Welcome to iGrow News, Your Source for the World of Indoor Vertical Farming
"Leading The Next Frontier of Farming And This Investment Further Accelerates Our Momentum"
“The addition of our new farm to the network is a critical next chapter in our growth,” said Irving Fain, founder, and CEO of Bowery Farming
“The addition of our new farm to the network is a critical next chapter in our growth,” said Irving Fain, founder, and CEO of Bowery Farming. “It will expand our reach and ability to be a reliable source of local produce for more communities. We’re leading the next frontier of farming, and this investment further accelerates our momentum.”
Bowery Farming is building its newest commercial farm in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Joining its network of farms in Kearny, New Jersey, and Nottingham, Maryland, Bowery’s new Bethlehem farm will be its largest, most technologically-advanced commercial farm yet.
Driven by explosive demand for safer, traceable pesticide-free produce, and propelled by the BoweryOS- which integrates software, hardware, sensors, computer vision systems, machine learning models and robotics to orchestrate and automate the entirety of operations - the strategic location of Bowery’s Bethlehem commercial farm will expand the company’s reach in the region.
This farm will feature a number of developments that build on previous Bowery technology, further automating the growing process from seed to store, and enhancing the efficiency of Bowery’s network such as, Water Conservation: A state-of-the-art, comprehensive water transpiration system will recapture almost all water used throughout Bowery’s growing process, with the goal of reclaiming and repurposing nearly all of the water in the farm.
The facility will also focus on more efficient LED Lighting amplifying Bowery’s holistic approach to sustainability and features industry-leading environmental improvements like energy-reducing LED lighting throughout.
"It's the smartest farm yet, powered by the BoweryOS, this farm will leverage billions of data points collected from Bowery’s network of farms to grow a reliable supply of consistently delicious produce year-round. Laying the groundwork for the next chapter in smart, scalable indoor farming, the Bethlehem farm will feature next-level technological capabilities unlike any Bowery farm to date, deepening the integration of the BoweryOS across all aspects of the business."
Furthermore, it offers restoration to the community. Bowery is working with the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to transform the Bethlehem location from a non-arable industrial site into productive, modern farmland—stimulating economic revitalization that will provide year-round sustainable farming jobs for the community.
Since the beginning of 2020, Bowery has experienced more than 600% brick and mortar sales growth, and more than doubled sales with e-commerce partners, including Amazon. Bowery’s produce is harvested year-round at peak freshness and delivered to stores within a few days of harvest — a stark contrast to the 90% of leafy greens grown in the U.S., which are transported over 3,000 miles to consumers on the East Coast.
With this new farm, Bowery’s Protected Produce will be available to the 49 million people living within the farm’s 200-mile radius, advancing the company’s goal of expanding access to local, traceable, pesticide-free food to people in every major city in the U.S. and around the world.
For more information:
Bowery Farming
Shelby Farahan, Communications
sfarahan@boweryfarming.com
www.boweryfarming.com
Publication date: Fri 18 Dec 2020
Author: Rebekka Boekhout
© VerticalFarmDaily.com
Agrify Seeks $25 Million IPO For Indoor Agriculture Growth Plan
The firm develops products and related services for the indoor agriculture market
Written by: Donovan Jones Marketplace
Author of IPO Edge.
Dec. 28, 2020
Summary
Agrify has filed to raise $25 million in an IPO.
The firm sells proprietary products and software to the indoor vertical farming market.
AGFY has grown quickly from a very small revenue base and the industry has promising growth prospects.
Quick Take
Agrify (AGFY) has filed to raise $25 million in an IPO of its common stock, according to an S-1 registration statement.
The firm develops products and related services for the indoor agriculture market.
AGFY is a still tiny firm growing topline revenue quickly while operating in a promising industry.
I’ll provide an update when we learn more about the IPO from management.
Company & Technology
Burlington, Massachusetts-based Agrify was founded to provide proprietary hardware and software to enhance the efficiency of indoor agriculture operations.
Management is headed by CEO Raymond Change, who has been with the firm since 2019 and was previously the founder of GigaMedia (GIGM).
Below is a brief overview video of a vertical farming operation:
To read the full article, please click here.
Note: This report is intended for educational purposes only and is not financial, legal or investment advice. The information referenced or contained herein may change, be in error, become outdated and irrelevant, or removed at any time without notice. You should perform your own research before making any decisions. IPO investing carries significant volatility and risk of loss.
Editor's Note: This article covers one or more microcap stocks. Please be aware of the risks associated with these stocks.
Disclosure: I/we have no positions in any stocks mentioned, and no plans to initiate any positions within the next 72 hours. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.
Gotham Greens Raises $87m Series D Funding To Decentralize Food Production
The round brings Gotham Greens’ total funding to $130 million. Although the Covid-19 pandemic made for a more complicated fundraising process, there was a silver lining, according to the startup’s CEO Viraj Puri. “It revealed opportunities in the food supply chain, which is really the core of what our mission is – to transform how and where fresh produce is grown,” he told AFN
December 9, 2020
Image credit: Gotham Greens
The indoor ag space is on fire this year and Gotham Greens is stoking the coals. The New York-based startup just raised an $87 million equity and debt round led by Colorado VC Manna Tree with participation from Florida real estate and private equity investor The Silverman Group and others.
The round brings Gotham Greens’ total funding to $130 million.
Although the Covid-19 pandemic made for a more complicated fundraising process, there was a silver lining, according to the startup’s CEO Viraj Puri.
“It revealed opportunities in the food supply chain, which is really the core of what our mission is – to transform how and where fresh produce is grown,” he told AFN.
“Supermarket retailers were facing a lot of voids on the shelf and it really provided an opportunity for us to fill some of those voids and be nimble. It was relatively easy for us to move from foodservice customers to food retail customers.”
Invest with Impact. Click here.
Founded in 2009, Gotham Greens operates a network of leafy greens-producing greenhouses across North America. It claims to use 100% renewable energy to power its greenhouses, which use 95% less water and 97% less land than conventional open-field farming.
Greenhouses vs vertical farms
There is quite a bit of tech under the greenhouse hood, as well. Gotham Greens has been ramping up its use of automation and data science in its climate-controlled greenhouses.
When it comes to tech, Puri sees a key differentiator between greenhouse operations and vertical farming businesses.
“We believe that the benefits of greenhouse farming currently outweigh those of vertical farming, which is an exciting extension of modern greenhouse farming. There are still some open questions around the technology and the financial sustainability primarily because fully indoor growing environments rely on artificial light,” he explained.
“Even though they can theoretically offer much higher yields and levels of climate control compared to modern greenhouses, those benefits will come with significantly higher capital and operating costs.”
Gotham Greens sells branded salad greens, herbs, salad dressings, and sauces. It claims to have doubled its revenue over the past year, selling its leafy greens in more than 40 US states and across 2,000 retail stores including Whole Foods, Albertsons, Meijer, Target, and Sprouts. It has doubled its capacity in the past 12 months by opening new greenhouse operations in Chicago, Providence, Baltimore, and Denver.
The new round of funding will be used to fund expansion into new channels and geographic markets, increase capacity, and development of new products. It has recently launched new products including grab-and-go salad bowls, packaged salads, and cooking sauces.
Although one may wonder how many products a startup can derive from a few core crops, Puri said there is plenty of whitespace left to explore.
“There’s channel diversification, there’s pack size diversification. There are just different ways to grow even within that category,” he said.
Can greenhouse startups keep up the pace?
There have been a slew of indoor ag fundings in 2020 despite the pandemic. Kentucky-based greenhouse tomato grower AppHarvest raised $28 million, added Martha Stewart and Impossible Foods’ chief financial officer to its board, and later went public at a $1 billion valuation. New York hydroponic greenhouse startup BrightFarms raised a $100 million Series E while Plenty scooped up a $140 million Series D to research strawberry cultivation with new investor Driscoll’s.
One cannot help but wonder whether consumers or investors will soon have had their fill of leafy greens and micro-herbs, or whether this space has some serious leg room left.
“On balance, I think the momentum is a good thing. I think we still play such a small role in the total addressable market,” Puri said. “If you look at leafy greens alone, it’s estimated to be about a $15 billion category in the US and Canada. Current indoor production is around 1% of that. I think there is a lot of room for growth and multiple winners.”
Indoor Agriculture Company Gotham Greens Raises $87 Million In Equity And Debt Capital
Gotham Greens operates one of the largest and most advanced networks of hydroponic leafy greens-producing greenhouses in North America where the demand for indoor-grown produce is rapidly increasing
By Annie Baker ● December 15, 2020
Gotham Greens — a pioneer in indoor agriculture operating high-tech greenhouses located across the United States — announced it has raised $87 million in new equity and debt capital, bringing the company’s total financing to $130 million. And the capital raise includes Gotham Greens’ recent Series D round led by Manna Tree and joined by The Silverman Group and other existing investors. Gotham Greens is known for operating one of the largest and most advanced networks of hydroponic leafy greens-producing greenhouses in North America, where the demand for indoor-grown produce is rapidly increasing.
And Gotham Greens grows and sells long-lasting leafy greens and herbs along with a line of fresh salad dressings and sauces. The brand recently launched several new fresh, plant-forward products, including new packaged salads, cooking sauces, and grab-and-go salad bowls featuring fresh Gotham Greens lettuce, Gotham Greens salad dressing and protein-packed toppings.
Gotham Greens operates one of the largest and most advanced networks of hydroponic leafy greens-producing greenhouses in North America where the demand for indoor-grown produce is rapidly increasing. And Gotham Greens grows and sells long-lasting, delicious leafy greens, and herbs along with a line of fresh salad dressings and sauces. The brand recently launched several new fresh plant-forward products, including new packaged salads, cooking sauces, and grab-and-go salad bowls featuring fresh Gotham Greens lettuce, Gotham Greens salad dressing, and protein-packed toppings.
And Gotham Greens has doubled its revenue in the past year, bringing its fresh produce and food products to retailers in more than 40 U.S. states through its network of high-tech, climate-controlled greenhouses. And the company’s expansion has driven 80% growth in retail unit sales year over year.
Gotham Greens has doubled capacity in the past year by opening new greenhouses in Chicago, Providence, R.I., Baltimore and Denver. And these facilities have expanded distribution of Gotham Greens’ salad greens, herbs, salad dressings and sauces to new regions, including the New England, Mid-Atlantic, Southeast and Mountain regions. Plus Gotham Greens products are available in more than 2,000 retail stores, including Whole Foods Market, Albertsons Companies (Safeway, Jewel-Osco and Shaw’s), Meijer, Target, King Soopers, Harris Teeter, ShopRite and Sprouts. The company’s items also are available for purchase through grocery ecommerce sites, including AmazonFresh, FreshDirect and Peapod.
KEY QUOTES:
“Given increasing challenges facing centralized food supply chains, combined with rapidly shifting consumer preferences, Gotham Greens is focused on expanding its regional growing operations and distribution capabilities at one of the most critical periods for America. We’re dedicated to changing how people think, feel and interact with their food while decreasing the environmental footprint of the traditional produce supply chain.”
— Viraj Puri, Co-Founder and CEO of Gotham Greens
“Manna Tree brings a global network of investors and shares our mission and commitment to expand access to healthy, sustainably-grown fresh produce. Our industry-leading crop yields and capital efficiency in building and operating indoor farms continues to attract strong support from both new and existing investors and underscores Gotham Greens’ value proposition and category leadership position.”
— Eric Haley, Co-Founder and CFO of Gotham Greens
“Gotham Greens is the fastest-growing indoor farming company in the United States today with a track-record of profitable, commercial-scale production. The pandemic has revealed flaws in America’s food supply chain system, particularly in the produce category, and new leaders and innovators need to emerge to ensure a stable food supply for the future. We believe Gotham Greens’ brand, highly scalable business model and leadership team position the company to be the market leader in the rapidly growing and changing landscape.”
