Entire production process

Deliscious keeps the entire production process under its own supervision and management. The process can be divided into two stages: the propagation stage and the growth stage. In both stages Deliscious employs a sustainable working method with a strong focus on delivering lettuce of a high quality.

Propagation

Deliscious is the first vegetable cultivation company that also manages the propagation of its own lettuce plants. We are able to achieve this, because we cultivate our plants with the use of LED lighting and have discovered just the right lighting formula for doing this. What started with an idea, has now been realised in practice. This road has been taken in association with Philips. It has taken quite a number of years to achieve this, and research is still being conducted into further improvements. For over a year, we have been testing various levels of light and spectra. Eventually this has resulted in the optimal lighting recipe.

The most important advantage to this cultivation method is that the quality of the lettuce remains more consistent throughout the different seasons. In the climate chamber the lettuce plants are not exposed to changes in temperature, air humidity and other uncontrollable factors that the lettuce would have to endure outside. This development also marks an important step in the field of sustainability. A good example of this is that the excess warmth that arises in the climate chamber is stored in the ground, and can be used again for heating the greenhouses whenever necessary.

The advantages at a glance: propagation in chambers with LED lighting as opposed to greenhouses:

higher production rate
customized production (in terms of quantity)
more efficient use of space (cultivation at multiple levels)
higher energy efficiency (better heat insulation compared to greenhouses)
higher CO2 efficiency
no light pollution
limited use of pesticides
90% less water usage
sustainable production

The growth stage

The lettuce plants of Deliscious grow in large greenhouses, in gutters at a height of 1 meter above the ground. Nutritious water is directed through those gutters, from which the plants obtain nutrients and nourishment. The lamps that hang above the gutters spread just the right amounts of warmth and light, depending on the lettuce plant's particular stage of growth. The seedlings can be found on one side of the greenhouse. As they grow, they are moved across the space, until they reach the other side of the greenhouse. This means that the seedling has developed into a full-grown head of root-ball lettuce, which is then directly delivered to the supermarket. This happens all year round, which means that Deliscious lettuce is sold fresh every single day.