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LettUs Grow Wins National Shell Enterprise Development Award
LettUs Grow makes cutting edge technology for greenhouses and vertical farms with the mission to create a more sustainable future for the world’s eating habits
The Sustainable Indoor Farming Company Takes
Home A Financial Prize to Help Scale The Company
23RD JULY 2019
LettUs Grow makes cutting edge technology for greenhouses and vertical farms with the mission to create a more sustainable future for the world’s eating habits.
And their efforts to make ethical eating possible aren’t going unnoticed – LettUs Grow’s Co-founder and Managing Director, Charlie Guy, has been crowned national winner of the Shell LiveWIRE Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award.
This award is more than just a title too – the startup has been gifted with £30,000 to help scale the indoor farming company.
The only way is up
Charlie is incredibly humbled and grateful for the recognition. He says, “I am truly honoured to have won amongst such an impressive group of finalists. Making it through the competitive process for the national competition is fantastic validation for the potential impact of our technology.
“It’s a testament to the amazing work from our whole team over the past three years, to bring our unique indoor growing products to market. We’re looking forward to working with the best growers from around the world, to realise the full impact of our technology over the coming years!”
LettUs Grow’s incredibly unique aeroponic indoor farming tech enables crops to grow without sunlight or soil – and what’s more is this revolutionary innovation reduces water and fertiliser use by up to 95%, without requiring pesticides or herbicides.
This new system of growing our food has the potential to make an incredible environmental impact on delivering your food from farm to fork as farms can be situated in either rural or urban locations.
The judges were hugely impressed by the breath of positive impact LettUs Grow could have. Ana Avaliani, Head of Enterprise Hub at the Royal Academy of Engineering and judge on this year’s panel says, “Despite working in the increasingly popular sector of vertical farming, Charlie impressed the judges with LettUs Grow’s truly innovative patent-pending technology with a unique farm management software for indoor and vertical farms.
“I’m excited to watch the business scale and expand into markets outside the UK, deliver on its mission to reduce the waste and carbon footprint of fresh produce and see how Shell’s funding can support this growth.”
A passionate pitch
The finalists took part in a day of pitching to bid for the number one spots. Charlie’s clear enthusiasm for LettUs Grow impressed the judges, as Ana tells us, “Charlie himself has all of the makings of an entrepreneur: his vision for the company – to grow the world’s leading vertical farming business – was evident in every aspect of the presentation, and his passion to feed people in a more sustainable way was clear.”
All the finalists were then invited to attend StartUp Connect, a Shell event for low carbon startups with the ambition to scale up.
Founder of StartUp Britain, Oli Barrett, hosted the afternoon, which connected 100 low carbon entrepreneurs with over 300 senior executives and bright minds with the ability to help get their startup off the ground.
Congratulations to LettUs Grow for the prize and award! Check out LettUs Grow’s website for more information about them, or follow them on Twitter here: @LettUsGrow.
Vertical Farming Outfit Raises $100M In Funding
Vertical farming operation AeroFarms has raised $100 million in a Series E funding round, bringing its total funding to $238 million
Credit: George Hodan
Author: Lauren Manning
Vertical farming operation AeroFarms has raised $100 million in a Series E funding round, bringing its total funding to $238 million. The funding will help the company expand its warehouse facilities that hold its vertical farms and look into growing different types of produce. The company has been on a slow and steady growth trajectory.
Ingka Group, parent company of furniture maker Ikea, led the funding round, bringing AeroFarm's total funding to $238 million. In 2019, the vertical farming company closed a deal with Singapore Airlines to provide fresh produce for in-flight food.
Based in New Jersey, AeroFarms is one of the oldest players in the indoor farming sector, founded in 2004. It is part of the Precision Indoor Plants Consortium, which focuses on growing crops specifically for indoor farming and optimizing their flavors.
Investors keep pouring dollars into indoor farming operations, which promise to provide retailers and consumers with efficiently produced, fresh and tasty produce. Indoor farming is projected to be a $3 billion market by 2024 as consumers continue to show an interest in finding more local produce.
But a numerous hurdles still challenge indoor farmers’ hopes of scaling beyond a niche industry. For starters, many indoor farms are limited in what they can produce, sticking to leafy greens and herbs. High electricity costs and water input needed to power indoor farms also have some asking whether they really are more resource-efficient than traditional farming.
In order to expand their footprint and get their products on more diners’ dinner tables, indoor farming startups are eyeing partnerships with key retailers and doubling down on efforts to be able to provide fresh leafy greens to hundreds of grocery stores, according to Reuters.
The East and West coasts have hotbeds for indoor ag innovation, but the Midwest is getting its own urban farming campuses soon thanks to Elon Musk’s Square Roots. The Brooklyn-based company inked a deal with Gordon Food Service’s campuses in Wyoming and Michigan that involves setting up 10 specially designed shipping containers to provide fresh produce to the food supply company’s supply chain. The herbs and greens grown on campus will be sold commercially to chefs and to consumers who shop at Gordon Food Service’s retail store.
Google Ventures backed Bowery Farming, which recently raised $90 million, is expanding to its third farm and has supply deals with key NYC establishments like Whole Foods, Foragers and Sweetgreen. Competitor Bright Farms is opening three new greenhouses in Massachusetts, New York, and North Carolina and sells to numerous retailers including Tops Friendly Markets, Food Lion, and Jungle Jim’s.
Vertical farming operation Plenty also raised $200 million in June and is hoping to branch into other types of crop cultivation like strawberries and tomatoes. It’s banking on e-commerce by selling its packaged salads through online grocery delivery platform Good Eggs.
The indoor ag industry is sprouting across the pond, too, with online grocery company Ocado recently taking a 58% stake in Jones Foods Co., the largest vertical farm in Europe, and joining forces with mission-driven indoor farming startup Infinite Acres.
Recommended Reading:
Filed Under: Fresh food Natural/organic Corporate
Britain’s Ocado Is Raking 17 Million Pounds In Vertical Farming To Diversify
Britain’s Ocado is raking 17 million pounds ($22 million) into the emerging “vertical farming” trade, additional diversifying the online grocer and technology group’s enterprise. Vertical farming includes producing food indoors, with crops grown on a collection of stacked ranges in a controlled atmosphere
July 8, 2019
Britain’s Ocado is raking 17 million pounds ($22 million) into the emerging “vertical farming” trade, additional diversifying the online grocer and technology group’s enterprise.
Vertical farming includes producing food indoors, with crops grown on a collection of stacked ranges in a controlled atmosphere.
“We foresee a day the place clients’ vegetables are harvested hours earlier than they’re packed, meters from the place they’re shipped,” Ocado stated in a press release on Monday.
Ocado mentioned it had shaped a joint venture known as Infinite Acres with vertical farming contributors 80 Acres Farms and Priva Holding, with every holding a 3rd of the equity.
Priva is a Netherlands-primarily based industrial methods supplier to the horticultural trade, with a variety of merchandise and options for climate control and course of automation.
U.S.-primarily based 80 Acres offers plant science knowledge and operations administration, whereas Ocado will contribute its software and hardware methods, together with robotics, automation and AI.
Ocado stated it has additionally acquired a 58% stake in Jones Food Company (JFC), Europe’s largest working vertical farm, which is predicated in Scunthorpe, northern England.
JFC’s plant produces Vegetables and herbs for British prospects with its capability anticipated to develop to 420 tonnes a year.
Ocado, which mentioned its fairness investments within the joint venture and JFC would total 17 million pounds added that the density of vertical – farms permits them to be positioned a lot nearer to prospects, probably co-located after its companions’ distribution centers, supermarkets and close to population facilities.
Ocado has a 1 % share of Britain’s grocery market solely. Nevertheless, its 7.9-billion-pound stock market valuation has been driven by its technology.
This offers worldwide retailers with the infrastructure and software to develop their very own online grocery companies to compete with the likes of Amazon.
Ocado shares had been up 3% at 0809 GMT.
Equity Crowdfunding Is Underway To Roll Out A Fully Self-Sustaining Ecosystem To Bring Food From Farm To Table.
Americans today get their food from a supply system that is nearly 100 years old and woefully out of date. That's because much of the food we eat travels hundreds or perhaps thousands of miles from where it was grown to where it is wanted
Investors Are Invited to Explore Lettuce Networks;
Leading the Local Food Revolution in Delivering Very Special Meal Kits
Neighborhood by Neighborhood
Equity Crowdfunding is Underway to Roll Out a Fully Self-Sustaining Ecosystem to bring food from farm to table.
Austin, TX -- (ReleaseWire) -- 07/17/2019 --Americans today get their food from a supply system that is nearly 100 years old and woefully out of date. That's because much of the food we eat travels hundreds or perhaps thousands of miles from where it was grown to where it is wanted. This waste tremendous amounts of energy, compromises its freshness and nutritional quality and creates packaging waste that's filling up our landfills and contaminating our oceans.
Lettuce is a company with a solution that solves these problems simultaneously.
It is creating sustainable, hyper-local, technology-enabled food ecosystems in urban areas that turn unused urban land and resources into productive farms, package the produce into healthy, delicious and convenient products, and deliver them to homes in zero-waste containers, all while increasing awareness and engagement around nutritious, local food. Their evolving social, local, commerce technology platform is connecting and empowering local food participants including growers, artisans, and consumers to do what they do best at every point along the food chain.
Lettuce has reinvented the popular meal kit. Before Lettuce, meal kit services were more expensive, took more time to deliver and were more wasteful resulting in high customer churn among those services. Lettuce meal kits fix all these challenges - local ingredients, near zero-waste packaging and affordable pricing because of more efficient cost structures, resulting in a dramatic drop in the customer churn rate.
Staying true to the nature of equity crowdfunding, the minimum investment is very reasonable and in easy reach of the masses. All funds raised are devoted to rolling out Lettuce on a large scale.
