How Bowery Farming plans to spend $300 million
American startup Bowery Farming, which operates in the field of vertical farming, has completed another round of financing. As a result, the company received $300 million, which was the largest investment in vertical farming in its history. The company’s valuation rose to $2.3 billion. Bowery Farming is a supplier of green leafy vegetables to 850 stores. The startup owns three farms located in Maryland, Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
Founder Irving Fine is the company’s founder, and he cites the price of produce as the main advantage of his business. Bowery sells vegetables much cheaper than its competitors. An important point is that the company’s products do not contain harmful pesticides and harsh chemical fertilizers. Part of the energy used to grow vegetables is taken from renewable sources.
Fein will use the funds to expand its production area. New farms will be opened, technologies for growing environmentally friendly products will be improved. In addition, the company plans to expand its assortment by introducing new varieties of strawberries, carrots, and other crops.
In addition to large funds and companies, Bowery’s investors include famous people – Natalie Portman, Justin Timberlake, basketball player Chris Paul and others.
Founded in 2015, the company grows herbs and vegetables indoors. The operation of the farm is automated, for which artificial intelligence-based technologies are used, as well as robotics. Thanks to this organization of the production process, less waste is achieved. The farms optimize the use of water and land, which is a significant advantage over traditional farming.
Vertical farming has become increasingly popular over the past few years. If earlier the main problem of this approach was to reach a break-even point, now due to the development of technology this task is quite feasible. Electricity costs have fallen significantly, including as a result of the use of LED lights. The increasing level of profitability of vertical agriculture helps to attract more and more investors. Their interest is also fueled by the global trend to eat organic products, and the increasing number of people who prefer a vegan or vegetarian way of eating. In 2020, investment in vertical farming totaled $1.9 billion, 3 times the amount recorded in 2019.
This farming option allows for 10 times or more higher yields than traditional methods. At the same time, crops can be harvested all year round, as growing vegetables and herbs indoors eliminates the factor of seasonality and adverse weather conditions.
