein Duvenhage, CEO
Email: hello@arable.co.za
https://arable.co.za
19 Jun 2026