Everyone is invited to carefully consider this investment opportunity - http://bit.ly/2J7xJnF
About Lettuce
Lettuce got its start in Austin, Texas in 2016. Co-founder & CEO Yogesh Sharma, an entrepreneur and avid amateur backyard farmer was on a run, gawking at the ample irrigated space in his new city – almost all of it growing grass. He had always been curious about why local food wasn't a bigger part of the modern food ecosystem. And right there, all around him was part of the solution – plenty of good dirt, sun and water to grow food that could feed cities.
Hal Roberts, who grew up on an urban farm in San Antonio had already been setting up urban farms in Austin. And Ved Prakash was writing software that streamlined hyper-local logistics, enabling digital visibility and commerce across people, products, locations, and millions of other potential nodes.
The three of them got together, and collectively said, "Enough is enough, let's do something about this!" and started Lettuce. Now Lettuce meal kits serve hundreds of thousands of locally sourced meals every year, with a rapidly growing network of farmers, artisans, distributors and consumers.
CubicFarm(R) Systems Corp To Commence Trading On The TSX Venture Exchange
"The public listing of CubicFarm Systems Corp. shares is a significant milestone for our company and for all of our stakeholders," said Dave Dinesen, CEO, CubicFarms
VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / July 8, 2019
CubicFarm® Systems Corp. (TSXV: CUB) ("CubicFarms" or the "Company") has announced that the common shares of the Company are scheduled to commence trading on TSX Venture Exchange as a Tier One Issuer on Tuesday July 9th, 2019 under the symbol "CUB".
"The public listing of CubicFarm Systems Corp. shares is a significant milestone for our company and for all of our stakeholders," said Dave Dinesen, CEO, CubicFarms. "We are tremendously grateful for the support we've received so far, and we're equally excited about the potential growth for the company that we see ahead of us."
For further information regarding the new listing of Cubic please refer to the Listing Application (Form 2B) dated June 25, 2019 of the Company, which is available on SEDAR.
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
About CubicFarm® Systems Corp.
CubicFarm® Systems Corp. is an Ag-Tech and Vertical Farming company that utilizes patented technology to cultivate high-quality produce. The Company believes that it can provide a benefit to the world by significantly reducing the physical footprint of farming, shipping costs and associated greenhouse gasses, while significantly decreasing the use of fresh water and eliminating the need for harmful pesticides.
Founded in 2015, the Company's mission is to provide farmers around the world with an efficient growing system capable of producing predictable yields with superior taste. Using its unique, undulating growing system, the Company addresses the main challenges within the indoor farming industry by significantly reducing the need for physical labour, by reducing energy, and by maximizing yield per cubic foot. The Company has sold and installed systems in Canada and the US, and is currently negotiating with a global pipeline of prospective customers. It also operates one wholly owned facility in Pitt Meadows BC, and sells its produce in British Columbia to retail customers under the brand name Thriiv Local Garden™ and to wholesale customers as well.
CubicFarm® Systems Corp's. patented growing system provides customers with a turnkey, commercial scale, hydroponic, automated vertical farm growing systems that can grow predictably and sustainably for 12 months of the year virtually anywhere on earth. CubicFarm® enables its customers to grow locally and to provide their markets with produce that is consistent in colour, size, taste, nutrition and allows for a longer shelf life. CubicFarms is focused on providing its technology to farmers to grow safe, sustainable, secure, fresh produce, nutraceutical ingredients, and animal feed. Further support and value is provided to our clients through our patent pending germination technology and proprietary auto harvesting and processing methods.
CubicFarm® Systems Corp.
www.cubicfarms.com
For further information contact:
Ross Rayment, VP - Corporate Development
ross@cubicfarms.com
Cautionary Notice Concerning Forward-Looking Statements
This news release includes certain "forward-looking statements" under applicable Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to the Company satisfying the conditions required to complete the listing of its common shares on the TSXV as well as statements regarding Company's beliefs regarding the application of its technology. Forward-looking statements are necessarily based upon a number of estimates and assumptions (including the receipt of regulatory approvals) that, while considered reasonable, are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors which may cause the actual results and future events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. There can be no assurance that the listing will be completed as currently planned or at all. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.
SOURCE: CubicFarm® Systems Corp.
View source version on accesswire.com:
https://www.accesswire.com/551027/CubicFarmR-Systems-Corp-to-Commence-Trading-on-the-TSX-Venture-Exchange
Read more:http://www.digitaljournal.com/pr/4372776#ixzz5t79nMa69
CO2 GRO Inc. Provides a Corporate Update
GROW’s first lease revenue from a commercial U.S. installation began in March. A second mostly U.S. hemp installation is now contributing for a combined revenue run rate of C$240K/y from about 100,000 square feet of combined grow area
TORONTO, ON June 27, 2019 (Access Wire) Toronto based CO2 GRO Inc. ("GROW") (TSX-V: GROW, OTCQB: BLONF, Frankfurt: 4021) is pleased to provide a review of operations and business prospects ahead of its Annual Shareholder meeting June 27 at 11 AM 40 King Street West 58th floor.
Entering 2020 Revenue Projection Unchanged
GROW’s first lease revenue from a commercial U.S. installation began in March. A second mostly U.S. hemp installation is now contributing for a combined revenue run rate of C$240K/y from about 100,000 square feet of combined grow area. The contracts are perpetual while CO2 Delivery Solutions are onsite.
GROW still forecasts a contracted year-end lease revenue run rate of $10M/y entering 2020 expecting half of its sixteen active grow trial and commercial pilot proposals to proceed to commercial agreements. Nine are in the U.S., six are in Canada with Licensed Producers (LPs) and one is for a large UAE lettuce greenhouse. Several are with our AG Industrial Partners.
Further Indoor and Outdoor Research Trials and Patents
GROW has retained the University of Guelph to perform an outdoor grow trial in the Holland Marsh Ontario area on lettuce, celery, carrots and onions.
Indoors, GROW is working with the University in Guelph and a medical tobacco company in a grow trial to assess faster speed to plant maturity, larger plant biomass and greater targeted bacteria efficacy and concentration for cancer and other human drugs.
Internationally outdoors, GROW expects to move forward with Praxair Inc. on a flower grow trial in Columbia at their request. Equipment procurement is expected shortly that would activate a signed technology assessment agreement.
GROW has further strengthened its patent portfolio by filing patents relating to pathogen resistance and suppression and for selectively increasing plant metabolism.
Management Title Changes
The following title changes are to more closely reflect current responsibilities:
John Archibald from CEO to President, CEO
Aaron Archibald from VP Operations to Chief Operating Officer
Sam Kanes from VP Business Development to VP Communications
Branding Name Change to CO2 Delivery Solutions
GROW is operating with aquaponic, hydroponic, aeroponic and regular plant growers indoors and outdoors. Generation two equipment has both dissolved CO2 and dissolved oxygen capability. GROW is changing its brand name from CO2 Foliar Spray to CO2 Delivery Solutions to more accurately reflect the variety of Solutions GROW envisions for enhancing plant growth.
About CO2 GRO Inc.
GROW's mission is to accelerate all indoor and outdoor value plant growth naturally, safely, and economically using its patent pending CO2 Delivery Technology. GROW’s global target retail plant markets are food at $8 trillion per year (Plunkett Mar 2017), non-food at an estimated $1.2 trillion per year with retail tobacco at $760 billion (BA Tobacco 2017), floriculture at $100 billion by 2022 (MarketResearch.Biz estimate). Legal cannabis at $52.5 billion per year by 2023 (Statista) and legal US hemp CBD at $22B per year by 2022 (the Brightfield Group).
GROW's CO2 Delivery Solutions are commercially proven, scalable and easily adopted into existing irrigation systems.
They work by dissolving CO2 gas into water for use on plant leaves across the entire plant leaf surface which is a semi permeable membrane. The dissolved concentrated CO2 then penetrates a leaf's surface area naturally, similar to how humans dissolve oxygen in their lungs into liquid bloodstreams.
Foliar spraying of dissolved nutrients and chemicals on plant leaves has been used for over 60 years by millions of indoor and outdoor growers. To date, outdoor growers have not had any way to enhance plant CO2 gas uptake for faster growth.
Indoor CO2 gassing has enhanced plant yields for over 60 years but 60% of the CO2 gas used is typically lost from ventilation. Current greenhouse CO2 gassing levels of up to 1500 PPM are not ideal for worker health and safety. GROW's safer CO2 Delivery Solutions can be used both indoors and outdoors with minimal dissolved CO2 gas lost and much greater CO2 plant availability resulting in higher plant yields than both CO2 gassing and no CO2 gassing plants.
Forward-Looking Statements This news release may contain forward-looking statements that are based on CO2 GRO's expectations, estimates and projections regarding its business and the economic environment in which it operates. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties that are difficult to control or predict. Therefore, actual outcomes and results may differ materially from those expressed in these forward-looking statements and readers should not place undue reliance on such statements. Statements speak only as of the date on which they are made, and the Company undertakes no obligation to update them publicly to reflect new information or the occurrence of future events or circumstances, unless otherwise required to do so by law.
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
For more information, please visit www.co2gro.ca or contact Sam Kanes, VP Communications at 416-315-7477.
The Urban Farm Concept
Urban farming is becoming increasingly popular and is now at the heart of a growing number of business models that want to address the needs of fast-growing urban markets looking to source fresh local produce
Urban farming is becoming increasingly popular and is now at the heart of a growing number of business models that want to address the needs of fast-growing urban markets looking to source fresh local produce.
While it may be true that the costs of developing new facilities will increase the cost of production, the reduction in the costs associated with transporting produce to an end market, both economically and environmentally, more than offset this.
In the UK, for example, Ocado is investing £17m in a high-tech vertical farm which is to run alongside its robot-run distribution centres, and the company said that it plans to roll this concept out around the world.
The vertical farm, Jones Food, currently grows around 420 tonnes of basil, parsley and coriander a year in stacked trays using LED lights to encourage growth.
Ocado will be looking to use its experience and expertise in robotics and AI to help make the Jones Food operation more efficient.