— Brent Drever, Co-Founder and President of Manna Tree
VIDEO: How Max Chizhov, Co-Founder And CEO of iFarm Raised $4M To Build An Indoor Farming Solution Provider In Today’s Urban Environment?
The company is an indoor farming solution provider of plug and play automated vertical farms and data-driven software. Easy one-button managed farms from 50 till 5000 sq.m and a wide range of plants to grow are available for customers
Max Chizhov is the co-founder and CEO of iFarm. The company is an indoor farming solution provider of plug and play automated vertical farms and data-driven software. Easy one-button managed farms from 50 till 5000 sq.m and a wide range of plants to grow are available for customers. Farms can be set in a store, restaurant, warehouse, home, or country house. iFarm allows everyone on Earth to grow their healthy food sustainably and be independent of the supply chain.
iFarm technologies are recognized worldwide: the project is not only included in the TOP 500 food startups of the world and is a member of the EIT Food Accelerator Network; iFarm also became the best agricultural startup in Europe in The Europas Awards 2020, the winner in the category of the best social impact startup of Nordic Startup Awards 2019
In an exclusive interview with AsiaTechDaily, Max Chizhov says:
The main mistake is to lose focus. We have been there too. At first, we wanted to create a whole product line that would meet both the b2b and b2c needs: indoor farms, containers, grow boxes, etc. And in the end, we realized that this would entail additional costs and postpone the launch indefinitely. As a result, we decided to focus on one area, create a high-quality industrial technology, and then develop new formats.
Don’t be afraid to make mistakes. Without them, you cannot become your best self. Also, never cease to learn. It is actually something that should be taught at school — not simply give knowledge, but teach how to find it, interpret and apply.
Read on to know more about Max Chizhov and his journey.
Please tell me about your personal background and What motivated you to get started with your company?
Max Chizhov: In 2017, I was looking for a project that, on the one hand, would be interesting for me from a professional point of view, and on the other, bring tangible benefits to society. I already had experience in the technological field, which is why I focused on that area. At that time, I also met Alex Lyskovsky, who had just finished a course at a culinary school in France. That experience left him wondering whether it was possible to grow high-quality vegetables all year round, regardless of climate conditions and with the least environmental impact, ideally making a profit. His story resonated with me, so I thoroughly researched the topic and realized that I wanted to do something; that’s how iFarm was born.
What is your current main product, and can you share any previous product pivot story to the current product?
Max Chizhov: At first, we wanted to develop as a producer of farm vegetables, herbs, and berries. But having evaluated the scaling prospects, we realized that we were not ready to wait 20 years to become a global supplier.
Then iFarm focused on developing technological business solutions for growing delicious natural products on vertical farms in today’s urban environment. Since 2018, the iFarm team has created automated vertical farms and an IT platform to manage them. We want to equip farmers worldwide with advanced growing technologies to earn by supplying fresh, tasty, and healthy products.
How much fundraising have you raised in total so far? When was the recent funding round?
Max Chizhov: This year iFarm closed a $4M investment round. The round was led by Gagarin Capital, which has previously invested in the project. Other investors included Matrix Capital, Impulse VC, IMI.VC and several business angels.
What were the internal decision processes in determining when to begin fundraising, and what were the logistics for this? And how many investors have you met so far and how did you meet these investors, and which channels worked best for you?
Max Chizhov: When we came up with iFarm, we were aimed at multiple growths. Having experience setting up several businesses with a similar strategy, we already knew how to develop companies at high speed and what to focus on. We needed venture capital investments to scale faster, improve the quality of our products and services, and strengthen the team with the best specialists.
The first investors were ourselves — the founders. We created a prototype and received the first money from the sale. Later, investments started to come from friends, acquaintances, and close associates. Thanks to this, we reached stable growth, finalized our target audience, and made the technology’s first sales. That was useful when we began to communicate with venture capital funds, who could give us additional value — help enter new markets and reach potential clients and raise funds in the next rounds.
The funds that have already invested in iFarm provide us with such assistance. We are also looking for new funds that are ready to work with us and help us accelerate the company’s development.
What are the biggest challenges and obstacles that you have faced in the process of fundraising? If you had fundraising, what would you do differently?
Max Chizhov: We made several pivots during fundraising. Initially, fundraising was different, but we changed it along the way. It was not easy, but it was a conscious decision for us. After a few experiments, we came up with the most efficient and scalable concept and business model.
Not every investor is tolerant to a sudden change of concept in a company’s development, so it was important for us to find funds that would trust us and treat such changes with understanding. Of course, any decision like that has to be supported by analytics and convincing reasoning and backed by a certain reputation of the founders in investors’ eyes.
What are your milestones for the next round? And what are your goals for the future?
Max Chizhov: We are planning to close Round A for € 5 million in the first quarter of 2021. This funding will be used to advance further in Europe and the Middle East, develop iFarm Growtune and update the library of growth recipes with new crops, expand the team, and increase sales. Next year we are also aimed at launching 40,000 square meters of vertical farms under our management.
How have you attracted users, and with what strategy have you grown your company from the start to now?
Max Chizhov: We were our own first clients because, in the first place, we were creating a technology that we wanted to use. The results allowed us to validate the quality and made it clear that we had produced the product we were willing to consume ourselves.
The next customers came through word of mouth: they contacted us through a recommendation or after tasting the products. For three years, we did not invest anything in advertising or marketing. All clients came thanks to our own activity on social networks, events, and media.
Entering new markets today, we, of course, launch a sales funnel and aim at our target groups: b2b, enterprise, city-farmers.
What do most startups get wrong about marketing in general?
Max Chizhov: The founders’ biggest mistake is to ignore their customers and end up making a product that the market does not need. The prototype must be shown to the customer as soon as it is ready, then you collect feedback and finalize the product according to it. When entering new markets, it is necessary to conduct cust dev, collect opinions on improvement and customers’ vision for further product development.
How do you plan to expand globally?
Max Chizhov: Next year we will continue our expansion in Europe and the Middle East. In 2022-2024 we plan to enter the North American and Asian markets.
What are the most common mistakes companies make with global expansion?
Max Chizhov: None of us had any experience in this area; we wanted to produce high-quality and tasty products. It was important to go all the way from the idea to the final product, to make all possible mistakes, to realize the shortcomings of the chosen business model, and finally determine that our product would be the vertical farming technology itself, and not greens.
How do you handle this COVID-19 outbreak situation for your company’s survival in the future?
Max Chizhov: Over the last few years, the overall trend in agriculture has been to localize production. This is due to the high rates of urbanization, population growth, and in 2020 the additional impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and the quarantine following it that made the problems of long supply chains and food security even more obvious.
Such conditions make growing vegetables, berries, and greens in the consumer’s immediate vicinity a necessity. Countries have begun to think strategically about food security issues, which brought us, several large customers.
From the point of view of organizing teamwork, we did not face any difficulties. Even before the pandemic, we had been building processes and implementing tools for an effective remote team’s smooth work.
What are the most common mistakes founders make when they start a company?
Max Chizhov: The main mistake is to lose focus. We have been there too. At first, we wanted to create a whole product line that would meet both the b2b and b2c needs: indoor farms, containers, grow boxes, etc. And in the end, we realized that this would entail additional costs and postpone the launch indefinitely. As a result, we decided to focus on one area, create a high-quality industrial technology, and then develop new formats.
Another mistake is to pay too much attention to details without seeing the bigger picture. For example, in the beginning, we did not think about any high-level process automation. But the further we went, the more clearly we understood the need to reduce human involvement in the production. That is why we developed special software for managing vertical farms — iFarm Growtune launched a drone and continues to create solutions that automate planting, moving trays on racks, assembling, and packaging.
What’s the best advice you’ve ever received? And What advice do you have for someone who is interested in doing similar things like yours or in a similar direction?
Max Chizhov: Launching a project, it is crucially important for the founders and early team members to share the same vision and ambition and make sure they are in tune. This will help you stay focused.
What are the top-three books or movies (TV series) that changed your life and why?
Max Chizhov: My top-3: Ray Dalio – Principles, Tony Hsieh – Delivering happiness, Daniel Kahneman – Thinking, Fast and Slow. These books help me to look at our business from different sides and make my workdays more efficient.
How do you keep yourself motivated every day?
Max Chizhov: New goals and plans, a global mission that the entire team is guided by, allow you to avoid unnecessary distractions and make sure you work towards your goals. Being involved in development in the food industry, you can see, touch, and taste your work’s tangible results. This also gives additional motivation.
What are the top-three life Lessons that you want your (future) sons and daughters to know?
Max Chizhov: Don’t be afraid to make mistakes. Without them, you cannot become your best self. Also, never cease to learn. It is actually something that should be taught at school — not simply give knowledge, but teach how to find it, interpret and apply.
What would you like to be remembered for?
Max Chizhov: I would like that in a year when you hear about our company or see products grown using our technology, you would remember where we started and what mistakes we made at the very beginning, and that each mistake motivated us to move on.
You can follow Max Chizhov here.
Are you looking to secure investment for your startup or a keen startup enthusiast, keep an eye on our interview section.
Follow Asia Tech Daily to know about the innovative startups and how they are revolutionizing the ecosystem.
"CEA Can Increase Its U.S. Market Share By 5x Over The Next 10 Years"
Investment in CEA has surpassed $2.0B across North America and Europe spurring new start-ups, innovation and corporate engagement across the supply chain
S2G Ventures rResearches
Controlled Environment Agriculture Market:
Investment in CEA has surpassed $2.0B across North America and Europe spurring new start-ups, innovation and corporate engagement across the supply chain. With increased demonstration of the viability of controlled growing, a newly launched report predicts that CEA will support more than 10% of US vegetable and herb production by 2025 leading to significant opportunities for growers over the next decade.
The new report, Growing Beyond the Hype: Controlled Environment Agriculture, launched by S2G Ventures reveals how innovation in the field of Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA), including greenhouse and indoor farming, will lead to ripple effects across the food system and more sustainable methods of production. S2G Ventures is a multi-stage investment firm committed to advancing sustainable solutions in food and ag – its portfolio companies include Beyond Meat, sweetgreen, Lavva, Apeel Sciences and more. The report predicts the maturation of CEA will lead to differentiated, quality products, cost-competitive pricing and a more resilient, traceable and trustworthy supply chain. These new supply chains may represent a transition for the changing urban real estate landscape post-covid.
"Controlled farming has the potential to offer consumers and supply chain stakeholders resilient, sustainable, local, high-quality products," said Walter Robb, Executive-in Residence at S2G Ventures and former co-CEO of Whole Foods. "It is a growing part of our evolving food system and can work alongside outdoor production to mitigate climate risk and help solve systemic nutrition and food access challenges."
S2G Ventures expects that CEA will have far-reaching implications for the future of our food system in three key areas.
Local production and controlled environments will lead to a more resilient, traceable and trustworthy supply chain
Despite being a $1.2 trillion global industry, fresh produce faces significant supply and demand challenges resulting in a systemic lack of high-quality, affordable products reaching consumers. According to the Lancet, only 36% of the global population in 2015 had adequate availability of fruits and vegetables to meet the WHO age-specific minimum nutrition targets.
In the United States, for example, the fresh produce market is challenged by the limitations of outdoor production, including climate, field loss exposure, resource intensiveness, and limited ability to iterate or diversify, as well as geographic constraints resulting in products traveling 7-10 days on average from farm to consumer. As a result, the U.S. is reliant on other countries to meet demand with 53% of fresh fruit and 32% of fresh vegetables imported annually according to the FDA.
If just 13% of vegetables and herbs shift to local CEA production by 2025, the United States can add $2.3bn additional production capacity and reduce our need for fresh vegetable imports by 15%. Local production can save up to 9 Trillion food miles through shorter transportation routes minimizing shelf life time spent in transit and reducing the amount of food waste by retailers and consumers. Additionally, controlled environments improve food safety, traceability and consistency of production.
Technology and operations advancements drive improvements to CEA unit economics that can compete with or beat outdoor production.
