Little Leaf Farms Achieves Extended YoY Growth

As a pioneer in controlled environment agriculture, Little Leaf Farms has established itself as a leading brand of sustainably grown packaged salads in the U.S. The company is transforming traditional farming methods to deliver consistently fresh, crisp leafy greens to consumers through its innovative greenhouse technology. Their product line encompasses a variety of greenhouse-grown lettuces and convenient salad kits designed to meet evolving consumer preferences.

Operating 40 acres of advanced automated greenhouses in Pennsylvania and Massachusetts, Little Leaf Farms maintains year-round production capabilities. Their proximity-based distribution model ensures freshness throughout their extended shelf life.¹

Strategic Growth With Instacart

The partnership between Little Leaf Farms and Instacart began in early 2020, coinciding with both the widespread adoption of online grocery shopping and Little Leaf’s expansion of their Massachusetts facility by five acres.

“We saw Instacart as an important partner to help us reach consumers wherever they were shopping and fuel our brand growth,” said Jess Pinault, Digital Specialist, Little Leaf Farms.

This partnership has yielded significant results, with Little Leaf Farms securing positions on Instacart’s Fastest Growing Emerging Brands list in both 2023 and 2024. The annual list celebrates fast-growing brands that have been able to combine great products with effective marketing strategies to build awareness, encourage trial, acquire new-to-brand consumers, and generate incremental sales using Instacart Ads. 

Little Leaf Farms landing on the list in two consecutive years highlights their sustained success on and off the shelf. It also underlines what can be accomplished with an ‘always-on’ advertising strategy — great success one year is not a finish line.

Driving Measurable Results

“We’re proud to have earned a spot on Instacart’s Fastest Growing Emerging Brands List for the second year in a row! In 2024 we saw 29% year-over-year sales, which was especially exciting following our 2023 milestone of 68% year-over-year sales,” said Pinault. 

Little Leaf Farms also continues to expand its distribution footprint, which means focusing on introducing new consumers to their fresh greens. Another area where Instacart Ads can help — ad campaigns can be optimized for new-to-brand sales. In the case of Little Leaf Farms, their campaigns generated 27% new-to-brand sales. 

Looking ahead to 2025, which marks their tenth year in business, Little Leaf Farms is positioning itself for continued growth. Plans include another 10-acre greenhouse expansion at their Pennsylvania facility, supporting their mission to increase market presence and provide fresh, sustainable leafy greens and salad kits to a broader consumer base.

¹More information on the Little Leaf Farms approach: “Little Leaf follows a process which stands in stark contrast to most lettuce on grocery store shelves today, which travels thousands of miles before it reaches the store, with every day spent on the truck sacrificing both fuel and freshness. Little Leaf believes in fresh, leafy greens for all, and at Little Leaf Farms, they’re making that mission a reality 365 days a year.” For more information, visit littleleaffarms.com or @littleleaffarms.

Instacart

Author

Instacart is the leading grocery technology company in North America, partnering with more than 1,500 national, regional, and local retail banners to deliver from more than 85,000 stores across more than 14,000 cities in North America. To read more Instacart posts, you can browse the company blog or search by keyword using the search bar at the top of the page.