According to senior management at Ocado, the company is also forming a joint venture – Infinite Acres – with a US-based vertical farming business 80 Acres and Priva, a Dutch horticultural technology provider. 80 Acres currently grows tomatoes and courgettes as well as leafy salads and herbs, without using pesticides.
The concept of vertical or urban farming is becoming more popular and at its heart it looks to help retailers to better address fundamental consumer concerns such as seasonal availability, freshness and sustainability.
Unlike traditional farms, urban farms look to control every aspect of a plant’s growth - but that can prove very expensive to enable.
“When we talk about urban farming it’s about getting the farm closer to the end market. Today, much of what we think of as fresh has had to travel miles before getting to a store,” explains Bruno D’Amico, Design and Product Manager at Current, part of GE. He continues, “It means that by the time you eat it, it could be months old. Take apples or onions, for example, these are products that if stored correctly can have a very long storage life.
“The idea of being fresh depends on where it was sourced. The urban farm is about how you can get the farm nearer to urban centres and produce food locally.
“New technologies are helping to revolutionise the way in which we can access fresh produce,” D’Amico suggests.
Industrial scale food production
Current offers horticultural LED lighting systems that have been designed to maximise the potential of urban farms and to support industrial scale levels of food production.
“We provide data to help better understand what is happening in the local environment. So, we’ll look at occupancy rates and temperature, for example, and that data is then made available to the customer to better support the specific outcome they’re looking for.”
Light is obviously one of the most crucial elements when it comes to plant growth, yet while the sun’s light spans a broad spectrum – from UV through to infrared wavelengths – the available light spectrum can be affected by things like geography, the weather and the changing seasons.
“Different plants have different light needs and today it is possible to vary the light ‘recipe’ to some extent, enabling greater control over how plants grow,” explains D’Amico. “However, when you talk about urban farms a lot will depend on the buildings and facilities that are used.
“These farms can be located in a warehouse or in a tower block. If you look at a lot of entry level farms, many have started in an apartment before moving to a larger space.
“If you look beyond these kind of ‘start-ups’, increasing numbers of serious investors are looking for an optimum growing space and will consider building suitable facilities – all of which will require the collection of environmental data.”
Whatever the facility lighting, while vital, is just one of the things that need to be considered. Air flow will be crucial along with water circulation and applying the right amount of nutrients.
“Air flow management is critical, especially in vertical farms,” D’Amico explains. “There are certainly some basics that need to be addressed, but a lot will depend on where you are growing and the type of building that you are using – it means that a lot will need to be managed.”
The use of LEDs and their ability to process light generation, extraction and re-absorbance and the fact that they can run indefinitely, means that they can offer farmers much greater control over their crops - whether that is to promote leaf coverage, fruit generation, plant or leaf mass.
“Light can also prove critical when it comes to the management of pests, bacteria and fungal pathogens and can be used to create ‘traps’ that prevent threats spreading across crops,” explains D’Amico.
According to D’Amico, the urban farm sector is benefitting from two big trends – a growing urban population and worries about the environment.
“We are seeing large investors looking at issues around the environmental impact of farming and whether it is sustainable, and how technology can then be used to address these problems at the top level.
“When it comes to urban farming we are seeing the development of both mega urban farms, with large buildings and a large footprint, as well as strong growth in much smaller farms too. These farms look to support local grocery stores and restaurants, for example. It’s hard to say which is gaining the most traction, but both are growing.”
Lighting solutions
Current is involved with a number of projects that are using its lighting solutions, but it is also supporting job training and education in a bid to help develop more local food systems and a greener approach to farming.
Current has installed 12km of its Arize LED solution in a new facility owned by Jones Food, which is now working closely with Ocado. The equipment is housed in a state of the art facility which has been designed to enable crops to be grown in isolation away from external contamination.
“Lighting is the life blood of the facility,” said the company’s CEO James Lloyd-Jones, “and Current was able to provide the right lighting set up and spectrum.”
“We’ve developed Arize Lynck LED Growlights that by isolating and combining different light wavelengths are able to replicate and accelerate natural photosynthesis and thereby reduce growth cycles,” explains D’Amico.
“Plants are sensitive to blue and red light spectrums and by varying those spectrums – we can offer seven variations – we are able to encourage different growth patterns.
“We approach our customers with a spectrum, look to understand the outcome they are looking for and work with them to give them the right light to support their needs.
“We don’t just focus on the lighting perspective but try to better understand the entire environment.”
According to D’Amico the benefits of the LEDs come in the form of ease of installation, a reduction in operational costs and much greater levels of reliability.
But the issue, D’Amico suggests, is not only about sourcing fresh food locally, but also providing access to food where accessibility can be a real problem.
“Can an urban farm be relocated to remote areas to source food locally food?
“A good example of this is how our LED lighting solution has been used by the Big Tex Urban Farm to grow crops. Partly an innovation lab as well as a production facility, it has used our LED solutions to grow food for isolated desert communities.”
The farm originally comprised of just 100 raised garden boxes but after significant investment Big Tex was able to produce 11,000 pounds of food in 2018, which translates into 140,000 servings, using the Arize LED lighting system to provide optimal light spectrums to drive plant growth.
The red spectrum encourages flowering and fruit generation, while the blue produces much thicker leaves. A combined red-to-blue mix has helped to encourage much greater overall growth.
“Critically, these LEDs have been able to produce better crops, quicker. But they are longer life, require less maintenance and less heat than more traditional forms of lighting,” says D’Amico.
Urban agriculture can happen anywhere and the technology being used is making it more viable economically, providing an incredible opportunity for growers everywhere.
Down On The (Hi-Tech) Farm: Ocado Branches Out From Grocery Deliveries And Warehouses With A £17m Investment In 'Vertical Farming'
Ocado has bought a majority stake in vertical farming firm Jones Food Company
It has also entered into a JV to build new tech solutions for vertical farming
Shares in Ocado rose 4.6%, making it the biggest riser on the FTSE 100 today
By CAMILLA CANOCCHI FOR THISISMONEY.CO.UK
PUBLISHED: 10 June 2019
Ocado has taken another step away from food delivery and towards technology as it unveiled plans to expand into food production with two major investments in vertical farming.
The online grocer, which is focused on growing and diversifying its tech solutions arm, said it has splashed out £17million on a majority stake in Jones Food Company and a joint venture to build technology for vertical farming.
Vertical farming is when food is grown at indoor facilities in multi-level vertical stacks. It allows growers to fit a lot of produce into a small space and make it available all-year round.
Green shoots: Vertical farming is seen as an answer to providing food to urban populations
This method has become more popular in recent years as it is often seen as an answer to provide local, fresh food to a growing urban population.
It is also considered to be more sustainable, as it uses less water, less space and lower wastage than traditional agriculture methods.
Shares in Ocado were up 4.6 per cent to 1,165p towards the close, making it the biggest riser on the FTSE 100 today.
Jones Food Company, which is based in Scunthorpe, is Europe's largest operating farm producing leafy salads and herbs like dill, chives and basil.
The firm uses hydroponics, which means plants are grown in water or an inorganic fabricated substrate instead of soil as in traditional farming.
Ocado has also entered into a three-way joint venture called Infinite Acres with US based 80 Acre Farms and Netherlands-based Priva Holdings.
The collaboration is aimed at creating technology solutions for companies in the vertical farming industry.
Ocado boss Tim Steiner said: 'We believe that our investments today in vertical farming will allow us to address fundamental consumer concerns on freshness and sustainability and build on new technologies that will revolutionise the way customers access fresh produce.
'Our hope ultimately is to co-locate vertical farms within or next to our Customer Fulfilment Centres (CFCs) and Ocado Zoom's microfulfilment centres so that we can offer the very freshest and most sustainable produce that could be delivered to a customer's kitchen within an hour of it being picked'.
Less grocer, more tech: Ocado recently made a £4.75m investment in food robot firm Karakuri
The deal is Ocado's first move into food production, but follows its £4.75million investment in food robot firm Karakuri last month.
Jones Food Company boss James Lloyd-Jones said they were 'delighted' about the partnership with Ocado.
'We are certain that the combination of their world-leading logistics and automation systems coupled with our advanced growing technology will transform the way customers experience fresh produce - delivered fresh to their door a matter of hours from ordering,' he added.
Why does Ocado think vertical farming is ripe for the plucking?
By This is Money business and markets reporter Emily Hardy
Ocado Solutions: Ocado robots pack groceries in its warehouses
On a call with journalists on Monday, Ocado finance boss Duncan Tatton-Brown said that the move into vertical farming represented a chance for the delivery firm to ‘leverage its tech expertise’.
While staying close to the food and grocery sectors for now, it demonstrates how Ocado may put its warehouse robotics to use across a range of different industries in the future.
‘Our focus is delivering on Ocado Solutions, but this is an example of how we can use our know-how and put it to use across other areas. We think it works on many levels,’ Tatton-Brown said.
For shoppers, the finance boss said there were ‘many clear advantages’, including ‘fresher and tastier products all year round’.
‘We foresee a day when customers’ fresh produce is harvested just hours before they get it,’ he said.
He added that there were clear benefits for Ocado’s existing partners – which includes M&S, and Kroger in the US – as they may wish to try out this food production method and the Infinite Acres venture.
He also emphasised that this production method can be better for the environment, as it brings the crops closer to the end user therefore cutting down on shipping and flights.
At Jones Food Company, 100 per cent of the water used is recycled and its LED lights are powered by renewable energy.
CO2 Gro Q1 Results + Talk With Management
CO2 Gro Inc. (GROW.V, BLONF) reported their full-year 2018 and Q1 2019 results recently. Neither reporting period provided much excitement but let’s go through the highlights before I dig into the conversation I had with VP Sam Kanes.
Click here for my initial analysis of CO2 Gro Inc.
I own shares of CO2 Gro Inc.