In order to gain market share, CEA production must become cost competitive with outdoor production. High upfront capex costs of facilities and equipment as well as energy costs, labor and product inputs, have historically made costs of CEA growing prohibitive. But innovation of grow inputs, improved grow systems, and optimization of facility productivity are driving more cost-effective production. Those innovations combined with CEA's higher number of grow cycles, 10+ for Greenhouse and 20+ for Indoor, will enable CEA to achieve unit economics that are at cost parity with outdoor.
CEA will usher in the next wave of biodiversity, nutrient density, and flavor innovation providing retailers with differentiated, quality products.
According to the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization, about 75 percent of the world's food comes from just 5 animal species and 12 plants. Almost half of our plant-derived calories come from just three foods: wheat, corn and rice. Germplasm for these plants are bred for long storage time and disease resistance, at the expense of flavor, color, and nutritional value. The lack of biodiversity and nutritional value in our global diet restricts the value that plant molecules can play in human health.
Indoor Agriculture offers new grow formats, methods and technologies that promise to increase the quality, consistency and diversity of produce. Advancements in CEA-tailored seeds bred for traits such as flavor, color, nutrient density and ripening will expose consumers to new flavors and more varied products. Ultimately, indoor agriculture will support customized grow recipes as IP, branded produce, local production of hard to access specialty ingredients, spices and superfoods and eventually inputs for food as medicine.
"Controlled growing is a critical solution to address both the current supply challenges brought to light by COVID and the pressures on outdoor growing exacerbated by climate change," said Sanjeev Krishnan, S2G Ventures Managing Director and Chief Investment Officer. "We believe CEA can grow its US market share by five times over the next 10 years in response to these pressures and continued consumer demand for fresh produce."
The report
Growing Beyond the Hype: Controlled Environment Agriculture is based on S2G Ventures desktop research and interviews with over 20 industry experts including CEA growers, systems providers, policymakers, academic institutions, outdoor growers, ag input suppliers, philanthropists, and other investors. The report outlines the opportunity for CEA to resolve the current lack of high-quality, affordable produce driven by limitations in outdoor production and customer geography and outlines three areas indoor production must overcome to take significant market share including cost, product selection and productivity.
To read the full report, download at https://www.s2gventures.com/reports
3 Dec 2020
CANADA: CEA Supplier Sustainitech Finds Capital Partner
Sustainitech's energy-efficient indoor farming system uses HIFI (High Intensity Farming Indoor) containers that realize increased crop density over industry-standard greenhouses and hydroponic vertical farms
FullCycle Climate Partners just announced their investment in Sustainitech, a controlled environment agriculture company based in Toronto. Sustainitech's energy-efficient indoor farming system uses HIFI (High Intensity Farming Indoor) containers that realize increased crop density over industry-standard greenhouses and hydroponic vertical farms. "Their technology consumes less electricity per unit of agricultural produce to achieve high crop yields at industry leading prices," they say.
"Sustainitech is an indoor farming technology developer focused on growing environments that are competitive to modern greenhouse farming. Their horizontal farming complex is designed to enable flexible and crop agnostic farming, creating the ability to grow high value produce up to 6ft tall, not possible in vertical farming," they say.
"With climate change's long-term impact on crop yield, this investment is particularly well-timed, given the new US administration's focus on infrastructure solutions to address climate change. Secular growth and political priorities are expected to have valuable implications for low-carbon technologies like Sustainitech and others in the FullCycle portfolio," they explain.
In a move expected to spur further development into the carbon-neutral economy, President-Elect Biden appointed John Kerry to lead the Presidential Envoy for Climate, and his $2 trillion clean energy investment package totals 20x the clean-energy spending in Mr. Obama's 2009 economic-recovery package.
"Climate change is a threat to global food security. The innovations pioneered at Sustainitech will allow communities to count on access to a wide variety of fresh, low-cost, and nutritious produce while reducing the climate impact from their food supply chain. We see Sustainitech playing a pivotal role in growing a wide range of crops in any climate at industry-leading costs and best in class energy usage," FullCycle Founder and Managing Partner, Ibrahim AlHusseini said in a statement announcing the investment.
Sustainitech fits well within the FullCycle portfolio. Their unit economics exceed FullCycle's IRR thresholds, and their Carbon-Return-on-Investment (CROI20) of Short-Lived Climate Pollutants (SLCP's) meets FullCycle's requirement of gigaton level carbon abatement. With this investment, FullCycle acquired substantial equity as well as exclusive rights to invest in the roll-out of Sustainitech's projects worldwide.
"As the demand for building larger facilities grows, we needed to find the right capital partner to scale us from the present through to a high growth future. Only FullCycle offers the right instruments, tools, and values to allow us to chart a path to a multi-billion-dollar horizon while keeping our focus on a sustainable future," said Sustainitech CEO Joey Hundert.
FullCycle also announced the appointment of Ann M. Veneman to their Board of Advisors. Previously Veneman was the United States Secretary of Agriculture, the first and only woman to hold that position to date. "I have spent much of my career in agriculture, and look forward to identifying promising and sustainable climate-friendly solutions," said former US Secretary of Agriculture Ann M. Veneman.
26 Nov 2020
SWEDEN: Vinnova Grants Swegreen And Research Partners 9,1 MSEK Funding For An AI-driven Vertical Farming Project
Nov 13, 2020
Swegreen, RISE Research Institutes of Sweden and Mälardalen University team up in an innovation and research cluster named AIFood - From Farm to Fork.
Swedish AgTech rising star Swegreen, together with research partners RISE and Mälardales University, secures funding from Vinnova, for a 9,1 MSEK project aiming to develop further Swegreens’ platform for AI-driven vertical farming and to evolve a digitalized supply chain from farm to fork.
The research partners Swegreen, Mälardalen University and RISE Research Institutes of Sweden, have teamed up together to digitalize the urban farming industry and restructure the urban food industry towards climate neutrality by help of Artificial Intelligence. The core for the partners research is Swegreens’ innovation for hyper-local vertical farming and building connected and circular models for integration of those facilities in host buildings.
The cluster started off earlier this year with the project ‘NeigbourFood’, funded with 2 MSEK by Swedish Innovation Agency Vinnova, to further develop a data-driven monitoring and optimization for precision farming in closed-loop indoor environment for Swegreen’s offer for Farming as a Service FaaS. The clusters' new project, called ‘AIFood’, has now been granted with 9,1 MSEK, corresponding to approx. 1 Million USD, to enhance the local and sustainable food production systems in urban environments with help of digital technologies.
– A data-driven approach on Vertical Farming has been Swegreens’ main focus from day one, and sustainability is embedded in our DNA as a greentech company, Andreas Dahlin, CEO of Swegreen, says.
– Hand in hand with our technological development, our concrete collaboration with the leading research and academic institutions of Sweden gives us the upper hand to lead this industry’s development as a spearhead enterprise – and our partnership with RISE and Mälardalen University keeps our position on the edge of the development, globally speaking, Andreas Dahlin continues.
The call ‘AI in the service of the climate’ has been launched by the Swedish Innovation Agency Vinnova to support initiatives that focus on use of Artificial Intelligence for minimizing various industries' climate-negative impact. The agricultural and food sector accounts for 30% of the global GHG emissions, and vertical farming can create urban symbiosis as a key factor for resource efficiency and integration of farming facilities into urban infrastructure for significant global greenhouse gas emission cutback.
The ‘AIFood’ project runs for two years and focuses on a proof of concept for autonomous orchestration of vertical farming facilities modeling, and on development of an AI-based platform for precision farming, integration of vertical farms into host buildings, and autonomous interaction of the production facilities with the after-harvest actors.
Dr. Baran Cürüklü, from Mälardalen University – a vibrant AI development academic center – is the Project Lead for the cluster.
– AI can go beyond narrow and specific contributions. In this project, our aim is to demonstrate that complex and intricate systems can be orchestrated by AI, and contribute to rapid transition to a more sustainable agriculture, and even innovative services connecting the whole chain from producer to citizens, says Dr. Baran Cürüklü.
The project has a close collaboration with two other national project platforms as reference groups: Sharing Cities Sweden, a national platform for sharing economy with four testbeds in Stockholm, Umeå, Gothenburg, and Lund and a cluster called Fastighetsdatalabb which focuses on data-related advancement of the real-estate sector.
Dr. Charlie Gullström, a senior researcher at RISE, Sweden’s major research institution and head of Sharing Cities Sweden’s Stockholm testbed, plays an indispensable role in this project. She convenes an interdisciplinary climate panel connected to this project including household name researchers who focus on the climate aspect of the project. Dr. Alex Jonsson from RISE is another senior researcher that attends to the needs for the project from a technical perspective.
Dr. Gullström adds:
– I believe that urban food production can speed up climate transition because it has the potential to engage citizens in local consumption and circular business models that both reduce food waste and unnecessary transports. AI allows us to explore how to complement existing agricultural systems by actively involving stakeholders in the value chain as a whole. In this way, AIFOOD really points the way to a new green deal.
Sepehr Mousavi, Chief Innovation Officer of Swegreen remarks:
– We are proud of this collaboration with leading Swedish research institutions and researchers and see it as a successful model for how a private entity could collaborate with academia and offer its assets as a research infrastructure for the good of the whole industry, in a planet and prosperity win-win model.
– This green transformation of the food sector is dependent on empowering factors such as innovation and circularity enhancement, a connectivity-based and data-driven approach through the whole chain; and the application of Artificial Intelligence as an exponential enabler. Autonomous control of the vertical farming facilities for maximum resource efficiency, scalability and preciseness of operations is of extreme and fundamental importance for both the industry and our company to move forward, adds Sepehr Mousavi.
Sepehr Mousavi
Chief Innovation Officer
+46(0)733140043
Tags#AI#SweGreen#ArtificialIntelligence#smartcities#foodtech#faas#Viablecities#RISE#MälardalenUniversity#agriculture
Swedish Agtech Startup Urban Oasis Raises €1M Funding To Build Its First MegaFarm
Swedish agtech startup Urban Oasis claims to build the food production platform for the 21st century
Swedish agtech startup Urban Oasis claims to build the food production platform for the 21st century. The company started as a pilot project in 2017 with the mission to provide the city of Stockholm with affordable and sustainably-grown food products through indoor vertical farming technology. Currently, Urban Oasis’ leafy greens such as Kale, PakChoi, and Lettuce can be found at major Swedish retailers including ICA, COOP, and online grocer MatHem.
Funding to build MegaFarm
In a recent development, Urban Oasis pocketed 10.5M SEK (nearly €1M) funding from both existing and new investors. The company plans to use the funding to build its first MegaFarm and expand its production capacity by 15-20 times. The construction work for this facility has already started and is expected to be operational by the end of 2020.
The MegaFarm will be powered by GreenOS, which is an automation software developed in-house. MegaFarm One will demonstrate the capability to optimally grow a large variety of crops in a single controlled production facility.
The investors in the company include Family Offices Pelarhuset and Anteeo, along with Yobi Partners Ltd, led by Toni Nijm and Charly Nijm.
Indoor vertical farming tech!
Urban Oasis was founded by Albert Payaró Llisterri and Lasse Kopiez in Stockholm Since its inception, the Swedish agtech startup has successfully scaled production at the pilot facility underneath an apartment complex in central Stockholm. Previously, this space was home to the Swedish Wine and Spirits Corporation’s storage and production facility. Now, it is owned by a Swedish real estate company GreenGroup, which is also an Urban Oasis partner.
“We are rethinking the way food is produced and consumed. Today Sweden imports more than 25 BSEK (€2.4B) worth of greens and vegetables from abroad. Growing produce where people live not only decreases transportation and climate impact, it also increases the freshness, taste and nutrition of the greens and vegetables. By leveraging the latest technology, we are building the food production platform for the 21st century,” says CEO and co-founder Albert Payaró Llisterri.
