Emirates’ Bustanica vertical farm targets retail, catering beyond airline meals

Dubai: Emirates’ food ambitions are quietly moving well beyond airline trays — and Bustanica, its Dubai-based vertical farm, is now at the centre of that shift.

The world’s largest vertical farm, owned by Emirates Flight Catering (EKFC – airline catering arm), is expanding its range of retail-ready food and drink products, as the Emirates Group looks to build a broader commercial food-services business, it said in a statement Friday.

Emirates said EKFC and Bustanica will present an expanded portfolio of food solutions for retail, hospitality and large-scale catering clients at this year’s Gulf Food.

It said, “This includes ready-to-eat salads with separated ingredients for freshness, right to the moment of consumption, sandwiches featuring its signature variety of crunchy lettuces and greens, three soups designed for people on the go, and six retail juice varieties.”

It said Bustanica’s Top Line strawberries, known for their sweetness, colour, and texture, will also make a limited-edition appearance.

What Emirates has been doing with Bustanica

Since launching in 2022, Bustanica (Emirates’ vertical farm) has focused on supplying fresh leafy greens to Emirates flights, reducing reliance on imports while cutting water use and food miles.

The facility uses vertical farming – indoor stacked growing, producing crops year-round without pesticides and using significantly less water than traditional agriculture.

The farm has also adopted a root-to-stem approach – full plant use, turning stems and leaves into cold-pressed juices and other products, reducing waste while increasing usable output.

EKFC’s broader shift

Alongside Bustanica’s retail-focused lines, EKFC is positioning itself as a supplier for large-scale events, exhibitions and hospitality operations, drawing on experience from supplying major global gatherings in Dubai.

At Gulfood, Emirates said EKFC will showcase products such as cold cuts, sausages, omelettes, soups, sauces and prepared meals, all produced locally across its facilities and approved for export.

While aviation remains its core business, the catering arm is increasingly leveraging its scale, logistics and food safety systems to serve non-airline clients.

For Emirates, the move reflects a wider trend among airline groups to diversify revenue streams, particularly as food supply chains, sustainability and local production become more commercially and politically important.

Rather than a one-off showcase, EKFC’s Gulfood debut signals how Emirates’ food ecosystem — from aircraft galleys to vertical farms — is being reshaped for a broader market.

Gulfood runs from 26–30 January at the Dubai World Trade Centre and Expo City Dubai.