Terra Tech Corp., a leader in sustainable agricultural products, is pleased to announce it has signed a distribution deal with New Jersey-based GroRite Garden Centers, a greenhouse farming retail superstore. Under the terms of the deal GroRite will be purchasing a majority of their plants for retail sale from Edible Gardens. Forecasting from prior year’s sales Edible Garden anticipates this portion of the contract to be worth close to $500,000 in annual revenue.
In addition, Edible Garden will be converting 35,000 sq ft of existing greenhouse space at GroRite’s Lincoln Park store into a hydroponic lettuce cultivation facility. This facility will produce close to 12,000 heads of hydroponically grown lettuce weekly for sale throughout the northeast as well as in their existing retail store. At full production this facility can generate up to $800,000 in sales to Edible Garden. The company anticipates harvesting their first crop of living lettuce by year-end 2013.
“The beauty of this deal is that we will have commercial production taking place within a retail setting,” said Ken Vande Vrede, COO of Terra Tech. “Consumers will be able to purchase this product at GroRite a few feet away from where it is being grown. What we don’t sell in Lincoln Park will be distributed to local grocers and other specialty retailers within a few hours drive of the facility.”
Terra Tech is working aggressively to expand the Edible Garden brand throughout the US. By partnering with local farmers who grow sustainable produce utilizing hydroponic methods, the company can increase distribution and market penetration quickly. Even though the brand will be national, each region throughout the US will have local farmers who produce and distribute within their local market. The company is currently in talks with urban farmers in multiple locations throughout the US.
“Our model has actually simplified quite a bit. We have no intention of purchasing additional farms, which would dilute shareholders. We will however partner with other urban farmers throughout the US who wish to cultivate under our standards and our brand. Utilizing distribution contracts we will market and sell their locally grown, sustainable produce in their respective markets. Under this structure Terra Tech would see 100% of the revenue stream while earning a healthy distribution fee without the overhead, capital expense and cultivation risk associated with owning multiple farms,” said Derek Peterson CEO of Terra Tech.
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