Main image picture credits: Urban Oasis
in (Crowd)funding, News, Startups
AUSTRALIA: Roto-Gro Raises $1.53 Million To Launch Perishable Food And Vertical Farming Divisions
November 24, 2020
Roto-Gro aims to expand its presence in the vertical farming space across North America.
Agricultural technology specialist Roto-Gro International (ASX: RGI) is set to roll-out its perishable food and vertical farming divisions backed by a $1.53 million capital raising.
The Melbourne-based company this morning announced it has received firm commitments from a range of professional and sophisticated domestic investors for the placement of approximately 38 million shares at $0.04 to raise the funds.
Each share issue will have attaching options on a 2:3 basis exercisable at $0.05 and expiring at the end of 2023 (subject to shareholder approval).
Settlement of the shares is expected by month-end and Roto-Gro expects a general meeting of shareholders to approve the issue of options in the new year.
Peak Asset Management acted as lead manager to the placement and will work closely with the company to drive shareholder value.
Roto-Gro non-executive chairman Michael Carli said the raising is an “important step forward as [we] welcome a number of new shareholders to our register”.
Proceeds will be used to drive the roll-out of Roto-Gro’s perishable food division and expand its presence in the vertical farming space across North America.
Growing concept
Vertical farming is the practice of growing crops in vertically-stacked layers, often incorporating controlled-environment agriculture which aims to optimize plant growth.
An increased crop yield, the smaller unit area of land required and the ability to grow a larger variety of crops at once have seen the vertical farming concept take off in popularity.
Innovations in technology have been able to provide growers with year-round sustainability, operational efficiencies, and competitive costs of production when compared to conventional farming.
Market research shows the global vertical farming market was valued at $2.23 billion in 2018 and is projected to reach $12.77 billion by 2026, growing at a compound annual growth rate of 24.6% from 2019 to 2026.
Europe’s vertical farming market currently accounts for over one-third of current global vertical farming production.
Garden systems
Roto-Gro’s rotational garden systems are at the core of the company’s technology and lead the charge in sustainable urban indoor vertical farming.
The technology has undergone constant innovation and optimization since 2003 to become a patented, commercial-scale cultivation system designed for the consistent production of high-quality crops.
The company claims the use of its garden systems can optimize space (stackable up to three-high) and significantly increase crop yield and quality while lowering operational costs.
Swedish Vertical Farming Company Urban Oasis Raises $1.2 Million
Founded in 2017, Urban Oasis built its first indoor vertical farm underneath an apartment complex in Stockholm. The company produces a variety of leafy greens, including kale, bok choi, and lettuce, which are sold at Swedish retailers including ICA, COOP, and online grocer MatHem
Urban Oasis, an indoor vertical farming company based in Sweden, announced today that it has raised 10.5 million Swedish Krona (~$1.22M USD). Investors include Family Offices Pelarhuset, Anteeo, and Yobi Partners Ltd.
Founded in 2017, Urban Oasis built its first indoor vertical farm underneath an apartment complex in Stockholm. The company produces a variety of leafy greens, including kale, bok choi, and lettuce, which are sold at Swedish retailers including ICA, COOP, and online grocer MatHem.
With its new funding, Urban Oasis aims to build its first MegaFarm, which will expand its production capacity by 15 to 20 times, according to today’s press announcement. The new facility is controlled by Urban Oasis’ GreenOS automation software and will be operational by the end of this year for growing a variety of crops.
Funding for the controlled-environment agriculture, and vertical farming, in particular, has been downright frothy this fall. Other players in the space getting investment include Plenty, Kalera, InFarm, and Unfold. As my colleague, Jenn Marston explained last month:
Less than one year ago, the vertical farming sector was expanding, but a lot of questions remained around the scalability of the concept and how appealing it could be to investors. The nearly constant stream of funding and product announcements in 2020 has sped up that expansion. Part of this is due to, yep, you guessed it, the pandemic. Disruptions in the food supply chain due to COVID-19 have consumers more interested than ever in where their food comes from, and having it grown closer to home is an increasingly attractive option.
With the pandemic still going strong and a month in a half left in the year, Urban Oasis’ fundraise may not be the last of its kind in 2020.
FILED UNDER: MODERN FARMER VERTICAL FARMING
Urban Oasis, an indoor vertical farming company based in Sweden, announced today that it has raised 10.5 million Swedish Krona (~$1.22M USD). Investors include Family Offices Pelarhuset, Anteeo, and Yobi Partners Ltd.
Founded in 2017, Urban Oasis built its first indoor vertical farm underneath an apartment complex in Stockholm. The company produces a variety of leafy greens, including kale, bok choi, and lettuce, which are sold at Swedish retailers including ICA, COOP, and online grocer MatHem.
With its new funding, Urban Oasis aims to build its first MegaFarm, which will expand its production capacity by 15 to 20 times, according to today’s press announcement. The new facility is controlled by Urban Oasis’ GreenOS automation software and will be operational by the end of this year for growing a variety of crops.
Funding for the controlled-environment agriculture, and vertical farming in particular, has been downright frothy this fall. Other players in the space getting investment include Plenty, Kalera, InFarm and Unfold. As my colleague, Jenn Marston explained last month:
Less than one year ago, the vertical farming sector was expanding, but a lot of questions remained around the scalability of the concept and how appealing it could be to investors. The nearly constant stream of funding and product announcements in 2020 has sped up that expansion. Part of this is due to, yep, you guessed it, the pandemic. Disruptions in the food supply chain due to COVID-19 have consumers more interested than ever in where their food comes from, and having it grown closer to home is an increasingly attractive option.
With the pandemic still going strong and a month in a half left in the year, Urban Oasis’ fundraise may not be the last of its kind in 2020.
FILED UNDER:
Almost 900.000 Euro Grant For Swegreen's AI-Driven Vertical Farming Project
The research partners Swegreen, Mälardalen University, and RISE Research Institutes of Sweden, have teamed up together to digitalize the urban farming industry and restructure the urban food industry towards climate neutrality with the help of Artificial Intelligence
Swedish AgTech rising star Swegreen, together with research partners RISE and Mälardales University, secures funding from Vinnova, for a 9,1 MSEK (approx. 880.000 euro) project aiming to develop further Swegreens’ platform for AI-driven vertical farming and to evolve a digitalized supply chain from farm to fork.
The research partners Swegreen, Mälardalen University, and RISE Research Institutes of Sweden, have teamed up together to digitalize the urban farming industry and restructure the urban food industry towards climate neutrality with the help of Artificial Intelligence. The core for the partner’s research is Swegreens’ innovation for hyper-local vertical farming and building connected and circular models for integration of those facilities in host buildings.
The cluster started off earlier this year with the project ‘NeigbourFood’, funded with 2 MSEK by Swedish Innovation Agency Vinnova, to further develop a data-driven monitoring and optimization for precision farming in closed-loop indoor environment for Swegreen’s offer for Farming as a Service FaaS. The clusters' new project, called ‘AIFood’, has now been granted with 9,1 MSEK, corresponding to approx. 1 Million USD, to enhance the local and sustainable food production systems in urban environments with help of digital technologies.
"A data-driven approach on Vertical Farming has been Swegreens’ main focus from day one, and sustainability is embedded in our DNA as a greentech company," Andreas Dahlin, CEO of Swegreen, says. "Hand in hand with our technological development, our concrete collaboration with the leading research and academic institutions of Sweden gives us the upper hand to lead this industry’s development as a spearhead enterprise – and our partnership with RISE and Mälardalen University keeps our position on the edge of the development, globally speaking," Andreas Dahlin continues.
The call ‘AI in the service of the climate’ has been launched by the Swedish Innovation Agency Vinnova to support initiatives that focus on use of Artificial Intelligence for minimizing various industries' climate-negative impact. The agricultural and food sector accounts for 30% of the global GHG emissions, and vertical farming can create urban symbiosis as a key factor for resource efficiency and integration of farming facilities into urban infrastructure for significant global greenhouse gas emission cutback.
The ‘AIFood’ project runs for two years and focuses on a proof of concept for autonomous orchestration of vertical farming facilities modelling, and on development of an AI-based platform for precision farming, integration of vertical farms into host buildings, and autonomous interaction of the production facilities with the after-harvest actors.
Dr. Baran Cürüklü, from Mälardalen University – a vibrant AI development academic center – is the Project Lead for the cluster. "AI can go beyond narrow and specific contributions. In this project, our aim is to demonstrate that complex and intricate systems can be orchestrated by AI, and contribute to rapid transition to a more sustainable agriculture, and even innovative services connecting the whole chain from producer to citizens," says Dr. Baran Cürüklü.
The project has a close collaboration with two other national project platforms as reference groups: Sharing Cities Sweden, a national platform for sharing economy with four testbeds in Stockholm, Umeå, Gothenburg and Lund, and a cluster called Fastighetsdatalabb which focuses on data-related advancement of the real-estate sector.
Dr. Charlie Gullström, senior researcher at RISE, Sweden’s major research institution and head of Sharing Cities Sweden’s Stockholm testbed, plays an indispensable role in this project. She convenes an interdisciplinary climate panel connected to this project including household name researchers who focus on the climate aspect of the project. Dr. Alex Jonsson from RISE is another senior researcher that attends to the needs for the project from a technical perspective.
Dr. Gullström adds: "I believe that urban food production can speed up climate transition because it has the potential to engage citizens in local consumption and circular business models that both reduce food waste and unnecessary transports. AI allows us to explore how to complement existing agricultural systems by actively involving stakeholders in the value chain as a whole. In this way, AIFOOD really points the way to a new green deal."
Sepehr Mousavi, Chief Innovation Officer of Swegreen remarks: "We are proud of this collaboration with leading Swedish research institutions and researchers and see it as a successful model for how a private entity could collaborate with academia and offer its assets as a research infrastructure for the good of the whole industry, in a planet and prosperity win-win model."
"This green transformation of the food sector is dependent on empowering factors such as innovation and circularity enhancement, a connectivity-based and data-driven approach through the whole chain; and application of Artificial Intelligence as an exponential enabler. Autonomous control of the vertical farming facilities for maximum resource efficiency, scalability and preciseness of operations is of extreme and fundamental importance for both the industry and our company to move forward," adds Sepehr Mousavi.
For more information:
Swegreen
Andreas Dahlin, CEO of Swegreen
andreas.dahlin@swegreen.se
www.swegreen.se
How Family Investors Can Reap What They Sow In Vertical Farming With Vertical Future
Issues surrounding the increasing population of the world combined with water scarcity in a changing climate and the security of food and supply chains exposed by the coronavirus pandemic have all seeded minds on the possibilities of vertical farming
12 NOVEMBER, 2020 | BY JAMES BEECH
Vertical farming is being planted as the future of agriculture and the blossoming sector’s long-term growth could be a good fit for family investors and their patient capital.
Issues surrounding the increasing population of the world combined with water scarcity in a changing climate and the security of food and supply chains exposed by the coronavirus pandemic have all seeded minds on the possibilities of vertical farming.
CampdenFB asked Jamie Burrows, co-founder, and chief executive of Vertical Future, what the nascent sector really means for family investors looking to harvest returns, how his company is innovating in the field, and if families could host a vertical farm on their own property.
Why should families which are not directly involved in or have knowledge of crop health and food production consider investing in Vertical Future and vertical farming?
Families should consider investing in Vertical Future because without sustainable, scalable vertical farming—which is one of the solutions required to deal with the rising global food challenge—the future of our food, crop health, human health, and planetary health are all at risk.
Scientific literature, prominent scientists, and leading figures such as Sir David Attenborough, building on decades of research and lived experience, have shown the gravity and complexity of the issues that we face as a global, interconnected ecosystem.
Over the past 50 years, there has been a significant decrease in biodiversity, a significant increase in population growth, density, and physical expansion, an overall reduction in the quality of food, and an increase in the intensification of farming and use of pesticides. To contextualize this, one of every eight species of plants face extinction, one-third of soil faces degradation, and insect populations, which form a vital part of the food system, are seriously under threat. For these reasons and many others, food, next to water and sustainable forms of energy, must surely be the investment classes of today. Without these, the future is at risk.
