In 2011, Dutch grower Loos, together with two dairy farms and another farming company, started the energy firm. They generate heat and energy from manure and agricultural waste streams. This allows Loos to grow tasty strawberries in winter, which are more durable than strawberries imported from Egypt and Spain. Now, the produce has its own sustainable logo and can boast the increasing interest of major retailers.
Arno Loos explains what is special about this construction: "There are a lot of fermentation plants in The Netherlands, but there are few with using as much heat as we do."
Outlets
When people saw how much more durable winter strawberries were, Loos, together with his marketing organization, The Greenery, went looking for alternative outlets. The PLUS supermarkets were interested. As of October 2013 the strawberries are in the store, sporting the sustainable GIJS logo. Where Loos is concerned, this is just the beginning: "We can now approach other major retailers. If they want to distinguish themselves with sustainable products, they shouldn’t buy foreign strawberries. The Jumbo supermarket chain has already shown interest."
Source: Syntens