Q1 Results
On May 31st, 2019, GROW reported Q1 2019 results. The highlight of CO2 Gro Q1 results was the completion of the installation of their CO2 equipment with their first two growers under contract. GROW began collecting revenue from their first contract in late March while revenue from their second contract will begin in June. While GROW only generated $6650 in revenue in Q1, their first two contracts will generate $240,000 per year.
Although this is not a huge amount of money, it is a base that GROW can continue to build upon. The contracts are long term, perpetual contracts as long as the systems are still in use.
In February GROW announced positive results from a trial of their dissolved CO2 spray on e.coli and powdery mildew. Their MD&A states that these positive results have lead to increased interested in GROW’s technology from hemp growers in North America. This could be a distinct advantage for GROW. GROW’s dissolved CO2 spray is organic and safe for the plant and humans while also enhancing plant growth.
GROW is now finally collecting revenue from their dissolved CO2 foliar spray technology. Once these growers start to collect harvests with increased yield and quality, the word should spread through the hemp and cannabis industry. GROW is operating at under a $1 million burn rate as they only used $183,000 of cash used in operating activities and investing activities in Q1. With no debt on the balance sheet, $1.6 million in cash and $240,000 in recurring revenue GROW is in a very good position to seek out new contracts.
Discussion With VP Sam Kanes
On June 5th I was fortunate to get some time with VP Sam Kanes. He answered a bunch of my questions and also gave me an update on what might be coming next for GROW.
Management is Very Busy
I caught Mr. Kanes right as he was entering a meeting and was able to talk to him for about half an hour once his meeting wrapped up. GROW has been very busy, but a good kind of busy.
CEO John Archibald and COO Aaron Archibald have been travelling extensively meeting growers and ag tech companies. CEO Archibald has been travelling all over the United States with New Mexico and Texas mentioned while COO Archibald has been travelling in the United States, Canada and Europe.
Technology Advancement
Mr. Kanes briefly mentioned that GROW has developed generation one and generation two equipment. He didn’t provide much detail on the new equipment but did say that the equipment is much more advanced and allows for 24/7 monitoring. A new video with Market One Media Group should be released soon.
GROW has stocked some additional equipment in preparation of new contracts being signed. This equipment will show up as inventory if not deployed during the Q2 reporting period. It took GROW approximately three months from commercial agreement to the installation of their equipment. Mr. Kanes told me that they are working to shorten this timeline to six weeks for future installations.
2019 Projection
Mr. Kanes reiterated that he believes they can achieve a $10 million revenue run rate by Q1 2020. This would equate to contracts of 1 million square feet of cannabis or 10 million square feet of produce.
The growers with the first two contracts were granted a discount for being the first growers to adapt their technology. Future contracts will not receive the same discounting.
Health Canada Regulations
Mr. Kanes explained that the regulations surrounding their technology are still unclear. This is causing Canadian licensed producers to hesitate before adopting GROW’s technology. Health Canada is introducing new language in October 2019 that Mr. Kanes said they are very supportive of.
With some additional clarification, Mr. Kanes believes that growers will be far less hesitant to adopt their technology. When it becomes clear that GROW’s technology can be used on cannabis in Canada this will be a material change for their business. Being based out of Toronto Mr. Kanes said that they are within a forty-five-minute drive of numerous growers in Ontario.
In both my conversations with Mr. Kanes he was very confident in their technology and its safe use on plants and for the humans working in these environments. It seems like only a matter of time before dissolved CO2 foliar spray is approved for use in Canada.
Global Expansion
On April 10th GROW announced that they had attended the GFIA Global Ag Tech Conference in Abu Dhabi. COO Aaron Archibald was fully booked with one-on-one meetings with potential customers.
The news release states that COO Archibald met with growers that are unable to use CO2 gassing due to excessive heat inside their greenhouses that must be vented. When the heat is vented the gas is also vented negating the positive growth effects. This is the type of “low hanging fruit” management has mentioned in the past. GROW’s technology seems to be a perfect fit in these types of situations as they are the only option these growers have to gain the benefits of added CO2 to plant growth.
Additions to the Board
I was able to ask Mr.Kanes how overseas expansion was going. He first mentioned that the two recent additions to their board, Dr. Gord Surgeoner and Rose Marie Gage, were brought on to assist with international expansion. Ms. Gage’s press release is quite impressive with numerous achievements both as a CEO and Director. I especially like that she won the 2018 Outstanding Achievement in Governance Award (Directors’ College). It’s always a benefit to investors to have a strong Board of Directors working for them.
John Archibald, CEO stated “Her deep relationships with greenhouse plant growers,
agriculture industrial companies and Government agriculture organizations will be of great
benefit to GROW’s Board, strengthening its Agri-Tech expertise and ability to successfully
move GROW’s Strategy going forward.”
Back to international expansion, Mr.Kanes explained that they would need to sign an agreement with an ag tech company or hire a bunch of new staff for international expansion to succeed. GROW stated in their GFIA press release that they were in talks with a European greenhouse manufacturer to partner with. Mr. Kanes told me that they expect to announce some new partnerships soon but explained that these types of partnerships take time to finalize.
Conclusion
CO2 Gro Q1 results started to show revenue from their very first commercial installation. Although this revenue is small it is recurring. With a few more contracts GROW will be cash flow positive if they remain at their current low cash burn. Remember that management isn’t being paid a salary until GROW is cash flow positive.
With numerous catalysts on the horizon (Health Canada clarification, Ag tech partnership announcement, future contract announcements, and global expansion) GROW seems to have a lot of good things going for it. In order to meet their projected $10 million revenue run rate by Q1 2020, they will need to get some more contracts signed and equipment installed. The interest appears to be there, hopefully, that interest is turned into revenue.
I continue to own shares of GROW.V and plan to add to my position as management executes.
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Intelligent Growth Solutions Attracts £5.4 million Series A Funding to Achieve Global Growth in Vertical Farming
Scottish agri-tech business to
deliver ground-breaking technology to burgeoning
indoor farming sector
Invergowrie, Scotland – 18 June 2019 - Intelligent Growth Solutions Ltd (IGS), the Scottish-based vertical farm technology business, announced today a £5.4 million Series A funding round led by US-based S2G Ventures, the world’s leading agri-foodtech investor.
IGS supplies highly sophisticated plug-and-play vertical farming technology to indoor farms to enable the efficient production of food in any location around the world.
To demonstrate the unique technology stack it has developed, IGS opened its first vertical farming demonstration facility in August 2018. Since that announcement the company has received significant interest from around the world with orders mounting for its ground-breaking, patented technologies.
IGS’ unique technology has been designed specifically to address some of vertical farming’s biggest challenges, including the cost of power and labour, as well as the inability to produce consistently high-quality produce at scale. These economic and operational barriers to growth have inhibited the sector’s expansion to date. IGS has designed all its products to be highly pragmatic, flexible, modular and scalable in-line with market requirements.
The £5.4 million investment will allow IGS to create jobs in areas such as software development, engineering, robotics and automation. It will also help IGS to increase its product development, including continued innovation in AI, big data and the Internet of Things. IGS will also be building global marketing, sales and customer support teams in three continents.
This growth is pivotal for IGS to meet significant demand from growers, retailers and governments aiming to address food security issues through alternative methods of production and new business models in their regions. In 2019, IGS will be deploying indoor farming systems for clients in every major territory globally.
With global market growth in vertical farming predicted at 24 percent per annum over the next three years, the opportunities for IGS are substantial, with over 95 percent of its sales expected to be exported either directly or through regional channel partners.
The Series A funding round was led by S2G (Chicago), the most active agri-foodtech investor globally in 2018, with online venture capital firm AgFunder (San Francisco), the second most active and Scottish Investment Bank (SIB).
“Indoor agriculture production is at a tipping point. Grocery and food service firms have never been more interested in adopting this in their future supply chain. Cost and quality of product will be critical to scale this adoption. IGS’s revolutionary technology has proven itself to reduce power consumption, improve ventilation and hence reduce the capital and human costs to deliver fresh and differentiated products to consumers,” commented Sanjeev Krishnan, Managing Director of S2G Ventures. “We are excited IGS will help enable this emerging movement”.
“We see IGS as the perfect foray for AgFunder into the indoor agriculture arena,” said Michael Dean, founding partner at AgFunder. “As a developer of highly sophisticated energy and control system technologies for third-party indoor farms, IGS satisfies our bias for investing in enabling technologies rather than technology-enabled production with the inherent risks associated with building and operating a large asset.”
Kerry Sharp, Director of the Scottish Investment Bank, said: “We are delighted to support the continued development of IGS as it looks to take its technology to the global marketplace. The company has been account managed by Scottish Enterprise since 2014 and has received both financial and non-financial assistance covering innovation and R&D as well as supply chain management and international market entry. The company has made significant progress over the last 12 months and has assembled an impressive team with a clear focus on taking the IGS offering to an international market.”
IGS Chief Executive Officer David Farquhar said “We are thrilled to have the backing of the world’s leading agri-tech investors and the Scottish Investment Bank. We have recruited a world-class international management team, to be announced soon, to drive our plan forward with support from a board of senior international business people bringing industry expertise and best practice governance to the table.
“This industry is just at the starting line and we look forward to working with our customers, partners and colleagues at the James Hutton Institute to enable the highest quality produce to be grown at economically viable prices and help feed the burgeoning global population.”
The Scottish-led R&D team at IGS has developed, patented and productised a breakthrough, IoT-enabled power and communications platform consisting of patented electrical, electronic and mechanical technologies. All this is managed by a SaaS and data platform using AI to deliver economic and operational benefits to indoor growing environments across the globe. This technical solution enables the potential for reduction of energy usage by up to 50 per cent and labour costs by up to 80 per cent when compared with other indoor growing environments. It also can produce yields of 225 per cent compared to growing under glass.
Thorntons’ corporate and commercial team (led by Alistair Lang and with support from Victoria McLaren and wider team) acted for IGS throughout the Series A funding process.