Vertical Future is also, at its core, a family business, established by a husband and wife couple in 2016. My wife Marie-Alexandrine, as chief people officer, and I as chief executive, both came from careers in health and life sciences, with no prior knowledge of farming, let alone vertical farming. We believed in the importance of using technology to bring about health improvement and this is our main reason for establishing the company, which constantly strives to achieve this goal. Marie and I simply want a better and healthier future for our children, Gabrielle and Caspien, and a healthy planet for all.
What is vertical farming, how does it work and what does it achieve?
Vertical farming is the practice of growing crops indoors under controlled conditions in stacked layers or on vertical walls, typically using high-efficiency LED lighting and an either hydroponic or aeroponic method of irrigation, instead of soil.
Growing in this type of environment means that produce can be grown sustainably without the use of pesticides, herbicides, or fungicides. It also means that crops can be grown in an optimal manner, increasing output/yield, also relieving pressure on increasingly scarce farmland, encouraging rewilding, and an overall increase in biodiversity. Technological approaches continue to improve, meaning lower water utilization, less energy, and less waste. Moreover, automation, clever systems design, and robotics are allowing vertical farming systems to grow a broader variety of produce, aligning with customer demands.
What makes Vertical Future the market leader in vertical farming?
The global vertical farming market is beginning to receive a significant amount of interest and investment however, much of this is focused on older, first-generation technologies, and models that are not futureproof, and some will potentially fail. Like many other young and nascent markets, there is a tendency for investors to back brands that are perceived to be likely to grow the fastest instead of investing in sustainable technology solutions. Vertical farming, from Vertical Future’s standpoint, should be considered as a medium-to-long-term infrastructure investment. Much like building a hospital to care for the betterment of health and wellbeing, a vertical farm does much the same thing, growing healthy, local food that forms a vital part of the local circular economy.
Leveraging its years of running vertical farms in central London, where the Vertical Future team were at the time used other companies’ technologies, the company has developed a clear and concise understanding of what works, what needs improving, and what innovations are required to grow and succeed in the sector. The last 18 months have focused on building a holistic, integrated, fully-automated vertical farming system—integrating hardware and software—that is future proof, addressing all the issues that exist with other competitors’ systems.
Importantly, the Vertical Future team is built on experience, with more than 200 years of senior-level experience across the engineering and plant science teams alone. Several talented developers lead the company’s software efforts, with data forming an important part of the vertical farming opportunity. The leadership team is also supported by an experienced board, including the former head of the National Health Service, which is the second-largest health organization in the world, and the former chief marketing officer of Deliveroo.
Despite Covid, in the past six months alone the company has already begun to sell its systems through technology sale and software licensing and has generated more than £300 million ($397 million) of prospective pipeline opportunities, across four continents. This adds to ongoing support and recognition from the UK Department for International Trade, with the company winning numerous national and international competitions and being a part of the London Mayor’s International Business Programme.
Research and development (R&D), which is engrained throughout Vertical Future’s activities, shows a 75% success rate in grant funding applications and more than half a million pounds in revenue for the next 18 months alone. This includes collaborative projects ranging from seed sterilization through plasma treatment through to the growing of root extracts for the phytopharmaceutical industry, targeting the development of a novel respiratory drug.
The combination of Vertical Future’s technologies, growing experience, R&D program, experienced team, and pipeline put it in a market-leading position. Considering the importance of the underlying issues that vertical farming aims to address, Vertical Future believes that it is important that investors back sustainable models that are likely to succeed and grow the market.
Where are you vertical farming, is it scalable and where is the produce being supplied?
Vertical Future’s operations to date have been based out of a converted space in Deptford, located about 10 minutes from London Bridge station. The company grew its consumer-focused brand MiniCrops, which today supplies more than 110 restaurants across London and thousands of homes. This was an initial proof of concept, using other companies’ technologies before the company built out its technology proposition. The resulting proprietary technology solution is modular, scalable, affordable, and recognized for its differentiating factors in comparison to other vertical farming systems globally.
How will Vertical Future invest the capital it is looking for?
The focus is on scaling the company to realize the full potential of the vertical farming market. This starts with the build-out of the largest vertical farm in the world, located in London, building on Vertical Future’s client network and existing growing operations.
The second aspect of scale focuses on expanding Vertical Future’s physical footprint in key target geographies, including the development of manufacturing facilities to further improve margins and deployment of sales, technical, and marketing teams. The final element of the round focuses on the improvement of Vertical Future’s existing hardware and software technologies.
What kind of returns are expected for family investors?
The company’s sales model has been built for profitability, with a positive EBITDA [earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization] expected in 2022. The Vertical Future team expects there to be an opportunity for a Series B round in several years’ time, in advance of a potential exit, or partial exit, in 2024/25, likely through an Initial Public Offering (IPO) or trade sale. With the growing popularity of vertical farming and the evident need for sustainable food solutions, the company expects there to be ample interest from prospective buyers in a variety of sectors. A trade sale or partial exit would be expected to be at a price 3-5x (minimum) of the current round, with an IPO potentially offering substantially higher returns.
How can families incorporate vertical farming on their own real estate?
As this is a very new industry, Vertical Future is not aware of any examples of families incorporating vertical farming in their own real estate. However, there are clearly massive opportunities to do so.
Families that have access to or own retail-focused assets, manufacturing capabilities, or assets in strategically positioned areas can both benefit and add value to Vertical Future’s growth plans. For example, commercial real estate located in urban areas can provide opportunities for systems integration, effectively eradicating food miles and providing a constant, year-round supply of fresh produce to local buyers. Similarly, real estate located close to target geographies could be used to increase the rate of expansion, providing land for development of manufacturing sites, or if manufacturing facilities already exist, eradicate the need for new sites.
Where do you want to see Vertical Future’s vertical farming venture in five years?
Food, water, and sustainable energy are—in Vertical Future’s view—the main investment categories of the future. In five years, the Vertical Future team wants to be an internationally recognized brand with its technologies and sites spread across the world. Each site will be sustainable and purpose-driven, producing healthy, affordable food for local inhabitants and improving their quality of life, job opportunities, and level of education. Through their connection via smart data infrastructure, the sites will be on a path of continual improvement. For rural locations, energy independence, accomplished through integrated, off-grid solutions, will be a reality.
RELATED CONTENT:
Future portfolio success will be built on impact
Why impact investors don’t have to sacrifice financial returns
About the Author
Editor
James Beech is the multimedia Editor of CampdenFB, with 21 years of international experience in daily newspapers, B2B and consumer magazines, online, social media, photographic and video journalism, in addition to editorial management, marketing, public relations and client relations, in the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand. He graduated from Bournemouth University in 1999.
41 Million Dollar Investment To Boost Abu Dhabi's Agriculture Technology
The Abu Dhabi Investment Office, ADIO, announced today individual partnerships with Pure Harvest Smart Farms, Pure Harvest, FreshToHome, and Nanoracks that will see the companies receive financial and non-financial incentives totaling AED 152 million (USD 41 million)
Three innovative agriculture companies will develop cutting-edge projects in Abu Dhabi to boost the emirate’s agriculture technology, AgTech, capabilities across land, sea, and space.
The Abu Dhabi Investment Office, ADIO, announced today individual partnerships with Pure Harvest Smart Farms, Pure Harvest, FreshToHome, and Nanoracks that will see the companies receive financial and non-financial incentives totaling AED 152 million (USD 41 million). The research and technologies developed by these companies will expand existing capabilities in Abu Dhabi’s AgTech ecosystem and promote innovation in the sector to address global food security challenges.
New partnerships
The new partnerships are a continuation of ADIO’s efforts to accelerate the growth of Abu Dhabi’s AgTech ecosystem through the AgTech Incentive Programme, which was established under Ghadan 21, Abu Dhabi’s accelerator program. The Programme is open to both local and international AgTech companies. The partnerships follow ADIO’s AED 367 million (USD 100 million) investment earlier this year to bring four AgTech pioneers – AeroFarms, Madar Farms, RNZ, and Responsive Drip Irrigation, RDI, – to the emirate to develop next-generation agriculture solutions in arid and desert climates.
Dr. Tariq Bin Hendi, Director General of ADIO, said: "Abu Dhabi is pressing ahead at full steam with our mission to ‘turn the desert green’ and solve long-term global food security issues. We have created an environment where innovative ideas can flourish and this has enabled the rapid expansion of our AgTech sector. Innovations from the companies we partnered with earlier this year are already propelling the growth of Abu Dhabi’s 24,000 farms. Partnering with Pure Harvest, FreshToHome and Nanoracks adds a realm of new capabilities to the ecosystem across land, sea, and space."
Bin Hendi continued: "We are driving innovation across the entire agriculture value chain and this is producing a compounding effect that is benefiting farmers, innovators, and companies in our region and beyond."
Pure Harvest, FreshToHome, and Nanoracks have been awarded financial and non-financial incentives to expand operations in Abu Dhabi. The competitive incentive packages include rebates on innovation-linked high-skilled payroll, high-tech CAPEX, as well as land, utility, and intellectual property support.
Since the beginning of 2020, ADIO has attracted seven AgTech companies to Abu Dhabi, each bringing a complementary skill to expand the ecosystem. ADIO’s new partnerships with Pure Harvest, FreshToHome, and Nanoracks will build on the achievements made by AeroFarms, Madar Farms, RNZ and RDI, the AgTech pioneers ADIO partnered with earlier this year to establish R&D and production facilities in Abu Dhabi.
Pure Harvest is a home-grown, tech-enabled farming venture that uses cutting-edge food production systems to grow fresh fruits and vegetables in a climate-controlled environment, enabling year-round production anywhere, while using seven times less water compared to traditional farming methods.
Pure Harvest will invest in smart farming and infrastructure technologies at its new farms in Al Ain, Abu Dhabi, to optimize growing conditions through hardware design innovations, artificial intelligence, autonomous growing and robotics, plant science research, and desert-optimized machines. The company will also progress R&D and deployment of a commercial-scale algae bioreactor production facility that will grow higher quality, healthier Omega-3 fatty acids without the limitations and challenges of traditional animal sources.
Sky Kurtz, Co-Founder, and CEO of Pure Harvest, said: "We are delighted to have received the support of ADIO to further invest in our home-grown, innovative growing solutions. It also serves as a powerful endorsement of our business case and mission as we pursue innovation to address food security locally and internationally. As one of the pioneering champions in the region’s emerging AgTech sector, this commitment will give us the resources we need to drive and expand our R&D capabilities and will position us for international expansion from our strategic base in Abu Dhabi. This partnership further demonstrates how committed the government is in supporting and enabling innovative technology companies, providing them with the tools, resources, and support to thrive and make a large-scale impact in the region."
FreshToHome is an e-grocery platform for fresh, chemical-free produce. The company maintains complete control over its supply chain, inventory, and logistics by obtaining produce directly from the source through an AI-powered auction process. ADIO’s partnership will aid the expansion of FreshToHome’s land and sea operational and processing capabilities in the UAE, bringing expertise in aquaculture, contract farming for marine and freshwater fish species, and precision agriculture to Abu Dhabi. It will also invest in innovative fish farming technologies and cold chain.
Shan Kadavil, CEO and Co-Founder of FreshToHome, said: "At FreshToHome we use cutting-edge research in AI and precision aquaculture for furthering food security in a sustainable manner while also giving better value to consumers, fishermen, and farmers. To this end, we intend to bring our US patent pending AI-powered Virtual Commodities Exchange technology, our e-grocery platform, and our nano farm aquaculture technology to Abu Dhabi, enhancing food production and distribution for the region. ADIO has been a terrific partner to us and we are thankful for their support in helping us be part of the vision."
