US: Food source scares result in increased demand for greenhouse lettuce

“Lettuce is seeing a pretty even keel between supply and demand,” says John Bonner with Great Lakes Growers in Burton, Ohio. Great Lakes operates a 75,000-square-foot facility where it grows 3.2 million units annually.

Bonner points to the recent E. coli outbreak on romaine lettuce, one where almost 200 people fell ill and five died in the more than two month outbreak, as having an affect on Great Lakes’ sales.

“It definitely increased sales. Every time it happens, we get a little bit more of a sustained increase in sales,” says Bonner. “It’s significant when it happens—there’s a shortage. But every time it happens, there’s that sustained increase and over time, as people get educated, they see the values of controlled-environment grown products.”

At the same time, Great Lakes sees the seasonality change in demand. “The local field-grown stuff comes in and that takes a big chunk of the market. We’re local year-round for the Midwest,” he says. “But typically the local stuff comes in at a lower price point so we see that in the summer. But we also see that spike in demand at restaurants.”

That keeps pricing relatively consistent for greenhouse lettuces. “I think there’s the increase in supply in the market but there’s also an increase in demand so it’s in lockstep right now. We’re moving through all the production we can make,” Bonner says.

Looking ahead, demand may shift again now that consumers are into vacation season. “It’s the time of year when consumers go on vacation. We’re in the Midwest so people don’t really come here for vacation and we don’t benefit from that,” he says. “But with people also eating out more, that may make up for a lot.”

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