Love Beets loves Rochester growers

Love Beets USA LLC has made good on its promise to source beets from the United States, officials said last week.

Love Beets—a pairing between LiDestri Foods Inc. and G’s Fresh Ltd. of the United Kingdom—processes and packages fresh, marinated and organic beets and beet products at the LiDestri Foods manufacturing complex at Eastman Business Park.

Love Beets will harvest New York-grown beets through the end of October from six main growers at 10 locations. The farms are within close proximity to Love Beets’ 100,000-square-foot production facility, providing an ideal growing region for its beets, officials said.

“As beet consumption grows in popularity across the U.S., we are excited to work more closely with growers to bring innovation in farming practices, experimentation, creativity and improved production capabilities,” said Daniel Cross, managing director of Love Beets production. “We would rather utilize the latest technology from around the world to improve our farming, growing and food manufacturing processes to make great products here in the U.S. than move raw materials across continents.”

The project, which began in earnest a year ago, marked the first production of Love Beets in the U.S. Available to U.S. consumers, the products had been produced solely in the United Kingdom.

Last year, local Love Beets officials announced a goal of having the majority of its beets sourced by New York farmers.

“We will support, develop and nurture local and domestic growers in the U.S. rather than use the fuel and emissions in shipping product around the world,” Cross said in a statement last week. “This will provide a fresher, tastier and potentially more nutritious product than importing a finished product from other countries.”

By 2018, the company projects that 85 percent of conventional Love Beets will be grown and harvested in the U.S., with 55 percent coming from New York. The remainder will come from Pennsylvania, New Jersey, California, Texas, Georgia and the Carolinas.

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