A Shepherd and Wedderburn corporate team (led by Stephen Trombala with support from Christina Sinclair and Cath Macrae) acted for Chicago-based S2G Ventures - the lead investor in the first closing of the series A financing of Intelligent Growth Solutions Limited.
About IGS:
IGS was formed in 2013. Its purpose was to bring indoor horticulture to commercial reality by combining efficient internet-enabled smart lighting with automation and power management. The founders’ experience combined extensive knowledge of horticulture, industrial automation and big data.
IGS launched its first vertical demonstration facility in August 2018 and is now selling a revolutionary controlled-environment growth system. The location of IGS’ facility at the James Hutton Institute, a world leading crop research facility, was deliberately chosen to enhance collaboration opportunities for the benefit of customers. Scientists and researchers at the Institute are working with the team at IGS to better understand how growing indoors can impact different varieties of crop growth, as well as driving increased productivity.
For more information visit www.intelligentgrowthsolutions.com or connect with us on Twitter and LinkedIn.
About S2G Ventures:
S2G Ventures (Seed to Growth) is a multi-stage venture fund investing in food and agriculture. The fund’s mission is to catalyze innovation to meet consumer demands for healthy and sustainable food. S2G has identified sectors across the food system that are ripe for change, and is building a multi-stage portfolio including seed, venture and growth stage investments. Core areas of interest for S2G are agriculture, ingredients, infrastructure and logistics, IT and hardware, food safety and technology, retail and restaurants, and consumer brands. For more information about S2G, visit www.s2gventures.com or connect with us on Twitter and LinkedIn.
About AgFunder
AgFunder is an online Venture Capital Platform investing in the bold and exceptional entrepreneurs transforming our food and agriculture system. Our in-house technology enables us to invest globally and at scale, make better investment decisions, and support our portfolio companies. Through media and research, AgFunder has built a community of over 60,000 members and subscribers, giving us the largest and most powerful network in the industry.
Stay up-to-date with Food Tech and AgTech startup news, and other reports, by signing up to our newsletter here.
About Scottish Investment Bank:
The Scottish Investment Bank (SIB) is the investment arm of Scotland’s national economic development agency, Scottish Enterprise, operating Scotland-wide in partnership with Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE). SIB’s activities support Scotland’s SME funding market to ensure businesses with growth and export potential have adequate access to growth capital and loan funding.
SIB manages a suite of co-investment funds including the Scottish Co-investment Fund, the Scottish Venture Fund and the Energy Investment Fund on behalf of the Scottish Government. SIB is also an investor in Epidarex Capital’s Life Sciences Fund and is a participant in the Scottish-European Growth Co-Investment Programme with funding secured from the Scottish Government’s Scottish Growth Scheme alongside the European Investment Fund.
SIB also provides funding into LendingCrowd, Scotland’s marketplace lender providing loans to SMEs, and Maven's UK Regional Buy Out Fund (MBO) that offers financial support for management buyouts (MBOs) and helps existing management teams acquire their businesses from their owners so they can continue to flourish. SIB’s team of financial readiness specialists help companies to prepare for new investment and access appropriate finance.
BREAKING NEWS: Ocado Invests In 'Vertical Farms' To Grow Produce Near Distributors
£17m Investment Includes Formation of Venture to
Develop Systems to Sell to Other Retailers
Jones Food’s vertical farm in Scunthorpe, which grows fresh herbs under lights in a warehouse. Photograph: Holly Challinor
10 Jun 2019
Ocado is investing £17m in high-tech farming with the aim of growing herbs and other produce alongside its robot-run distribution centres around the world.
The online grocery specialist has bought a 58% stake in Jones Food, a “vertical farm” that grows 420 tonnes of basil, parsley and coriander a year in stacked trays under 12km (7.5 miles) of LED lights in a warehouse in Scunthorpe. The grower currently supplies businesses such as sandwich maker Greencore.
Duncan Tatton-Brown, finance director of Ocado, said the group could open at least 10 more similar farms within five years. He said it could take less than a year to build a Jones Food facility and the two companies were now considering how Ocado’s expertise in robotics and AI could be used to make Jones Food more efficient.
James Lloyd-Jones, chief executive of Jones Food, said the group’s Scunthorpe farm recycled all its water, did not use pesticides and was powered by renewable energy, such as wind turbines and solar panels.
Ocado’s £17m investment also includes the formation of a new joint venture – Infinite Acres – with US-based vertical farming business 80 Acres and Priva, a Netherlands-based horticultural technology provider, on a four-year project to develop off-the-shelf vertical farming systems that can be sold to retail and other businesses worldwide. The 80 Acres farms, which are based in Ohio, Arkansas, North Carolina and Alabama, are able to grow tomatoes and courgettes as well as leafy salads and herbs, without using pesticides.
Tim Steiner, Ocado’s chief executive, said: “We believe that our investments today in vertical farming will allow us to address fundamental consumer concerns on freshness and sustainability and build on new technologies that will revolutionise the way customers access fresh produce.
“Our hope ultimately is to co-locate vertical farms within or next to our [distribution centres] and Ocado Zoom’s micro-fulfilment centres so that we can offer the very freshest and most sustainable produce that could be delivered to a customer’s kitchen within an hour of it being picked.”
Ocado Zoom is a new one-hour delivery service offering a more limited range of goods, launched earlier this year and being trialled in west London.
Only eight people work at the Jones Food facility, where the herbs are grown hydroponically – getting all the nutrients they need without soil. The plants, the first of which were only grown last year, are not touched by humans from seed to bagging ready for stores. A robot called Frank stacks trays of plants ontoon to towers of shelving while machinery automatically harvests them when ready.
Every element inside is monitored to ensure it is clean and primed for growing the herbs quickly. Anyone entering must wear protective clothing including overalls, wellies and hairnets and step through an air shower that blows off any dust. Air is filtered to ensure insects cannot enter.
Ocado currently sells Waitrose groceries via its website in the UK and provides distribution for Morrisons’ website. Next year it will swap Waitrose for Marks & Spencer under a £750m joint venture, raising the prospect of specialist robot farms serving the 134-year-old high street retailer.
Ocado has sold its hi-tech robot grocery picking and packing technology around the world to retailers wanting to develop online businesses. In one blockbuster deal it is to build 20 warehouses for US supermarket giantKroger. It has also struck grocery delivery technology partnerships with Groupe Casino in France, Sobeys in Canada and ICA Group in Sweden, creating a ready-made potential market for its robot farms
Agtech Startup Agrilyst Is Now Artemis, Raises $8M Series A
May 22, 2019
Artemis, the agtech startup formerly known as Agrilyst, today announced that it has raised an $8 million Series A funding round. The round was co-led by Astanor Ventures and Talis Capital, with participation from iSelect Fund and New York State’s Empire State Development Fund. With this, the company, which won our 2015 Disrupt SF Battlefield competition, has now raised a total of $11.75 million.
When Agrilyst launched, the company mostly focused on helping indoor farmers and greenhouse operators manage their operations by gathering data about their crop yields and other metrics. Over the course of the last few years, that mission has expanded quite a bit, and today’s Artemis sees itself as an enterprise Cultivation Management Platform (CMP) that focuses on all aspects of indoor farming, including managing workers and ensuring compliance with food safety and local cannabis regulations, for example.
The expanded platform is meant to give these businesses a single view of all of their operations, and integrates with existing systems that range from climate control to ERP tools and Point of Sale systems.
Compliance is a major part of the expanded platform.
“When you look at enterprise operations, that risk is compounded because it’s not just that risk across many, many sites and many acres, so in 2018, we switched to almost entirely focusing on those operations and have gained a lot of momentum in that space,” CEO and founder Allison Kopf said. “And now we’re using the funding to expand from mainly focusing on managing that data to help with profitability to using that data to help you with everything from compliance down to the profitability element. We want to limit that exposure to controllable risk.”
With this new focus on compliance, the company also added Dr. Kathleen Merrigan to its board. Merrigan was the deputy secretary of Agriculture in the Obama administration and is the first executive director of the Swette Center for Sustainable Food Systems at Arizona State University . She is also a venture partner at Astanor Ventures .
“Technology innovation is rapidly transforming the agriculture sector. Artemis’ approach to using data as a catalyst for growth and risk management provides the company a significant advantage with enterprise-level horticulture operations,” said Merrigan.
Cannabis, it’s worth noting, was not something the company really focused on in its early years, but as Kopf told me, it now accounts for about half of the company’s revenue. Only a few years ago, many investors were also uncomfortable investing in a company that was in the cannabis business, but that’s far less of an issue today.
“When we raised our seed round in 2015, we were pitching to a lot of funds and a lot of funds told us that they had LPs that can’t invest in cannabis. So if you’re pitching that you’re going to eventually be in cannabis, we’re going to have to step away from the investment,” Kopf said. “Now, folks are saying: ‘If you’re not in cannabis, we don’t want to invest.’ ”
Today, Artemis’ clients are worth a collective $5 billion. The company plans to use the new funding to scale its sales and expand its team.
Image Credits: Ben McLeod / Getty Images
Marijuana Prices Have Collapsed, Forcing Growers to Focus on Energy Efficiency
Particularly on the West Coast, prices have imploded as more growers set up shop and 2018 yielded strong harvests. That's good news for a cannabis consumer, but for the industry it means difficulty in turning a profit
Efficiency experts say the biggest opportunities to reduce energy use in the cannabis sector are in the design phase of a new grow operation.
Author: Robert Walton@TeamWetDog
May 1, 2019
As marijuana becomes more mainstream, an increasing number of utilities are seeing growers set up shop in their service territories — at times creating distribution system issues, and in general bringing significant new demand.
With federal legalization now a topic du jour, there is a growing focus on energy efficiency in the cannabis space and how utilities and industry groups can help growers control their demand. Total electricity demand from legal marijuana cultivation in the United States is estimated to rise 162% from 2017 to 2022, according to Research from New Frontier Data, which focuses on analysis of the cannabis industry.
