Whole Foods Partners with AutoStore and OnePointOne to Debut Robotic Vertical Farm
In a cutting-edge warehouse just outside Phoenix, Arizona, a new era of agriculture is taking shape. Thousands of herbs and vegetables grow in automated bins, gliding smoothly through a towering, Rubik’s cube-like structure. Welcome to Opollo Farm, a fully automated vertical farming system developed by AutoStore and OnePointOne. This advanced system uses robots to manage crops in a precisely controlled environment, offering the perfect balance of water, nutrients, and light for optimal plant growth. The result? Fresh, harvest-ready greens in just 15 days—half the time it takes traditional farming—grown just miles from where they are consumed.
Opollo Farm was designed to address some of the most pressing challenges facing modern agriculture: labor shortages, supply chain disruptions, water scarcity, and the increasing demand for fresher, locally grown food. Currently operational, Opollo Farm is already supplying a variety of leafy greens and herbs to Whole Foods Market stores in the Phoenix area under the “Willo” brand, bringing high-quality, local produce to consumers faster than ever before.
“At Whole Foods Market, we’re constantly exploring new ways to bring fresh, sustainable food to our customers,” said Chris Petroulakis, Category Merchant for Produce at Whole Foods Market. “Opollo Farm is a perfect example of how advanced technology can revolutionize local agriculture, helping to deliver high-quality, locally grown produce right to our stores faster and fresher than ever before.”
The Future of Agriculture: Inside Opollo Farm
Inside the automated Opollo Farm, the journey of each plant is seamlessly orchestrated by advanced technology. Once seeds are planted, they are automatically transferred to the grid for germination. Throughout their growth cycle, the plants move to different positions within the facility, ensuring they receive the optimal environmental conditions needed for healthy development. This continuous movement ensures that each plant gets the perfect amount of water, nutrients, and light at every stage of growth.
Opollo Farm is not just a typical vertical farm; it is a fully integrated platform that combines automation, lighting, irrigation, and climate control (HVAC) to create an ideal environment for plant growth. Robots travel along the top of the cubic grid to manage watering, and sophisticated software continuously monitors each plant’s status. This system adjusts the environmental conditions in real time, ensuring optimal growth conditions for every plant.
Unlike traditional farms, Opollo Farm operates entirely indoors, giving it complete control over the growing environment. This level of precision allows it to produce crops year-round, independent of seasonal fluctuations or unpredictable weather conditions. Its compact design means that it can be placed close to urban centers or alongside distribution hubs, maximizing available floor space and minimizing the distance food must travel to reach consumers. This is critical in a world where reducing food miles is becoming increasingly important for sustainability.
When plants are ready for harvest, robots transport the bins to the “Port”—the single entry/exit point for the grid—ensuring that labor usage is minimized. This efficient system is central to AutoStore’s technology, enabling the farm to operate around the clock with high efficiency and minimal human intervention. The entire system is designed to make farming smarter, faster, and more cost-effective, ensuring that consumers get fresh produce with a significantly lower environmental footprint.
“Opollo Farm shows what’s possible when proven automation meets global challenges like food supply resilience and sustainability,” said Parth Joshi, Chief Product Officer at AutoStore. “Our work with OnePointOne highlights the versatility of AutoStore, as we move and store goods for diverse industries and use cases. From order fulfillment for major brands to scaling urban farming, we’re enabling smarter, more resilient solutions that have the potential to reshape agriculture.”
“We’re at a critical point in agriculture, where resources like water and land are becoming scarce,” said Sam Bertram, CEO of OnePointOne. “With AutoStore’s modular robotics and our plant-production technology, we can now grow food almost anywhere using a fraction of those resources. This collaboration tackles the challenges of vertical farming, offering a solution that makes locally grown produce—something consumers increasingly demand—possible even in urban areas.”
How Opollo Farm Works
Opollo Farm is built on a combination of innovative technologies designed to optimize space, resources, and efficiency. The following are key aspects of its operation:
- Hydroponic Growing System: Plants are grown in specialized bins within a closed-loop hydroponic system. In this system, water is recirculated, drastically reducing water consumption compared to traditional farming practices. Hydroponics allows for precise control over the nutrients each plant receives, ensuring healthier crops with minimal waste.
- High-Density Cultivation: One of the most significant benefits of Opollo Farm is its ability to grow plants at an incredibly high density. This enables the farm to operate in compact spaces, such as existing distribution centers. By eliminating the need for large tracts of farmland, the farm can be located closer to urban markets, reducing transportation emissions and providing fresher produce.
- Automated Plant Movement: The AutoStore system powers the movement of plants throughout the facility. Each bin enters and exits the grid through a single port, minimizing the labor required for plant management. The automated system allows for a highly efficient use of labor, freeing up resources for other tasks and reducing operational costs.
- Scalable Architecture: Whether running on a small or large scale, Opollo Farm offers consistent performance. Its modular design allows it to be expanded to meet growing demand, making it an ideal solution for urban areas or regions with limited land and resources.
- Controlled Environment: The fully enclosed system at Opollo Farm protects plants from pests and contamination, eliminating the need for pesticides. This creates a cleaner, safer product for consumers while also reducing the environmental impact of pesticide use.
- Local Supply Chain: Opollo Farm’s proximity to urban centers drastically shortens the supply chain, ensuring that produce is delivered to market quickly. With food transportation accounting for a significant portion of greenhouse gas emissions, reducing transportation distances helps minimize Opollo Farm’s carbon footprint, further promoting sustainability.
A Game-Changer for the Future of Food Production
Opollo Farm is more than just an innovation in farming technology—it’s a glimpse into the future of agriculture. By leveraging the power of automation, hydroponics, and vertical farming, Opollo Farm provides a sustainable and scalable solution to the challenges of modern food production. As the global population grows and resources become increasingly scarce, systems like Opollo Farm may hold the key to feeding the world while minimizing environmental impact.
The collaboration between AutoStore and OnePointOne is helping to redefine what is possible in agriculture, making locally grown, sustainable food more accessible and efficient. The success of Opollo Farm is proof that automation, when combined with thoughtful, innovative design, can solve some of the most pressing issues in agriculture today.