US-based Nanoracks is the single largest commercial user of the International Space Station and is building the first-ever commercial AgTech space research program. Nanoracks’ ‘StarLab Space Farming Center’ in Abu Dhabi will be a commercial space research facility focused on advancing knowledge and technology for organisms and food produced in space and in equally extreme climates on Earth. The space-based technology will be applied to desert agriculture to address pressing environmental and food security challenges and to benefit long-term human space exploration.
Allen Herbert, SVP of Business Development and Strategy, and Head of Nanoracks, UAE, said: "Much of today’s technology used for vertical, urban and closed environment agriculture initially came from space research from 30 years ago, and Nanoracks is ready to synergize these technologies back to in-space exploration. We firmly believe that space research holds the keys to solving major challenges on Earth from climate change to food security. And our StarLab Space Farming Center in Abu Dhabi is just the beginning.
We’re building a global research and development team that will produce and commercialize organisms, technology, and innovative products that will not only revolutionize farming in Earth’s deserts and harsh environments but also change the way humans are able to explore deeper into our universe."
For more information:
www.wam.ae
11 Nov 2020
Infarm Raises $200 Million To Add “Farm” to Cities
heir environment-controlled and automated growing chambers grow food such as leafy greens inside the supermarket, so it’s fresh, without your food accumulating food miles
Infarm’s Israeli founders take on Berlin and the farm to table movement with high-tech farms.
Infarm, a company that grows fresh produce inside supermarkets, has recently announced a $170 million USD funding round to help the company expand across Europe. Their environment-controlled and automated growing chambers grow food such as leafy greens inside the supermarket, so it’s fresh, without your food accumulating food miles.
The company was founded by three Israelis in Berlin in 2013, and they announced this astounding investment achievement despite the Covid plague destroying global markets. Food, we understood, is something that must stay constant. The need for food which is grown locally, and available fresh now resonates at a time of uncertainty and the basic need for survival.
The company has raised $200 million USD total in their Series C round funding which was by LGT Lightstone, Hanaco, Bonnier, Haniel, and Latitude, Atomico, TriplePoint Capital, Mons Capital, and Astanor Ventures.
With a mix of equity and debt financing, the fresh capital brings Infarm’s total funding to date to more than $300 million, underscoring consumer and retailer appetite for Infarm’s approach to fresh, sustainable, and local food production in the wake of this year’s pandemic.
By 2025, Infarm’s farming fridge network is expected to reach more than 5,000,000 square feet to become the largest distributed hydroponic network in the world as it builds towards helping cities become self-sufficient in their food production. Competition includes Freight Farms in the US, and BrightFarms, also American.
“The coronavirus pandemic has put a global spotlight on the urgent agricultural and ecological challenges of our time,” says Erez Galonska, Co-founder and CEO of Infarm. His brother Guy Galonska is also a founder: “At Infarm, we believe there’s a better, healthier way to feed our cities: increasing access to fresh, pure, sustainable produce, grown as close as possible to people,” adds Erez.
The investment will be used to deepen the regional and local penetration of Infarm’s global farming network and complete development of Infarm’s new generation of vertical cloud-connected farms, capable of generating the crop-equivalent of acres of farmland and amplifying the diversity of produce currently available through vertical farming. Vertical farming is also known as hydroponic farming or controlled environment agriculture.
The technology has become developed and well-known over the years thanks to cannabis growers who used this energy-intensive and “stealth” mode of farming to grow cannabis with high concentrations of the active ingredient THC. When it was illegal to grow in Canada, young entrepreneurs were inspired by early blueprints from NASA and farming in space and found ways to set up a soil-less system in basements and closets. To their surprise, they could grow better quality cannabis, faster as inputs such as lighting, humidity, and nutrients could be tightly controlled.
And growing food became the next natural step for people who wanted to grow fresh food year-round even though it’s usually not cost-effective to grow tomatoes or lettuce this way unless you do it at scale.
Hydroponics and variations of it, using just water, a semi-solid coir medium or Styrofoam and/or with fish added, has become the promise for growing food in far-flung locations like Antarctica and food deserts where chocolate bars are available at bodegas, but fresh greens are not. This is according to mothers I have met in Harlem, New York. The hydroponic method is not that complicated at all in theory but in practice, it is hard to achieve good results without know-how in chemistry, engineering, and biology.
An integration of advanced engineering, software, and farming technology, the Infarm farms will save labour, land, water, energy, and food-miles, while contributing to a more sustainable food system, the company proposes.
Partnering with Aldi, Marks & Spencer, Sobeys
While companies like Farmigo founded in New York (also by an Israeli) wanted to put supermarkets out of business, in the past year Infarm has been working to keep them relevant and formed new partnerships with the world’s largest retailers, including Albert Heijn (Netherlands), Aldi Süd (Germany), COOP/Irma (Denmark), Empire Company Ltd (Sobeys, Safeway, Thrifty Foods – Canada), Kinokuniya (Japan), Kroger (United States), Marks & Spencer (United Kingdom) and Selfridges (United Kingdom).
With operations across 10 countries and 30 cities worldwide, Infarm harvests 500,000+ plants monthly, while using 99.5% less space than soil-based agriculture, some 95% less water, 90% less transport, and zero chemical pesticides. Today, 90% of the electricity use throughout the Infarm network is from renewable energy and the company has set a target to reach zero emissions from their production next year.
With the cost of lighting typically very high in hydroponics systems, I’d be curious to know how they will do that without buying carbon credits. Consider this Stanford research paper that mentioned the cost of hydroponic lettuce to be about 8KG of carbon compared to 150g if grown conventionally. The research is a few years old and certainly, there can be ways to improve energy efficiencies.
What organic farmers think?
Proponents of organic farming, regenerative agriculture, and permaculture don’t love hydroponics farming because it relies on petroleum-based fertilizers and nutrients as additives, and while there may be no or few bugs in the grow chambers, there is a risk of fungus and bacteria; in nature, there is always free natural sun (unless you are in Finland in the winter) and natural interactions between plant, soil; and even among small biota like mycorrhizal fungi which play a role in the uptake of micronutrients to the roots and the overall essence of what we call a plant. There is one school of thought that says the “organic” label can only be applied to soil-based farming. Lawyers are debating the issue now.
The answer will be somewhere in the middle. Like most things in life the middle way will help us. The dream is many one-acre regenerative farms to feed us healthily and to feed the planet too but meanwhile there is a gap. How do we feed everyone else who can’t afford to buy at Whole Foods?
We need to improve our local supply chain for food. When you live in a country like Israel, Egypt or Jordan with ample sun, growing food inside a supermarket fridge makes no sense, although hydroponics does. See this project in Jordan, funded by the USAID. Or the one that has changed lives in Harlem.
I had a hydroponics robotics venture (see this article on Bloomberg) and I took it to New York a few years ago and found myself running in circles trying to explain why eating local is good for the planet, it’s good for a circular economy that might one day be about survival. Venture Capitalists laughed at me. They said my technology and vision was a vitamin and not a bandaid –– “a nice to have” but not “a necessary to have”, especially in cities like New York. Then Covid thinking happened.
Here is what investors in Infarm say now (and kudos to the team who worked hard building physical farms and maintaining the pilots):
“We are excited to partner with the Infarm team to accelerate their urban vertical farm vision, ultimately creating a more sustainable food system for a growing population,” says Dharmash Mistry, Partner of LGT Lightstone: “With over $1bn of customer demand, partnerships with 17 of the top 50 global grocers, Infarm is set to revolutionise the market behind a unique ‘demand led’ modular business model.”
Let’s hope. Another Israeli called Benzi Ronen came from Silicon Valley and started a farm-to-table venture in New York and was on top of the world. He had just raised $26 million to grow Farmigo into the Amazon for fresh food and I spoke with him at one point when he warned me to stay in Israel and work there locally for a couple of years before moving stateside. That’s me in the biodome below, growing bok choy for future Martians on my roof in Tel Aviv. I didn’t listen.
I had a venture in robotics to help cannabis farmers (even Mars farmers grow cannabis in space – see this article in Fast Company) and city hydroponic farmers. Farmigo was trying to eliminate supermarkets, by connecting farmers to consumers at drop off points throughout the city. The model was valorous –– who doesn’t want the freshest farm picked veggies every morning? The modern CSA? And it supported local farming, just like what Michael Pollan wants us to do. And to compete with Amazon? Yes. Yes. Yes.
Farmigo raised millions and then the company’s vision to be the Amazon of fresh food could not compete with Amazon. Farmigo changed its business model and now sells software.
I saw the challenges of the business in supplying fresh food. The mechanics of the machines, the lack of willing labor, software needed, the logistics, the importance of food safety. The fungus, the bacteria. The good bacteria. The bad. The responsibility. The chemicals needed to feed the plants, to keep the systems “clean” and safe. So much is hard to control when you are talking about living things.
I always said that if hydroponics or farmers that come from Microsoft want to make city farming work the model will look like the cellphone industry: different players supplying various parts like Qualcomm, Verizon, 3M, Broadcom, and Texas Instruments does. Even to make iPhones work.
Can and will Infarm do it all?
“We see a massive demand in the market for sustainable, environment-friendly, and healthy food – and Infarm has just the right team in place to make this happen,” says Pasha Romanovski, Co-founding Partner of Hanaco Ventures.
More about Infarm
Founded in Berlin in 2013 by Osnat Michaeli and the brothers Erez and Guy Galonska, Infarm is dedicated to creating a future where local super fresh produce is available for everyone. The farms are placed in various locations in the city, like supermarkets, restaurants, and distribution centers, so that vegetables grow and are harvested close to the moment of purchase or consumption. People like Elon Musk’s brother Kimbal Musk has been doing this in New York with a project called Square Roots. They train young entrepreneurs to dream up all sorts of business models inside the shipping container farms built by Freight Farms.
Some in the VC world I have talked with question the viability of the business model of these containers. While it’s a nice idea it’s hard to get the return on the upfront investment.
But when it comes to specialty products and “farms” you can find the Infarm service model in all sorts of permutations in the United States. I got to spend some ample time in meetups with a pile of entrepreneurs building an urban farming project in New York. There I met Andrew Carter, now growing mushrooms in a warehouse in Williamsburg. There is also Farm.One which grows papalo, minutina and all the boutique and hipster greens any chef could dream up in the center of New York City. They deliver.
Lastly and most easily is to try out growing fresh greens at home without the supermarket, or less of the supermarket. I met the founder of Hamama when she was in Israel via MIT helping kids in Israel grow their own food using hydroponics at The Greenhouse. (After I wrote this story in 2008 <— kids from the US were writing me about how to donate their Bar Mitzva money to Noam Geva).
Over at The Greenhouse Camille had her head inside an aeroponics system she’d rigged up last time I saw her. She brought a few of her MIT geek friends over to my house in Jaffa and we talked about hydroponics changing the world. And now she helps people in the easiest way to grow microgreens at home. That’s a hyper simplified way to do hydroponics. She was one of the most inspiring people I met in hydroponics and urban farming.
In fact many in the business are. They are people who want to change the world. Have you met Henry?
Go out and meet someone, start a farm. Grow something. That’s how we change the world.
Now over to Infarm: good luck!
Tech Startup iFarm Raises U.S. $4 Million to Expand Do-It-Yourself Urban Farms
Most urban farming companies do one of two things: grow and sell their own food or manufacture technology to assist experienced farmers, such as LED lights and robots that can monitor and harvest produce
The Finnish technology startup iFarm recently raised US$4 million to build vertical farms for more customers across Europe and the Middle East. Using these funds, iFarm aims to help more entrepreneurs and businesses set up their own urban farms—at any time, in any place.
iFarm, founded in 2017, develops autonomous farming systems to grow greens, berries, and edible flowers indoors. It sells smaller, individual growing modules, as well as vertical farms for larger-scale production.