Credit: New Frontier Data
Compared with a typical office building, indoor marijuana growers are about 10 times as energy intensive on a square footage basis, according to Neil Kolwey, industrial program director for the Southwest Energy Efficiency Project (SWEEP).
SWEEP recently hosted a webinar to discuss energy efficiency in the cannabis industry, and Kolwey said it is important to keep the sector's energy use in perspective — it is not particularly large in aggregate, but can have significant impacts in specific areas.
Data centers use two to three times the energy of marijuana growers, again on a square-footage basis, he said, and account for about 1.8% of the United States' electricity consumption. Pot growers, including illegal operations, account for just 0.1% right now.
But cultivation centers are energy intensive: a single one could overload a utility transformer, while an industry can add substantially to a city's power demand.
Utility headaches
Growers account for 4% of Denver's electricity consumption. In Xcel Energy's territory, marijuana cultivation can account for close to 2% of demand and as the legal industry ramped up five years ago, it caused headaches for the utility.
"The issue wasn't meeting the demand," Xcel spokesman Mark Stutz told Utility Dive. But in some areas of its territory, "we often found the systems were not adequate for a 24 hour grow operation. ... There were growing pains in the first couple of years after it became legal."
There are now about 500 grow facilities in Xcel's territory, using between 35,000 MWh and 45,000 MWh annually. "Certain pockets [in the city] became warehouse districts for marijuana growing," said Stutz. Built years ago for different types of industry, transformers had to be replaced in order to deliver enough energy.
Energy consumption in Xcel's Colorado territory from the cannabis industry has since leveled off, Stutz said
Credit: Xcel Energy
Nationwide, however, the trend remains upward.
"We're seeing that electricity consumption increases are just continuing as this market continues to escalate," said Derek Smith, executive director at Research Innovation Institute (RII), a non-profit market-transformation group in the cannabis space. "That's the trend we're on unless we do something about it."
There are now more than 30 states with medical marijuana programs, and nine plus the District of Columbia have legal recreational access. Growing interest in cannabis means higher energy demand. But with the product now legal, markets are responding to typical economic forces — meaning energy efficiency may become vital to turning a profit..
Crashing prices and a focus on margins
Particularly on the West Coast, prices have imploded as more growers set up shop and 2018 yielded strong harvests. That's good news for a cannabis consumer, but for the industry it means difficulty in turning a profit.
"In almost every established market that's been around more than a couple of years, right now we recommend getting production costs down to $300/pound or below to stay competitive. That's a steep curve from where it was a year or two ago," said Jacob Policzer, director of science and strategy at The Cannabis Conservancy, a group that provides sustainability certifications to producers.
"Getting costs down will be the biggest factor moving [the industry] towards energy efficiency and sustainable growing practices," Policzer said.
That's important because of growing carbon emissions associated with the cannabis industry's electric demand.
Credit: New Frontier
"Energy consumption and carbon emission levels have become critical issues among stakeholders in the cannabis industry," according to a New Frontier Data report on the sector's energy use. But in trying to make improvements, stakeholders have "been forced to rely on data and analysis based on research published prior to the deployment of medical and adult-use programs."
Cannabis has typically operated in the shadows, and little information on best practices was shared, said Smith. RII is working to correct this. In 2017 the group developed the Cannabis Power Score, which attempts to give growers an idea of where their energy use stands relative to others, while collecting data on industry best practices.
"We are beginning to have enough data to create benchmarks," said Smith, pointing to grams-produced/kWh as a key metric. In turn, this is allowing the group to validate effective technologies and techniques.
"We really see as a vision, that cannabis is an incubator platform for the way agriculture will be done in the future," said Smith, looking to regenerative farming techniques and hyper-efficient, multi-tiered greenhouses.
"A well-designed and operated indoor grow can save up to 40% per gram of flower, compared to a standard indoor grow," said SWEEP's Kowley. Well-designed greenhouses, which have HVAC, dehumidification and lighting systems properly-sized in the design phase, can save 60% to 70%, he said.
In an environment where prices have fallen and supply is plentiful, energy efficiency can make the difference for producers. Energy is about 20% to 40% of an indoor grower's total operating costs, said Kowley. By comparison, a mid-sized brewery might see energy make up 6% to 12% of its costs.
Renewables and cannabis?
It is somewhat counterintuitive to consider a need for renewable energy in the cannabis space — after all, you could just grow outside. But not all climates can support year-round outdoor cultivation, strict local regulations have kept many growers inside, and some consumers say indoor marijuana is simply better.
Adam Bartini, senior program manager at The Energy Trust of Oregon, has worked with a number of growers on efficiency projects, helping provide rebates and incentives. The Energy Trust offers licensed growers free technical services, along with incentives to install energy-efficiency equipment at new and existing facilities.
Bartini, in his presentation during SWEEP's webinar, pointed to Deschutes Growery in Bend, Oregon, where the Energy Trust helped provide more than $400,000 in incentives. Along with LED lighting, the growers also installed a 56.4 kW solar system — though the total project costs topped $1.1 million.
"It is a very big investment, given how energy intensive it is to grow cannabis," Bartini said, "You need a pretty sizeable investment to offset a large percentage of that usage. So it's not gonna be for every grower. It's going to be someone who really has a lot of capital to investment. But it's obviously something we love to see."
Energy financing solutions are beginning to reach cannabis companies, said Smith, though primarily for efficiency projects. The Energy Trust works with cannabis growers the same as any other Oregon customer looking to reduce their demand. And Smith noted that some smaller growers are "creatively organizing" to take advantage of renewable energy tax deductions.
"The financing solutions are coming to pass," said Smith.
Xcel's Stutz said the utility does not offer programs specifically for cannabis growers, but "the marijuana industry can and does take advantage of programs we have," including general lighting — though not growing lamps.
But according to SWEEP's Kowley, the most affordable way for marijuana growers to embrace efficiency is to consider it from the very beginning.
"The best opportunities are in the design phase," said Kowley. "Once a grow is up and running, retrofits are difficult. ... More utilities should offer the kind of design assistance that Energy Trust does."
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Vertical Farming Systems Raises $1M For Automated Agtech
April 30, 2019
Image via VFS
Australian agtech company Vertical Farming Systems (VFS) has raised $1 million for its automated indoor farming technology. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, although company co-owner Ashley Thompson told StartupSmart the investment comes from someone with “significant experience in the agriculture industry.”
Based in Queensland, Australia, VFS says its system can take plants from seedling stage to fully grown in just 28 days. Thompson, along with co-owner John Leslie, run the farm out of a warehouse facility divided into three climate cells, or insulated environments where computers control the lighting, water, and humidity levels, to give plants optimal growing conditions. The system automatically plants the seeds in trays of clay pods, then loads those trays onto stackable racks equipped with LEDs, where the plants will grow. Currently, the facility houses about eight acres’ worth of crops.
You can watch a video of the system in action here.
VFS isn’t just growing greens, however. Running with the idea that vertical farming needs to be fully automated to offset labor costs, Thompson and Leslie spent nine years developing their patented XA Series warehouse system to sell to customers around the world. The system comes in 28 different configurations, which can be matched to a customer’s business needs and expanded if need be in the future.
They’re not alone in bringing indoor farming into the spotlight of the agtech space in Australia. A company called Modular Farms sells a variety of expandable container farms, though these require a little more hands-on work from humans than VFS’ system (think Freight Farms in the U.S.) Invertigro, meanwhile, sells a modular system the company says can grow everything from leafy greens to berries.
In addition to further developing the XA system, VFS is also using the new funds to develop other technologies, including an automated fodder machine, which can feed livestock for 14 days without human intervention, and a mealworm farm system.
Crop One Holdings Announces Launch of Vertical Farm Opportunity Fund in Major Farm-to-Table Initiative
Crop One Holdings (Crop One) a leading vertical farm operator through its FreshBox Farms brand, today announced that it will sponsor its first “qualified opportunity fund (QOF)” in an Opportunity Zone
The Fund will build a vertical farm in Texas expected to produce
2 tons of fresh produce per day, create at least 75 new jobs, and reach
17 million potential customers
Oakland, Ca., May 8, 2019 – Crop One Holdings (Crop One) a leading vertical farm operator through its FreshBox Farms brand, today announced that it will sponsor its first “qualified opportunity fund (QOF)” in an Opportunity Zone.
The Vertical Farm Opportunity Fund #1 (the Fund) will invest in building and operating a new vertical farm in Texas (the Farm), to be located in a qualified Opportunity Zone in the Austin-San Antonio corridor. The Farm will primarily serve Austin (the #11 largest city in the U.S.), and will have easy access to San Antonio (#7), Houston (#4) and the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex (#9).
Vertical farming produces crops indoors, and ensures pesticide-free, optimal growing conditions. Crop One anticipates locating many of its future farms in Opportunity Zones that have potential for farm-to-table distribution, in locations that may range from rural to urban settings. These farms require that temperature, humidity, light, water and plant nutrients be provided in a controlled environment.
Crop One’s track record and its investment team’s more than 40 years of combined investing experience make it uniquely qualified to manage the building and operation of the Farm through the Fund. Its produce is already sold in over 35 grocery stores in the Northeast U.S through its FreshBox Farms brand. In 2018, Crop One entered into a JV with Emirates Flight Catering to build the world’s largest vertical farm in Dubai, which will begin production early 2020.
For this project, Crop One will be raising capital under a Regulation D 506(c) offering for the development of the Farm’s facilities and to fund business operations.
“With this Opportunity Zone Fund, we are bringing scalable, vertical farming technology to Texas,” said Sonia Lo, Chief Executive Officer of Crop One Holdings. “The new farm will be environmentally conscious and produce fresh, locally-grown food that is healthy and affordable. Our expert staff of farmers, resource conservation specialists, and ag-tech leaders are changing the way we grow and enjoy food, and we are looking forward to providing great, fresh produce to the Austin-San Antonio area."
