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Love Beets creating 100 new jobs

Caitlin Whyte
/
WXXI News

Love Beets is expanding their operations at Eastman Business Park.

Managing Director Daniel Cross said over the next 26 months they will be creating 100 new jobs in middle and high skill level fields.

"Engineering, mechanics but also going back into our supply chain in terms of our bet growing. So looking at trainings skills in agronomy, potentially the use of technology and how we're farming and working with growers."

Other jobs will include exploring the use of drones and digital technology for mapping fields as well as calculating crop yield and output.

The company went fully operational last year with their North American Headquarters here in Rochester and has seen $10 million of sales growth. Congresswoman Louise Slaughter also attended the announcement, praising the growth of the company.

Cross said while volumes are up they are now looking towards next phase of development, including moving to 100 percent US grown beets.

Credit Caitlin Whyte / WXXI News
/
WXXI News
Managing Director Daniel Cross (middle) and Congresswoman Louise Slaughter

"Our aim really is over the next three years to move to 100% US grown which is going to be a challenge but I think we can that with growth and get to 100% US grown and hopefully 70-75% of that with beets grown in New York."

Currently 80% of their product is in the US and 20% is imported from Holland with about 50% grown in New York.

They are also releasing two new products, a beet salsa and a golden beet, that were both fully created at the Rochester site.