African leafy vegetables, grown fresh in the UK.

Origin Greens Ltd grows Nigerian vegetables indoors, close to the people who buy them, so they arrive fresher and supply stays steady all year.

Talk to us about supply

Why we do it

Most of these vegetables are flown into the UK from West Africa. By the time they reach the shop:

Quality has dropped. Leaves can arrive wilted or bruised after days in boxes.
Prices swing. Air freight and exchange rates move the price week to week.
Supply has gaps. Delays or rejected shipments leave empty shelves.

Growing them here, indoors, means shorter journeys, steadier quality and a predictable weekly supply.

What we grow

Ugu

Fluted pumpkin leaf, grown on supported vines.

Scent Leaf

A fragrant leaf whose aroma fades in long transport.

Ewedu

A fast-growing leaf for soups.

Efo Tete

African spinach (amaranth), a fast leafy crop.

We grow for African food wholesalers, specialist retailers, restaurants and caterers in the UK. These are established vegetables already sold in the UK, not new foods.

How it works

We grow in a clean, controlled indoor space, closer to a small food factory than a field.

Monitoring

Temperature, humidity, water temperature, pH and nutrient strength are logged around the clock.

Automation

Lighting, watering and small pH corrections run on a schedule, which keeps conditions steady.

Nutrients

Organic-input bioponics: food-safe organic concentrates and beneficial biology feed the plants.

Traceability

In production, each harvest batch will get a lot number linked to its growing record.

Progress so far

May to October 2025

First test chamber

A small acrylic chamber tested monitoring and automation. It taught us that tropical crops need a warm, stable root zone, that Ugu vines need their own space and support, and that spacing matters for leaf quality.
November 2025 to now

Grow-tent pilot

A larger controlled grow tent runs the current pilot, with channels for leafy crops and buckets for Ugu. Ugu stem cuttings have rooted, which lets us grow new plants from our best ones.
Next

First production site

We plan to move the pilot into a production unit of about 1,000 sq ft in the Midlands, with weekly deliveries to buyers in London, Birmingham and Manchester.

Ugu plants in the first acrylic test chamber — The first test chamber, 2025

Inside the grow-tent pilot with leafy crops and Ugu — The grow-tent pilot

Healthy white roots from a pilot plant — Checking root health

A rooted Ugu stem cutting in a small pot — A rooted Ugu cutting

Food safety

Before we sell, we will register as a food business with the local authority and work to a HACCP-based food safety plan, covering water quality, clean harvesting and chilling straight after harvest.

Who we are

Origin Greens is led by its founder, Somto Nkemelu, who holds an MSc in Renewable Energy and a BEng in Chemical Engineering, and is a qualified UK electrician. He designs and builds the growing, monitoring and electrical systems himself.

Contact

Wholesalers, retailers and caterers interested in a weekly supply are welcome to get in touch.

Email: [email protected]

Company details

Name: Origin Greens Ltd
Registered office: 88 Sidney Grove, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE4 5PE
Company number: 16892545 (registered in England and Wales)
Website: origingreens.co.uk