Temple-area greenhouse helps Revol Greens expand

By DAVID STONE | Photos courtesy of REVOL GREENS

A 20-acre greenhouse just south of Heidenheimer is producing five varieties of lettuce, several mixed greens products and four organic salad kits — Greenhouse Caesar, Southwest Baja, Sesame Ginger and Sweet Poppyseed.

So which of the tasty freshly grown products are the most popular? According to Jess Dillon, marketing director for Austin-based Revol Greens, it depends on who you ask.

“We all have our favorites,” she said with a smile. “Our most popular salad blend is our Organic Spring Mix, and our most popular salad kit is our Organic Greenhouse Caesar Salad Kit.”

“We grow organic green leaf, red leaf, Romaine, arugula and butter lettuce at the greenhouse near Temple,” Dillon said.

Although Revol grows both organic and conventionally-grown greens at its greenhouse farms in Tehachapi, Calif., Athens, Ga., and Owatonna, Minn., locations, only organic produce is grown at the Temple site.

Dillon said there are no plans to expand the local facility beyond the existing 20 acres in 2024, “but our team is continuously optimizing our growing process to increase output.”

“Our goal is to provide customers across the United States access to fresh produce, so we always are exploring potential expansion options,” Dillon added.

Short growing seasons help the company produce high yields throughout the year.

“The growth period depends on the lettuce variety, but it is typically between 15 and 18 days from planting to harvest,” she said. “Every acre produces 750,000 pounds of lettuce per year.”

Company-wide, Revol has 380 employees, and 123 of those are based in Texas. The company moved its headquarters from Minnesota to Austin in 2022.

“Texas has been a great location for our fourth greenhouse,” Dillon said. “It truly does provide us with a gateway to the South.”

“By growing in Temple, our greens spend four days less in transit to our customers than they would if they were coming from California,” she said. “For consumers, that means they’ll ultimately be able to enjoy our greens for longer.”

The Temple area greenhouse farm is along FM 436, south of Heidenheimer, and it is producing a whopping 42,000 pounds of lettuce every day and about 15 million pounds per year.

The greens are being sold locally under the Revol brand and under private labels at Walmart, H-E-B, Sprouts, Target and at United Supermarkets in West Texas, according to Dillon.