LocalDutch, a The Hague-based agri-tech and food retail company, is ready to roll out a Dutch-grown model with a local result: a standardised, scalable model that integrates on-site food production with direct-to-consumer retail and local delivery in a single location. Reducing transportation costs, food waste, and operational complexity.
Scalable local food production & retail
The Dutch company calls the Urban Farm Shops the “LocalDutch Shop”: a compact set-up that combines controlled-environment agriculture with a neighbourhood-facing retail model. The ambition is straightforward and scalable—produce fresh vegetables year-round, sell them locally, and build a social meeting point around food that is grown in the community. That local focus matters in parts of the United States, the Caribbean and Africa where fresh produce can still be hard to access and supply chains often rely on long-distance transport.
Revenue is generated through direct retail sales, Community Supported Agriculture (SCA) memberships, and last-mile delivery partnerships, allowing flexibility per local market while maintaining a consistent operational backbone.
“What we are bringing to the United States is truly Dutch technology, applied in a way that is both effective and easy to scale. 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.”
High productivity results due to automated climate production management
A major barrier for high-performing greenhouses is expertise: keeping a stable, optimal climate requires specialist knowledge, and those professionals are scarce. LocalDutch says its answer is automation. Its system uses an autonomous climate “autopilot”, managed centrally through AI and cloud services, so individual locations can run consistently without relying on rare in-depth climate specialists on site.
This “software-first” approach positions LocalDutch as more than a greenhouse builder and retail operator. The company collects data across locations to optimise performance and enable benchmarking, learning from outcomes to improve the system over time—an approach that mirrors how other sectors scale: standardise, measure, improve, repeat.
The Westland-area’ and greenhouse know-how in challenging climates worldwide.
The Netherlands, especially the ‘Westland-area’ close to The Hague, is widely recognised for exporting greenhouse know-how, with technology that enables cultivation in challenging climates worldwide. LocalDutch’s thesis is that the next phase of growth lies in deploying that technology as a repeatable local asset, embedded in communities rather than exported as standalone equipment.
If the US roll-out succeeds, the LocalDutch Shop model offers investors exposure to essential, non-cyclical food infrastructure; technology-enabled operational leverage; measurable environmental and social impact; and a rollout strategy designed for neighbourhood-by-neighbourhood expansion.
About LocalDutch
LocalDutch develops and operates standardised Urban Farm Shops that integrate controlled-environment food production with local retail and community engagement. Designed for replication, the model combines greenhouse operations, shop layout and production processes into a predictable, scalable system suited to urban and peri-urban areas where access to fresh produce is under pressure. By producing food close to consumers, LocalDutch reduces dependence on imports and long supply chains while building economically viable, locally embedded food infrastructure. LocalDutch is headquartered in The Hague (the Netherlands) with offices in the United States.
Read more
Tommy Tomato: Healthy meals and logistical challenges for primary schools
Find out how Tommy Tomato delivers healthy meals to primary schools across the Netherlands and what logistical innovations are involved. Read founder Bas Turk's story here.
What is the relationship between a cucumber and cybersecurity?
The Netherlands is the 2nd largest exporter of food in the world. Imagine the consequences if that food supply was disrupted by a cyber attack.
Conscious Kitchen
Conscious Kitchen is a volunteer run community kitchen working to reduce food waste in The Hague. People from all backgrounds welcome to join and volunteer.
More on Impact
The Hague opens lending desks to promote sharing and renting to reduce waste
Protecting The Hague’s forests: 450 years of the Act of Redemption
