In The Hague, a Dutch agri-tech firm is testing a simple but surprisingly ambitious idea. If people want fresher food with fewer supply chain headaches, why not grow the vegetables right where they are sold? Their concept blends a greenhouse, a neighborhood grocery and a delivery service all in one place.
The company, LocalDutch, calls these sites Urban Farm Shops. The idea is to produce fresh vegetables year-round, sell them directly in the community and build a social space around the food grown on site. Cutting out long trips between farms, warehouses and stores could reduce transport costs and food waste. It could also make a real difference in regions like parts of the United States, the Caribbean and Africa, where accessing fresh produce can still be difficult.
The business model is straightforward. Urban Farm Shops would earn revenue from in-store sales, Community Supported Agriculture memberships and partnerships for last-mile delivery. Each location could tailor its offerings to local demand while sticking to the same operational structure.
“What we are bringing to the United States is truly Dutch technology, applied in a way that is both effective and easy to scale,” said Arne Spliet, co-founder of LocalDutch, in a press release. “In a sector where skilled greenhouse climate specialists are scarce, our system automates much of that work. That helps ensure consistently successful local production, and that is exactly what many communities around the world urgently need.”
If the idea seems overdue, LocalDutch says there is a reason. High-performing greenhouses rely on precise climate control. Maintaining stable temperature, airflow and humidity usually requires specialized knowledge, and those experts are hard to find.
Their solution is automation. LocalDutch built an indoor climate autopilot that relies on AI and cloud services. With a centralized system managing the growing conditions, individual locations do not have to depend on scarce specialists. The company says this gives them a way to expand quickly while keeping standards consistent.
Investors appear interested. LocalDutch says it has received more than $68 million in funding proposals so far. In early 2025, it was awarded a $40,000 grant from Pennsylvania’s Agricultural Innovation Program to support its automated greenhouse model.
For now, the pitch is simple. Year-round produce, grown a few steps from the checkout counter. A local shop where customers can see exactly where their food comes from. A model designed to work in places that need more reliable access to fresh vegetables.
Would people shop there? LocalDutch thinks the answer is yes.
