Emirates Flight Catering acquires indoor vertical farm

• Acquisition makes Bustanica a 100% UAE-owned agriculture venture

Emirates Flight Catering, one of the world’s largest catering operations, has fully acquired Emirates Bustanica, formerly called Emirates Crop One and its consumer brand Bustanica, the world’s largest indoor vertical farm.
This strategic move establishes Emirates Bustanica as a fully UAE-owned company, helping sustain the country’s vision of enhancing food and water security and its agricultural capabilities. The acquisition empowers Emirates Bustanica to leverage its local expertise and the latest tech know-how to meet the growing demands of the market. Located near Al Maktoum International Airport at Dubai World Central, Bustanica’s 330,000sqft facility has the capacity to grow more than one million kilogrammes of exceptional quality leafy greens a year, equivalent to three tonnes daily, while using 95 percent less water than conventional agriculture.

Operating under the brand name Bustanica, the produce is available across all major retailers in the UAE such as Spinney’s, Waitrose, Carrefour and Choithrams. Customers on Emirates and other airlines enjoy this farm-fresh produce in their salads and meals. Since its launch in July 2022, Bustanica has become a part of the UAE’s dinner table conversations, thanks to its growing range of leafy greens, herbs and microgreens that can and should be eaten straight out of the box – even tap water can contaminate the produce. Bustanica’s produce is grown without pesticides or herbicides and is 100 percent clean, fresh and nutrient-rich. Bustanica produces a variety of lettuce, spinach, parsley and kale.

Bustanica is driven by powerful technology – machine learning, artificial intelligence and other patented technologies – and a highly specialised in-house team that includes agronomy experts, engineers, horticulturists and plant scientists.
More recently, Emirates Bustanica was a preferred produce supplier for COP28, a recognition of its commitment to sustainability and environmental responsibility.