“With the creation of at least 75 new jobs in its initial phase, the Farm will have a positive economic impact on the local economy,” added Deane Falcone, Crop One Chief Science Officer. “As with all of our farms, the Farm is expected to use 99 percent less water compared to conventional farming. Our products are pesticide-free, non-GMO, nutritious, and delicious, and because our produce can reach more than 17 million people within a 3.5-hour radius, we will be able to reduce food miles and food waste.”
Enacted as part of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, Opportunity Zones were created by Congress to encourage social advancement and private investment in low-income communities to aid job creation and new business formation.
Investors in QOFs such as the Fund are eligible for a range of tax benefits, including deferral of current capital gains, a tax reduction of up to 15 percent on current gains and no capital gains taxes on appreciation of the QOF interest if the interest is held for 10 years or more.
Through the Fund, investors will partner with Crop One and participate in the rapidly emerging vertical farming sector while being eligible for these generous tax benefits.
Qualified accredited investors seeking investment information related to this offering and Vertical Farm Opportunity Fund #1, are asked to contact Crop One at cropone.ag/investors or email investors@cropone.ag for more information.
About Crop One Holdings
California-based Crop One Holdings is a technology-driven vertical farming company that produces fresh, organic, produce in a sustainable manner for its customers. It operates two subsidiaries: FreshBox Farms in Millis, Mass., and a joint venture with Emirates Flight Catering in Dubai South, United Arab Emirates. Crop One has been in continuous commercial production longer than any other vertical farmer in North America. The company’s proprietary technology and plant science put it ahead of its competitors, producing crop yields among the highest of the industry, but at 25% to 50% of the capital cost of other vertical farming companies.
The information contained in this Press Release is not intended to be and should not be taken as investment, tax, legal of any other type of advice. It is not an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy an interest in the Fund, the Farm or any other entity. No investment shall be offered or sold to any person without such person first being provided with a confidential information memorandum or similar document setting forth the risks associated with any such investment. Investing in funds of this nature are inherently risky and illiquid and shall be limited to persons that are “qualified purchasers” under U.S. securities laws. No investment shall be sold to any person without the Fund taking reasonable steps to verify that such person is an “accredited investor” under the US Securities Act, which steps may include third-party verification by the investor’s financial adviser, broker, accountant, banker and/or counsel. Any such investment involves a high degree of risk and is suitable only for sophisticated and qualified investors.
Mandated Regulation D 506(c) Disclosure Legend
Any historical performance data represents past performance. Past performance does not guarantee future results;
Current performance may be different than the performance data presented;
The Fund and Crop One are not required by law to follow any standard methodology when calculating and representing performance data;
The performance of the Fund and Crop One may not be directly comparable to the performance of other private or registered funds or companies.
The securities are being offered in reliance on an exemption from the registration requirements, and therefore are not required to comply with certain specific disclosure requirements;
The Securities and Exchange Commission has not passed upon the merits of or approved the securities, the terms of the offering, or the accuracy of the materials relating to any offering of equity in the Fund.
Marla Kertzman | Senior Vice President
Financial Profiles, Inc.
Main 310.478.2700 | Direct 209-852-9027| Mobile 408 482-3546
mkertzman@finprofiles.com | www.finprofiles.com
What Is The Cost of Vertical Farming?
How can vertical farming contribute to (inter)national food production? This question is more complex than it initially seems. The answer does not only depend on the production, but also on the costs for water, energy and CO2. The Greenhouse Horticulture Business Unit of Wageningen University & Research and TU Delft are investigating the feasibility of this new production system.
Take a head of lettuce for example: how much does it cost to produce one? The answer is fairly well known when it comes to cultivation in greenhouses in the Netherlands. Greenhouse models and growth models can be used to predict the production at a certain consumption of water, energy and CO2. Those models are not suitable, however, for cultivation in a vertical farm. The combination of high-density crop production and a closed construction necessitates a different approach with respect to heat, cooling and dehumidification.
The key question when comparing both cultivation systems is: how much energy does a vertical farm need? The required amount of water and CO2 can be reduced compared to a 'traditional' greenhouse, but this is not the case for the cooling and dehumidification demand. The high internal heat load and the lack of natural ventilation ensure a high cooling demand, which consequently results in residual heat.
Using residual heat in the city
The question is whether this residual heat could be used in the surrounding urban environment. One of the key features of vertical farming is that it can take place in the city, which would allow it to exchange energy with other users. Those other users could become customers of the residual heat from the vertical farm.
Vertical farming. Photo: Guy Ackermans
Feasibility of vertical farms in five steps
WUR and TU Delft have joined forces to calculate the feasibility of vertical farms in five steps. The first step investigates how plants process energy in a closed cultivation system. The second step concerns the total energy demand: how much energy does vertical farming need? Step three focuses on optimising this energy consumption and step four on the integration of the vertical farm into the city. Ultimately, this information is used in step five to calculate the financial feasibility of (urban) vertical farming. The research project will be completed by the end of 2019.
This work was supported jointly by Staay Food Group, Westland Infra and the Top Sector Horticulture & Propagation Materials (EU-2016-01) via EFRO Fieldlab Freshteq.
Source: Wageningen University & Research
Publication date: 4/17/2019
Acquisition of Manufacturing Assets
Cobotix is the current manufacturer of the Company’s Patented Vertical Farming Technology
Vancouver (Canada), April 17, 2019
Affinor Growers Inc. (“AFI” or the “Company”) (CSE:AFI, OTC:RSSFF, Frankfurt:1AF) is very pleased to announce that it has entered into a letter of intent to acquire manufacturing assets that make up the Cobotix Manufacturing Inc.’s (“Cobotix”) business, undertakings and goodwill in Port Coquitlam (the “Acquisition”). The Company and Cobotix will have thirty (30) days to complete the due diligence process and determine a closing date for the Acquisition. In consideration for the assets, the Company will pay to Cobotix up to $2,900,000, subject to a valuation of the assets (the “Consideration”).
The Consideration will be satisfied by certain cash payments and the issuance of up to 38,000,000 common shares (the “Common Shares”) in the capital of the Company at a deemed price of $0.05 per Common Share. Upon completion of the Acquisition, it is anticipated that Ron Adolf will be appointed to the board of directors and become an officer of the Company. No additional changes will be made to the Company’s board of directors or management based on the Acquisition.
Cobotix is the current manufacturer of the Company’s Patented Vertical Farming Technology. As a result of the Acquisition, the Company will be able to consolidate the intellectual property associated with the manufacturing and design aspects of the Vertical Farming Towers, and will be able to extend its reach, diversification and stability, which are fundamental to the growth and profitability of the Company going forward. Cobotix is currently developing multiple cell manufacturing opportunities throughout North America, building on the success of current operations. The Company and Cobotix act at arm’s length.
Cobotix brings over 30 years of expertise to the design and manufacturing of the Vertical Farming Towers. Over the past six months, Cobotix has been working directly with the Company to develop and test the new designs that were unveiled at the 2019 BC Tech Summit.
Randy Minhas commented “This is a great opportunity for the Company to move to the next level with its Vertical Farming Towers and to be involved directly with design and manufacturing going forward. We will now be in a position to capitalize on the extremely talented team at Cobotix, who have been instrumental in our new tower designs.”
Ron Adolf commented “We’re excited to be joining AFI and collectively working to commercialize the new Vertical Farming Towers while continuing to work on new designs and technologies in the vertical farming industry. Over the past six months, we have been very pleased with the great strides AFI has made in advancing their technology. Our business model of collocated manufacturing cells is a great fit in the evolution of Cobotix and AFI.”
Randy Minhas
President and CEO
About Affinor Growers
Affinor Growers is a publicly traded company on the Canadian Securities Exchange under the symbol ("AFI"). Affinor is focused on developing vertical farming technologies and using those technologies to grow fruits and vegetables in a sustainable manner.
Neither Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the Canadian Securities Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
This news release may contain assumptions, estimates, and other forward-looking statements regarding future events. Such forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties and are subject to factors, many of which are beyond the Company's control that may cause actual results or performance to differ materially from those currently anticipated in such statements.
Grow Light Global Market Estimated To Reach USD 5.80 Billion By 2022
The Grow Light Market is growing at the rapid pace; mainly due to the increasing government initiatives to adopt technologies. According to a recent study report published by the Market Research Future, Globally, the market for Grow Light is expected to gain prominence over the forecast period.
Business, Economy, Finances, Banking & Insurance
Press release from: Market Research Future
Global Grow Light Market, By Technology (LED, High Intensity Discharge, Fluorescent Lighting), By Installation (New Installation, Retrofit), By Application (Indoor Framing, Commercial Greenhouse, Vertical Framing) - Forecast 2022
Grow Light Global Market – Overview
The Grow Light Market is growing at the rapid pace; mainly due to the increasing government initiatives to adopt technologies. According to a recent study report published by the Market Research Future, Globally, the market for Grow Light is expected to gain prominence over the forecast period. The market is forecasted to witness a thriving growth by 2022, surpassing its previous growth records in terms of value with a striking CAGR during the anticipated period. Globally the Grow Light Market is expected to reach 5.80 Billion by 2022 at CAGR of more than ~13% from 2016 to 2022.
The key drivers contributing to the growth of the grow light market are growth in the indoor farming, government initiatives to adopt technologies such as LED, growing demand for energy efficiency, long lasting ‘Grow technology’ and environmentally safe products. Also, the demand for these products is increasing in countries such as Netherlands where supplemental lighting is required throughout the year.
However, low awareness among consumers, high cost of capital are the factors hindering the growth of the overall growth of the market. Whereas, high reliability, low power consumption, high commercial greenhouse practices are also propelling the growth of the grow light market.
Grow light is an electric light rather an artificial source of light which is designed to stimulate plant growth by emitting an electromagnetic spectrum for photosynthesis. Grow light is widely used in applications where natural light is not available or where supplemental light required. It is basically a type of electronic lamp designed to accelerate plant growth by electronic magnetic spectrum.
Plant factories support farming practices that are not dependent on the climate. Food factories produce organic vegetables. With the land available for farming depleting quickly, new types of farming are evolving.
