Exploring the 7-11 "vegetable garden" under LED plant lights

According to reports, in November 2018, 7-11, the largest convenience store in Japan, announced the establishment of a large plant factory in Tokyo to provide vegetables for salads and other foods sold in its stores.

The plant factory was built by Prime Delica, a company that produces bento and other products for 7-11. Prime Delica has long provided high-quality cooked food to 7-11, and its vertical farm in Sagamihara, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan has now adopted Signify's LED plant growth lights.

Philips GreenPower LED lights provided by Signify help Prime Delica grow crops with high vitamin levels and nutritional value. Prime Delica uses different light formulations in various growth stages of different crops and pre-harvests them to improve vitamin C levels and meet the requirements of functional foods. In addition to high quality, the crops grown on vertical farms have low levels of bacteria and do not require pesticides during growth.

In addition, LED lighting in vertical farms controls the cultivation process by adjusting the color, duration, and positioning of light exposure, so food distributors can stabilize the supply of vegetables. Prime Delica has collaborated with plant experts from Tamagawa University, CCS and Signify to develop a crop growth formula using Philips GreenPower LED growth modules. Researchers use the right light strategy to help them fully control the crop's growth cycle.

The entire process of Prime Delica's vertical farm, from seeding to harvesting, is automated, minimizing manual time and improving crop hygiene. Today, the entire growth cycle of lettuce from sowing to harvest only takes about 39 days, while the growth cycle of lettuce in traditional open-air farms takes 70 days. Moreover, the lettuce output of this vertical farm can even reach 3200 kg/day.