Our Story
The Hardee Fresh story began with an idea that we could disrupt the organic food landscape by delivering premium organic produce at accessible prices. We got started by heading indoors and taking a sustainable farming approach to our harvest and supporting that with innovative technology.
What was once an idea, has now turned into the leading indoor organic vertical farm in the country committed to sustainable farming practices that protect our water, soil, and other natural resources and lower our carbon footprint.
Our Growing Process
A tech-first approach to farming allows us to continuously monitor (onsite and remotely) the key factors that go into producing our healthy, lush, organic products.
Unlike a traditional farm, we can control water quality, nutrient concentrations, temperature, humidity, and other environmental parameters. Creating optimal growing conditions for consistent, delicious greens in real time, every time.
Tech-Enabled
Farming
One million data points processed per minute to maintain growing environment and conditions in the facility
Remote monitoring powered by a a 10GB fiber backbone
Renewable solar energy generated on site
Quality
Control
Organic seed, nutrients and growing medium
Zero pesticides, herbicides or fungicides
Daily inspections of every plant
Industry-leading safety protocols
Primus GFS certified
Optimized Environment
Ideal conditions for every stage of plant growth
Active management of light, temperature, humidity & CO2 24/7
Completely enclosed facility from seed to ship
Zero weather and water variability
Filtered air
Our Founders
Our founders are leaders at the cross-section of agriculture, technology and plant science whose shared passion for sustainable businesses brought them together to build Hardee Fresh.
Halton A. Peters, Ph.D., President
Halton’s passion for botany, sustainability, and the environment inspired him to start Hardee Fresh in 2017. His prior experience operating other sustainable ventures, combined with a deep technical and scientific grounding, has helped grow Hardee Fresh into the leading organic vertical farm in U.S. Halton has a Ph.D. in Biology and J.D. from Stanford University, an M.Phil in Plant Sciences from the University of Cambridge and a B.A. in Biology from Harvard University.
Tyler P. Jacoby, Ph.D.,
Chief Agronomist
As Chief Agronomist, Tyler brings precision farming to Hardee Fresh. He oversees our craft cultivation process and uses a data-driven approach to manage the Hardee Fresh ecosystem. A leader in the agricultural field, Tyler has worked with farmers to optimize the quality and yield of their fruit and vegetable harvests. Tyler has a Ph.D. in Horticultural Sciences from the University of Florida and a B.S. in Horticultural Sciences from Florida Southern College.
Committed to Community
Supporting the educational and economic goals of our employees and the broader community is paramount to Hardee Fresh. Our Wauchula farm is located in a rural county with persistently high unemployment and because we grow 365 days a year, we are able to employ farmers that are full-time, year-round employees with healthcare benefits.
Ending food insecurity in America is critically important and it begins at the local level. While we have been working to ensure that premium organic produce is made accessible to all consumers since 2018, this year, we have proudly donated our products to over 20,000 families in need throughout Florida. We plan to continue our commitment to programs with the USDA, The United Way of Central Florida and other charitable organizations for years to come.