Double Ended HPS lights are typically used in large commercial greenhouse or large indoor commercial gardening applications where high ceilings require more powerful lights to reach the plants. DE HPS lights are ideal for flowering and fruit production.
UV Light Bulbs are beneficial for plants. UV light activates a plant’s defence mechanisms. UV causes plants to produce oils, antioxidant vitamins and flavonoids to protect themselves from the damaging effects of UV. These compounds produce the vibrant colours, smells and tastes of your plants. If the light source does not produce UV, the colour, smell and taste of the produce gets changed effectively.
LED specialized grow lights. LED specialized grow lights offer homogenous light distribution. Light distribution at precisely the right wavelengths is made possible. LED light sources offer light distribution for good photosynthetic response. Vendors are able to stimulate plant growth. Flora series LEDs provide accelerated photosynthesis and energy savings.
Grow lamps are used in a wide variety of applications, including Home hobbyist, Agricultural universities, Educational programs, Plant physiological research, Biotechnology, Pharmacology, Greenhouses and Plant factories.
Grow Light Market - Competitive Analysis
Characterized by the presence of several major well-established players, the global Market of Grow Light appears to be highly competitive. Well established players incorporate acquisition, collaboration, partnership, expansion, and technology launch in order to gain competitive advantage in this market and to maintain their market position. Strategic partnerships between Key players support the growth and expansion plans of the key players during the forecast period. The Key players operating in the market compete based on product & technology launch, reputation and services. Well established players invest heavily in the R&D to develop products with the adept technologies that are completely on a different level compared to their competition, unrivalled design and features.
Key Players
• Osram LichtAG (Germany)
• General Electric Company (U.S.)
• Iwasaki Electric Co., Ltd. (Japan)
• LumiGrow, Inc. (U.S.)
• Gavita Holland B.V. (Netherlands)
• Hortilux Schreder B.V. (Netherlands)
• Sunlight Supply, Inc. (U.S.)
• Heliospectra AB (Sweden)
• Royal Philips (Netherlands)
• Platinum LED Lights LLC (U.S.)
The Global Grow Light Market is segmented in to 4 key dynamics for the convenience of the report and enhanced understanding;
Segmentation By Technology : Comprises LED, High Intensity Discharge, Fluorescent Lighting and other.
Segmentation By Installation : Comprises New Installation, Retrofit.
Segmentation By Application : Comprises Indoor Framing, Commercial Greenhouse, Vertical Framing, Landscaping and other.
Segmentation By Regions : Comprises Geographical regions - North America, Europe, APAC and
Rest of the World.
Out of these applications, vertical farming accounted for the largest market share because it allows the growing of more number of plants within a single enclosed structure, with the usage of artificial lightings and these can be produce fruits and vegetables throughout the year, within urban areas. Grow light is an electric light rather an artificial source of light which is designed to stimulate plant growth by emitting an electromagnetic spectrum for photosynthesis. Grow light is widely used in applications where natural light is not available or where supplemental light required. It is basically a type of electronic lamp designed to accelerate plant growth by electronic magnetic spectrum.
The key drivers contributing to the growth of the grow light market are growth in the indoor farming, government initiatives to adopt technologies such as LED, growing demand for energy efficiency, long lasting grow technology and environmentally safe products. Also, the demand for these products is increasing in countries such as Netherlands where supplemental lighting is required throughout the year.
Grow Light Global Market – Regional Analysis
Geographically, Europe accounted for the largest market share in the global grow light market, whereas Asia-Pacific is expected to grow significantly over the forecast period. Europe accounted for the largest market share, because Netherlands is a leading exporter of horticultural produce which increases the usage of commercial greenhouse. Also, the concept of vertical farming is gaining popularity in this region.
Asia-Pacific region is expected to grow significantly over the forecast period, majorly due to increasing awareness about the benefits of this technology.
On March 25th Steven Warren Released Form D. Freight Farms $13.07 Million Financing.
A form D was filed by Freight Farms, Inc., Corporation because of $13.07 million equity financing. The date of first sale was 2017-04-04. Freight Farms sold $8.09 million or 61.90 % of the fundraising offer.In total it’s $13.07 million
Posted by Mike Johnson
March 25, 2019
Freight Farms Fundraising
A form D was filed by Freight Farms, Inc., Corporation because of $13.07 million equity financing. The date of first sale was 2017-04-04. Freight Farms sold $8.09 million or 61.90 % of the fundraising offer.In total it’s $13.07 million. On 2019-03-25 the document was filed and the reason was: unspecified. The fundraising still has about $4.98 million more and is not closed yet. We have to wait more to see if the offering will be fully taken.
Freight Farms is based in Massachusetts. The filler works in the Other Technology business. The person that filed the form was Steven Warren Treasurer. The company was incorporated more than five years ago. The filler’s address is: 340 Summer Street, Suite 108, Boston, Ma, Massachusetts, 02127. Brad Mcnamara is the related person in the form and it has address: 840 Summer Street, Suite 108, Boston, Ma, Massachusetts, 02127. Link to Freight Farms Filing: 000159280019000003.
Freight Farms Offering Details
The startups in the Other Technology sector sell on avg 85.80 % of their offerings amount. Freight Farms have sold 61.90 % so far. The financing is still open. Also companies in the Other Technology industry have an avg fundraising size of $1.54 million.And the total raised amount is 425.26 % bigger than the average.As for minimum investment it is set at $0.
Form D – advantages and disadvantages
Usually Form D fillings have information that ventures and startups don’t like revealing. More precisely they reveal plans and reasons for funds raising. On other hand this could help understand better your competitors.
Freight Farms ‘s pluses of Fundraising Reporting
The Form D signed by Steven Warren might help Freight Farms, Inc. as clients feel much more safe to work with a better financed firm. Chances are high that Freight Farms, Inc. will stay financially sound. There are good PR effects as well as more attention from angels venture-capital, firms and funds.
Starbuck's Is Anchoring New Food And Tech Fund Valor Siren Ventures With $100M Investment
March 22, 2019
Starbucks announced it is making a $100 million investment in Valor Siren Ventures Fund (VSV), a newly launched venture fund that will back the next generation of food and retail technology startups.
In the coming months, VSV said that it is aiming to raise another $300 million from other outside investors.
“We believe that innovative ideas are fuel for the future, and we continue to build on this heritage inside our company across beverage, experiential retail, and our digital flywheel,” said Kevin Johnson, president and CEO, Starbucks.
Managed by Chicago-based Valor Equity Partners, a leading growth private equity investment firm that is a backer of Tesla and a long-time investor in food tech, this new fund will identify and invest in innovative companies that are developing new technologies, products, and solutions for the food and retail sectors.
Founded in 1995 by managing partner and CIO Antonio J. Gracias, Valor Equity is a previous investor in SpaceX, Tesla, Eatsa, Fooda, and Wow Bao, among others. And in July of last year, raised $1.05 billion for its Fund IV, bringing the total funds raised by the company, at the time, to more than $2 billion.
The fund also will act as an incubator for startups with which Starbucks can partner, and gives the company first-hand access to innovations that it can leverage to advance its own technology and retail platforms.
“At the same time, and with an eye toward accelerating our innovation agenda, we are inspired by, and want to support the creative, entrepreneurial businesses of tomorrow with whom we may explore commercial relationships down the road,” said Johnson. “This new partnership with Valor presents exciting opportunities, not only for these startups, but also for Starbucks, as we build an enduring company for decades to come.”
I Think We’ll Need a Bigger Wagon…
In recent years there has been a flurry of accelerators and venture capital arms launched by large CPG companies. This reflects the continued truth that there is a shift occurring within the food sector that is creating a scenario in which Big Food needs the rapid-response innovation generated by startups as much as startups need the capital available from Big Food.
The move to launch venture capital arms and accelerator programs or incubators has become a widely used method by some of the world’s largest and most conventional companies to achieve diversification, and to gain a foothold and to establish relevance in a swiftly changing consumer market. CPG companies also use these programs as a means to stay a step ahead of their competition while realizing the growth potential in disruptive food innovation.
Others that have come before include:
General Mills, which launched 301 Inc., in October 2015 – a venture capital arm that has gone on to outrank the likes of Time Warner and Merck for investment activity.
Campbell’s Soup, which launched its $125 million venture capital fund, Acre Venture Partners, in February 2016.
Anheuser-Busch, which partnered with Techstars to launch an accelerator in April 2016.
Danone, whose venture capital fund Danone Manifesto Ventures made its first investment in June 2016 in France’s Michel et Augustin, a producer of premium biscuits, dairy products, fresh desserts, and beverages.
Tyson, which launched its $150 million venture fund, Tyson New Ventures, in December 2016.
Kellogg’s, which launched its venture capital unit, eighteen94, in January 2017, making its first investment in Kui Kuli, a manufacturer and distributor of moringa-based bars, powders, and energy shots.
Barilla, which launched Blu1877, a hybrid venture capital fund and innovation hub, in November 2017.
Pepsi, whose PepsiCo HIVE made its first investment in Health Warrior, a producer of plant-based and superfood snacks and protein powders in October 2018.
And Mars, which announced the launch of Seeds of Change™, an early stage, food-focused accelerator, in March of this year.
At this point, an initial investment for the Valor Siren Ventures Fund has not been disclosed, however a company statement noted that Starbucks is “embracing new ideas and innovations that are relevant to Starbucks customers, inspiring to its partners, and meaningful to its business.”
Valor Equity CIO Antonio J. Gracias said, “as experienced investors in food and retail technology, we are thrilled to partner with Starbucks, one of the most iconic and forward-thinking global brands. Under our partner Jon Shulkin’s leadership, we are incredibly excited to partner with Starbucks to drive innovation in the food and retail industries.”
~ Lynda Kiernan
Lynda Kiernan is Editor with GAI Media and daily contributor to GAI News. If you would like to submit a contribution for consideration, please contact Ms. Kiernan at lkiernan@globalaginvesting.com.