Most urban farming companies do one of two things: grow and sell their own food or manufacture technology to assist experienced farmers, such as LED lights and robots that can monitor and harvest produce.
iFarm falls into a third, less common category. Rather than standalone technology, the company sells entire urban farming systems with built-in robotics. These systems enable customers to start farms with little to no knowledge of agriculture.
iFarm’s growing module, iFarm Cropper, is designed for grocery stores, restaurants, or homes. Their vertical farms are intended for larger spaces, like warehouses. These systems are equipped with drones and artificial intelligence that spot diseases and track plant growth. They can also be controlled by an app, iFarm Growtune, that automatically plants seeds and adjusts lighting and humidity.
Kirill Zelenski, the Managing Director of Europe at iFarm, tells Food Tank that the company’s name is reminiscent of the iPhone. With an iPhone, he says, “you don’t need to know anything… You just need to know what you want to do, and it will do it itself. Same with our farms.” He explains that a customer simply has to push a button to grow arugula, and the system knows what to do.
Urban farming companies boast several ecological, economic, and health benefits. iFarm’s technology, for instance, uses 90 percent less water and 75 percent less fertilizer compared to conventional farms, and no pesticides.
Controlled climates inside urban farms reduce the risk of air and water pollution, while allowing for more reliable yields. iFarm reports that 100 percent of their seeds sprout.
Indoor farms can also exist anywhere. The urban farming company Square Roots, for example, grows greens in the heart of Brooklyn. This flexibility cuts down on land use—which is increasingly sparse—and improves access to fresh food in urban areas.
iFarm’s founder, Alex Lyskovsky, decided to start the company for exactly that reason: his hometown in Siberia lacked access to fresh food. Now, thanks to iFarm, says Zelenski, “Even sitting in Finland, I can grow—for example—tomatoes like they would be grown in Sicily.”
Zelenski imagines a world where proximity to farmland no longer dictates where people reside. “Our idea is that it will change the world and how people are living. Because of the possibility to build farms in every house, you can live wherever,” Zelenski tells Food Tank.
Zelinski believes that autonomous farming companies—particularly those that sell already-programmed systems—have the potential to radically reshape the industry. “Modern farmers,” as he calls them, won’t necessarily need to know how to farm.
However, there are downsides. Zelenski notes that iFarm’s drones reduce the need for labor by 800 hours per month, which boosts efficiency and saves farm owners money—but could also threaten job security for farm workers.
iFarm isn’t the only company selling urban farms. Manhattan-based Farm.One offers everything from single-plant hydroponic units to entire vertical farming setups. InFarm, based in Berlin, installs its modular setups in grocery stores. And companies like Agrilution, Rise Gardens, and Aspara sell in-home hydroponic systems.
As for iFarm, the company plans to put half of its recent funding towards scaling up in Europe and the Middle East, 30 percent into research and development, and the remaining 20 percent into internal management and hiring.
The company plans to leave a big mark on the agriculture industry. “We think our technology will change not just [farmers’] work, it will change the world totally,” Zelenski tells Food Tank. “Our idea totally disrupts the industry.”
October 30, 2020
80 Acres Farms Raises Funding Round Led by Barclays to Accelerate Growth in Automated Vertical Farming Technolog
80 Acres Farms addresses both sustainability and food security through growing food differently with vertical farming technology and reducing water usage by 97% on less than 1% of the land, with 300x the yield
HAMILTON, Ohio - November 2, 2020 Newswire.com
80 Acres Farms, the sustainable solution for fresh, pesticide-free food, announced that it added Barclays as a strategic investor in the business, joining Virgo Investments, Orange Wings Capital, QuietStar Capital, and other family office investors.
80 Acres Farms is a 2019 fellow from the Unreasonable Impact Americas program and award winner recognized for their work addressing the global pandemic's effects. 80 Acres Farms addresses both sustainability and food security through growing food differently with vertical farming technology and reducing water usage by 97% on less than 1% of the land, with 300x the yield.
Mike Zelkind, CEO of 80 Acres Farms, said: "There has been an explosion in demand for fresh, locally grown, nutritious food, and this investment round enables us to continue to meet that demand at the right unit economics. We look forward to developing our relationship with Barclays and their global network through our shared passion for enhancing sustainability in this industry."
Andrew Challis, Co-Head of Principal Investments at Barclays, said: "80 Acres Farms can shorten the vulnerable, carbon-intensive supply chain and secure retailers and consumers with consistent, safe, fresh, sustainably grown food. This is an exciting investment proposition for Barclays as it supports our clients' and consumers' transition to a low-carbon economy and underpins our ambition to take a leading role in tackling climate change."
80 Acres Farms operates eight indoor farms in the US, including a new state of the art facility in Hamilton, Ohio - built by an affiliated company, Infinite Acres - that will deliver 10 million servings in its first year. You can find 80 Acres' product of just-picked salads, tomatoes, cucumbers, herbs, and microgreens at Kroger, Whole Foods, The Fresh Market, Dorothy Lane Markets, Jungle Jim's Markets, and key National Foodservice Distributors including Sysco and US Foods.
About 80 Acres Farms
80 Acres Farms is a vertical farming leader providing customers with the freshest and most nutritious fruits and vegetables at affordable prices. Utilizing world-class technology and analytics, the Company offers customers a wide variety of pesticide-free food with a longer shelf life that exceeds the highest food safety standards
Lead photo: 80 Acres Farms'. Fully-Automated vertical farm located in Hamilton, OH.
For further information, please contact us at:
rebecca.haders@eafarms.com / +1 513-910-9089
About Barclays Sustainable Impact Capital initiative
As part of its broader commitments, Barclays will invest £175m of its own capital, led by the Principal Investments team, in fast-growing, innovative, environmentally-focused companies whose values are aligned with those of Barclays and which target the goals and timelines of the Paris Agreement. Investments will be strategic to Barclays, its clients, and the communities it serves, with clear scalable propositions that deliver both environmental benefits and economic returns.
For further information, please contact us at:
Investment Enquiries: PITeamInbox@barclays.com
Media Enquiries: emily.stead2@barclays.com / +44 (0) 7796 706166
Related Images
80-acres-farms-newest-location.jpg
80 Acres Farms Newest Location
80 Acres Farms'. Fully-Automated vertical farm located in Hamilton, OH
Related Links
Ground-Breaking Companies Join the 10th Unreasonable Impact Program
80 Acres adds Walmart, Dole execs to leadership team as it gears up for growth
To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/67308
Building Essential Foundations to Lead Farming For the Future: Q4 and Fiscal 2020 Letter to Shareholders from CubicFarms CEO
Since our listing on the TSX Venture Exchange last July, we learned many lessons on how to be a public company, particularly the only Canadian public company in the vertical farming, controlled-environment agriculture space
VANCOUVER, BC, OCTOBER 28, 2020 – CubicFarm® Systems Corp. (TSXV:CUB) (“CubicFarms” or the “Company”) is pleased to provide the following message from Dave Dinesen, Chief Executive Officer.
Dear Valued Shareholders and Friends,
I want to thank you for your support and commitment to CubicFarms, from our earliest founding investors who saw the opportunity and potential in our small private company, to our new shareholders who have joined us after our public listing in July 2019.
Your support has helped us make significant strides since our founders Jack and Leo Benne started developing the first prototype a decade ago of what has become our patented, automated growing system for fresh produce. Today, I want to provide you with a more thorough understanding of our vision for the path ahead, what we have recently accomplished and the foundation we are laying to lead farming for the future.
The Covid-19 pandemic that dominated much of life in 2020 has greatly impacted food systems all over the world. The health crisis upended intricate food supply chains that were already inefficient. The food service industry was decimated while retail demand and food prices shot up. Transportation and distribution lines were disrupted, and border closures prevented foreign farm workers from toiling the land. Covid-19 underscored the critical need for technology to localize food production and shorten supply chains to provide more predictable and reliable food supply for our communities.
Against this backdrop, our systems continue to sell. Our customers acknowledge the value our systems bring to their operations through savings in land, labour, water and energy. Growing indoors and maximizing crop yield per cubic foot enable farmers to grow anywhere on earth, 365 days a year.
Sales highlights
In March 2020, we announced our largest ever sale of 100 CubicFarms machines to be installed in Surrey, British Columbia.
In July 2020, we announced another large sale of 16 CubicFarms machines to be installed in the Okanagan region of BC.
We reported C$5,167,488 in revenue this fiscal year from the following orders:
23 CubicFarms machines being installed in Calgary, Alberta.
Three control rooms each delivered to Terramera and a BC-based field farmer.
A HydroGreen livestock feed system delivered to our new reseller in Tokyo, Japan.
Approximately C$517,000 is attributed to recurring revenues from monthly customer support subscriptions, and sales of consumables such as seeds, nutrients and parts.
Sales orders under contract and deposit, that are pending installation, total approximately USD$18 million, representing 138 machines. Revenue from machines is dependent on the completion of the sales and delivery process – consisting of the signing of the purchase agreement, deposit payments, manufacture of machines, customer’s site preparation, shipping and installation.
Machine installation is progressing well at our customer's site in Calgary. The project is scheduled for completion in November.
Reflecting on a pivotal foundational year that positions CubicFarms for growth
Since our listing on the TSX Venture Exchange last July, we learned many lessons on how to be a public company, particularly the only Canadian public company in the vertical farming, controlled-environment agriculture space. We ramped up outreach to retail and institutional investors to tell our unique story, and it has resonated especially well with ESG-focused investors who are increasingly seeking to invest in companies that positively impact food security, sustainability and the environment.
We have strategically augmented our capitalization table with leading ag-tech investor Ospraie Ag Science and dairy entrepreneur Harry DeWit, who are equally as passionate about our technology and provide enormous value to our company through their industry expertise and network.
A company is only as extraordinary as its people, so we’ve taken steps to invest in our culture and talent. In January 2020, we welcomed Jeff Booth as Chairman of our board. Jeff is a tech visionary and thought leader who has helped drive culture from the day he got involved in the company. He leads our corporate strategic meetings every quarter, in addition to sitting on the board’s audit committee, and helps us set and achieve our goals. Chris Papouras from Ospraie Ag Science joined us last month as our newest board member. We look forward to his well-rounded expertise in manufacturing operations, finance, technology and automation as we scale the business.
We also bolstered our management team and their respective departments with appointments in key roles, including Leo Benne as Chief Product Officer, Jo-Ann Ostermann as Chief Customer Officer, Tim Fernback as Chief Financial Officer, Sandy Gerber as Head of Marketing, and Dan Schmidt as Senior Vice President of Global Sales. We’re proud to have assembled a high-calibre management team at the intersection of experience in engineering, cultivation, manufacturing, sales and marketing, to drive growth at an international level.
In January 2020, we closed our first acquisition via an all-share transaction at an implied value of C$1.50 per CubicFarms common share. The acquisition of HydroGreen, Inc. opened a new business vertical for CubicFarms, enabling us to offer a fully-automated indoor system for growing nutritious livestock feed to a new customer segment – beef, dairy, equine, sheep, goats, poultry and swine producers. Feeding animals highly digestible live, green feed produced by the HydroGreen system not only accrues animal health benefits, but also provides farmers with local, on-demand availability of fresh feed all year round, unaffected by drought, snow or rain. With the world's population nearing 10 billion people by 2050, and with grazing and arable lands under pressure and often beyond capacity, the timing is ideal to bring HydroGreen to market.
Industrial-size HydroGreen system that is being tested at our newly upgraded South Dakota manufacturing facility. This system is a significant upgrade from the largest HydroGreen system currently for sale, and will enable us to serve even larger, industrial customers in the livestock production space.
Innovation remains at the heart of our company. We continue to innovate both our machines and crops to further drive system sales. We are busy researching ways to refine our grow protocols to grow more crop varieties, as well as improve crop health and quality. We are also looking for ways to make our machines more efficient, from both a hardware and software standpoint. At the request of our customers, we developed and launched our Control Room in June 2020, which enables growers to have complete control over the growing environment that is so crucial for high yields and quality – a capability especially well suited for R&D. Inside our Control Room, the temperature, humidity, lighting and air flow can be properly calibrated to suit crop requirements. In collaboration with Terramera – another Ospraie Ag Science portfolio company – we are developing farming artificial intelligence (AI) by integrating multiple data sources, and applying machine learning and data science techniques to optimize crop yields inside our system. Look out for more updates on our R&D progress and breakthroughs soon.
