Food & Beverage

LaRosa’s goes hydroponic with salad strategy

Photo by istock.com

October 7, 2021

LaRosa's Pizzeria is going hydroponic with its lettuce supply at the pizza chain's 66 locations.

The brand is making the switch as the lettuce is fresher and found close by at Pure Green Farms in South Bend, Indiana.

Since the lettuce is grown in a water-based setting, instead of soil, there are no pesticides or herbicides, and it costs less to ship, according to a press release. It's also more sustainable.

"While we're best known for pizza, we also serve tens of thousands of salads a year," Mark LaRosa, president and chief culinary officer of LaRosa's, said in the release. "We've used iceberg lettuce in our salads for years. But recently, we've experienced inconsistent product quality primarily from California growers due to weather conditions there as well as difficulty getting timely delivery. The baby leaf lettuce from Pure Green Farms solves both issues. It's fresh and tastes great. It's got the same robust crunch that our guests loved about our iceberg lettuce."

Pure Green Farms' fully automated, 174,000-square-foot hydroponic greenhouse will produce 10,000 pounds of baby leaf lettuce weekly for LaRosa's pizzerias in Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana.

"We listen to the feedback we get from our guests every week," LaRosa said in the release. "We continue to hear how important high-quality, high-nutrition and great taste are to them. So, hydroponic lettuce is a logical addition for us."

LaRosa's was founded in 1954 on Cincinnati's West Side by Buddy LaRosa.