R&D team members working on developing a light-sensor diagnosis tool to analyze data and simulated tests from crop trials to accelerate R&D discoveries.
This year, our Customer Experience team worked to streamline the sales process and remove customer pain points. We launched CubicFarms Garden, a consulting service for potential customers to help guide them on the economics of CubicFarms systems, including:
Financial plan: ROI calculation based on cost of inputs, financing type, exchange rate, etc.
Market assessment: Research outlining our customers’ agriculture market opportunities, size, scope, potential distributors and constraints.
Executive summary: A detailed, strategic pitch deck tailored to help customers secure financing for a CubicFarms system.
As a sales incentive, CubicFarms Garden customers can opt to apply the costs of our consulting services toward a future system purchase.
Our Customer Experience team also formalized our Farm School training program, a detailed curriculum to prepare our customers and their staff with all they need to know to correctly operate their CubicFarms system. They are trained on the machinery to assist with preventative maintenance and troubleshooting activities, machine operations, farm management, setting up quality management systems, and growing practices. Farm School also covers food safety and compliance with the tools of Good Agricultural Practices. We are excited to build out these services to support our customers in each step of their journey to commercial production.
Our Calgary customers Marc Schulz and Joy Peacock attended our Farm School in July, where they learned how to operate a CubicFarms system safely and efficiently once it is fully installed at their site.
A look ahead
We will continue to strategically build and promote our brand by differentiating our unique technology solutions that help our customers to grow sustainably and profitably. We will execute our global sales strategy of developing relationships with our distributors and dealers and tapping into their existing customer network, in addition to building our in-house sales teams.
Our dedicated R&D team is focused on expanding our unique product offerings to capture additional total addressable market share. We plan to grow our recurring revenue base by rolling out an increasing array of value-added services, such as CubicFarms Garden consulting, as discussed above. Additionally, rigorous margin expansion is an ongoing focus, by pursuing supply chain efficiencies through improved sourcing methods, and improving procurement power and reduced manufacturing per unit costs through enhancing scale.
Finally, the successful acquisition and integration of HydroGreen keeps us on the look out for other complementary businesses that have potential as strategic acquisition targets, or synergistic partnerships that could arise with other companies in the industry or Ospraie’s portfolio.
In the coming year, we expect increasingly smoother sales cycles to help provide for the capital needs to pursue our growth objectives. We diligently laid the groundwork in the past year to position our company for success. We want to continue working hard to ensure all our efforts up to this point are worthwhile.
Thank you for being on this journey with us.
Dave Dinesen
CEO
CubicFarms files fourth quarter and year-end financial results
The Q4 and year-end financial statements and management's discussion and analysis are available under the CubicFarm Systems profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com, or on the CubicFarms website at https://cubicfarms.com/investors/.
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. (“CubicFarms”) is a technology company developing and deploying technology to feed a changing world. Its proprietary technologies enable growers around the world to produce high quality, predictable crop yields. CubicFarms has two distinct technologies that address two distinct markets. The first technology is its CubicFarms™ system, which contains patented technology for growing leafy greens and other crops indoors, all year round. Using its unique, undulating-path growing system, the Company addresses the main challenges within the indoor farming industry by significantly reducing the need for physical labour and energy, and maximizing yield per cubic foot. CubicFarms leverages its patented technology by operating its own R&D facility in Pitt Meadows, British Columbia, selling the system to growers, licensing its technology and providing vertical farming expertise to its customers.
The second technology is CubicFarms’ HydroGreen system for growing nutritious livestock feed. This system utilizes a unique process to sprout grains, such as barley and wheat, in a controlled environment with minimal use of land, labour and water. The HydroGreen system is fully automated and performs all growing functions including seeding, watering, lighting, harvesting, and re-seeding – all with the push of a button – to deliver nutritious livestock feed without the typical investment in fertilizer, chemicals, fuel, field equipment and transportation. The HydroGreen system not only provides superior nutritious feed to benefit the animal, but also enables significant environmental benefits to the farm.
Cautionary statement on forward-looking information
Certain statements in this release constitute "forward-looking statements" or "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities laws, including, without limitation, statements with respect to financial position, business strategy, growth strategies, budgets, operations, financial results, plans, objectives and other information that is not historical fact. Such statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance, or achievements of CubicFarm Systems Corp., or industry results, to be materially different from any future results, performance, or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements or information including the Company obtaining the approval of the Offering from the TSX Venture Exchange. Such statements can be identified by the use of words such as "may", "would", "could", "will", "intend", "expect", "believe", "plan", "anticipate", "estimate", "scheduled", "forecast", "predict", and other similar terminology, or state that certain actions, events, or results "may", "could", "would", "might", or "will" be taken, occur, or be achieved. Forward-looking statements are based on the opinions and estimates of management as of the date such statements are made and they are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements or forward-looking information. See "Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Information" and "Risk Factors" in the Company's Annual Information Form which is available on www.sedar.com for a discussion of the uncertainties, risks and assumptions associated with these statements. We caution that the list of risk factors and uncertainties is not exhaustive and other factors could also adversely affect our results. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements and forward-looking information. Except as required by securities disclosure laws and regulations applicable to the Company, the Company undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements if the Company's expectations regarding future events, performance, or results change.
Real Leaf Farm Receives Significant Endorsement By Just Transition Commission Through The Award of €1 million In Grants.
The JFT awarded projects that represented innovative and inspiring plans for the Midlands and who are committed to creating a green and sustainable economy for the region
Real Leaf Farm receives significant endorsement by Just Transition Commission through the award of €1 million in grants. This recognizes Real Leaf Farm’s role in creating a green and sustainable economy for the Midlands.
Real Leaf Farm (RLF) is delighted to be been selected as one of the key projects in the Midlands under the Just Transition Fund (JFT). The JFT awarded projects that represented innovative and inspiring plans for the Midlands and who are committed to creating a green and sustainable economy for the region.
Real Leaf Farm’s mission is to grow fresh, nutritious leafy greens for the local food market using sustainable farming methods that have low environmental impact. The elimination of herbicides and pesticides not only makes RLF a provider of clean, natural, food products but is better for the environmental, leaving no residues behind.
Speaking at the launch, Real Leaf Farm CEO, Karen Hennessy said “RLF is developing a scalable sustainable business - generating income, creating jobs, providing innovative solutions to food production and supporting Midland communities while aligning to the region’s natural strengths in horticulture. The award today of €1 million is a significant endorsement by the government of these plans and I would like to sincerely thank the Just Transition Commission and the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communication”.
Commenting on the grant award, Eddie Kilbane, Founder of Real Leaf Farm said “the development of Sustainable Smart Hydroponic Farming, in Ireland as a whole, will play an important role in social well-being and strengthen self-sufficiency, by diminishing risks connected to the reliance on the global food production system, and long delivery chains; thus creating more resilient communities”.
The first site is planned for the Midlands partnering with Bord na Móna. RLF will repurpose underutilized buildings and to build a new, state of the art, glasshouse thereby reusing and conserving old buildings and bringing jobs back into the peatlands community.
For further information on Real Leaf Farm please visit www.realleaffarm.com
-ENDS-
For further press information, please contact:
Karen Hennessy at khennessy@realleaffarm.com
About Real Leaf Farm
RLF is a new agri-tech company leading the development of sustainable hydroponic farming across Ireland and the UK. It is a pioneering and disruptive business which will be Ireland’s first 100% Hydroponic farm, growing delicious pesticide-free, herbicide-free, salad vegetable produce, 365 days a year. This is smart farming for a sustainable planet in the 21st century.
Through its unique Agri-Tech Solution, RLF has total control over variables like climate and light and uses significantly less land and water compared to conventional outdoor farming. By combining cutting edge technology and design with optimal agriculture methods, RLF is making fresh, nutrient-rich, and tasty food accessible locally, throughout the year, whilst minimizing wastage, excessive transport and ensuring food security.
There is a unique opportunity to be first to market, in a growing sector, through import substitution and the development of a more efficient and sustainable farming model. This project will deliver direct and indirect employment for transition impacted communities, providing sustainable, safe and secure food for local supply. It is also a Brexit solution provider as most of our imports are currently traveling through the UK land bridge.
About Just Transition Fund
The Just Transition Fund is a key pillar of the government’s just transition plan for the Midlands region. A 2020 fund will be available for projects focusing on retraining workers and proposals to generate sustainable employment in the green enterprise in the region, and supporting communities to transition to a low carbon economy.
The objective of the Just Transition Fund 2020 call is to fund innovative projects that contribute to the economic, social, and environmental sustainability of the Wider Midlands region and which have employment and enterprise potential. It will support projects that take a whole-of-Midlands strategic approach and complement other sources of public funding.
Provisional offers of funding, totaling €27.8 million, have been made to 47 projects in the Midlands under the Just Transition Fund. The projects represent innovative and inspiring plans from businesses, local authorities, and communities in the Midlands who are committed to creating a green and sustainable economy for the region. This dedication from the community and targeted support will make the region an attractive and sustainable place to live and work. It will fund training and reskilling so local businesses and communities can adjust to a low-carbon transition.
Jack Ma Also Checks Out Strawberry Cultivation
On the morning of October 10th and following his visit to the Dezhou high-tech tomato greenhouses, Jack Ma, founder of Alibaba Group, went to Licheng District, Jinan City, to inspect the development of the strawberry industry
On the morning of October 10th and following his visit to the Dezhou high-tech tomato greenhouses, Jack Ma, founder of Alibaba Group, went to Licheng District, Jinan City, to inspect the development of the strawberry industry. The Licheng strawberry industry has been developing since the early 1990s and has now become one of the main production areas for strawberry cultivation in China. At present, there is over 1,000 hectares of greenhouse strawberry planting area in the whole district, the total output is 66,000 tons, the total output value is 1.25 billion RMB [187 million USD], and the derivative output value is nearly 2 billion RMB [300 million USD].
At Prandtl Agricultural Technology Co., Ltd., Licheng District, Jack Ma led a delegation to listen to the introduction of the development of the strawberry industry in Licheng District, viewed the display of strawberry related products, and learned more about the construction of seedling detoxification and rapid propagation laboratory and secondary seedling greenhouse operating situation. The company has carried out in-depth research, demonstration, and promotion of strawberry detoxification technology, soilless cultivation, and new variety cultivation. Jack Ma had in-depth exchanges and discussions with the technical staff of the company and learned in detail about the research and promotion of strawberry seedlings, especially the detoxification and rapid propagation technology.
At the Hongmei Farm in Dongjia Street, Jack Ma and his delegation inspected the construction and operation of the combined greenhouse and the winter greenhouse and asked in detail about the three-dimensional cultivation of strawberries and traditional planting. The farm’s strawberry production is supported by biological control, water, and fertilizer integration, and modern agricultural Internet of Things management systems, focusing on the application of prevention and control. Jack Ma said that the popularization and promotion of advanced planting technology will help ensure the high quality of strawberries.
At Strawberry Paradise in Dongjia Street, Jack Ma and his delegation visited the greenhouse, communicated with growers in-depth, and learned about the application of various strawberry cultivation models and market operations. Combined with the construction of a new countryside in Shiziyuan Village, it has formed an industrial system integrating strawberry planting, picking, catering, and tourism.
Jack Ma expressed his appreciation for Jinan's efforts to develop the strawberry industry and increase farmers’ incomes through cooperatives. He hopes that Alibaba Group and Jinan will further deepen exchanges and cooperation, and jointly explore new models and new paths to promote the development of Jinan's characteristic industries such as strawberry planting.
Source: k.sina.cn
Publication date: Fri 23 Oct 2020