Close Ad

The Spoon

Daily news and analysis about the food tech revolution

Farmshelf

Kalera to Build the Largest Vertical Farm in Texas

Vertical farming company Kalera announced today that it will open a high-tech facility in Houston, Texas in the spring of 2021. According to today’s press release, this will be the largest vertical farming facility in the state.

The announcement follows recent news that Kalera is also opening a facility in Atlanta, Georgia in 2021. The company already operates one in its hometown of Orlando, Florida.

Over the last couple years, Kalera has made a name for itself supplying greens grown via vertical farms to the hospitality sector. As of the end of last year, the company’s HyCube system was supplying the Orlando World Center Mariott resort with greens, and had plans with several grocery retailers and restaurants. It opened a second facility in Orlando in March of this year.

Then, as so many narratives go these days, the pandemic hit, and it’s a little hard to service produce to restaurants that are closed down. So Kalera struck a deal with Publix to sell its greens at 165 of the grocery retailer’s stores. 

“We were very fortunate to be able to quickly pivot and focus more on the retail side and benefit from the slowdown.,” Kalera CEO Daniel Malechuk told me over the phone in April, at the time of this pivot. 

The company didn’t name grocery specifically in today’s release, but given the current situation in Texas around COVID-19, retail seems a more likely destination than restaurants for greens coming out of Kalera’s new facility. Once open, the new site will be able to service not only the Houston area but also Dallas-Ft. Worth, San Antonio, Austin, and New Orleans. 

Kalera’s high-tech vertical farming system uses IoT, data analytics, AI-powered process automation and cleanroom technology in its facilities to monitor plant growth and create the optimal recipe of lights, nutrients, and water for crops. Right now, the company grows leafy greens, which Malechuk said in April take less time to transport. “Other produce and fruit is probably extremely cost prohibitive in dense urban settings and situations,” he said.

The last few weeks have seen a surge of news in vertical and indoor farming, both in commercial-scale farming and at-home devices. AppHarvest has partnered with the Dutch government to turn the Appalachian region of Kentucky into something of an indoor farming powerhouse. Farmshelf launched its first-ever at-home vertical farming until for consumers. And SinGrow, a Singapore-based company that actually is trying to grow more than leafy greens, is getting a lot of attention of late for its proprietary strawberries and vertical farming tech.

Kalera said in today’s release that the Houston facility is just one in a string of planned locations around the U.S. and the rest of the world.

Farmshelf Unveils Its First Consumer-facing Vertical Farming Unit

Farmshelf, the vertical farming company best known for outfitting restaurants with its high-tech indoor farms, today unveiled its first-ever consumer-facing product, according to a company press release.

Dubbed Farmshelf Home, the new product is similar to the company’s commercial model championed by high-profile chefs like José Andrés. It’s roughly the size of a bookcase and uses a combination of sensors, cameras, software, and custom LEDs to automatically deliver the correct levels of water, light, and nutrients to each plant growing in the farm.

For the average consumer, that means once the farm arrives, it’s a matter of plugging it into a wall, connecting it to wifi, setting seeds in pods, then remotely monitoring the hydroponic system from a corresponding smartphone app.

Farmshelf Home is available to pre-order through the company’s website. Though it ain’t cheap: the company lists the “exclusive pre-order price” at $4,950, while the standard retail price will be set at $6,450. There is a $100 deposit (applied to the price and also refundable) as well as a monthly $35 fee that covers seed pods, nutrients, and access to the Farmshelf software for monitoring plants. At the moment, those interested only need to hand over the deposit to sign up for a pre-order. According to the fine print, there is no firm delivery date yet.

Three months ago, I would have called the high price point a deterrent for most people. Certainly, the average American family won’t be purchasing a Farmshelf anytime soon.

But those in higher income brackets may. A global pandemic has revealed just how out of whack our food supply chain is and what happens when people panic shop in droves and grocery stores can’t keep up, factors that might justify the price point for some folks. The Spoon’s Publisher Michael Wolf pointed out recently that “As the coronavirus has forced all of us to think more about our food supply, some consumers have gone beyond just buying a little extra food to store away. Now they are thinking about how we could ensure access to food independent of breakdowns in the system.”

Now we have to see whether consumers will pay thousands of dollars to ensure that independence. More at-home vertical farming companies were coming to market even before the pandemic, with large appliance makers like Samsung, LG, and Miele announcing high-tech gardens meant for your kitchen or living room. They range in price from the hundreds to the thousands, though not quite as high as Farmshelf.

Currently, Farmshelf is in a number of restaurants and hotels, including NYC chain Tender Greens, Marriott Marquis Times Square, and the Condé Nast offices. Angel network she1K syndicated an early-stage investment in the company at the end of last year.

Farmshelf Gets Angel Investment From Singapore’s she1K, Liberty Produce Launches UK Vertical Farming Project

Angel network she1K has syndicated an early-stage investment in Farmshelf, according to an article published today on AgFunder News. Singapore-based she1K, which is known for its global female executive leadership, did not disclose financial terms of the deal. Farmshelf is the third company to join its portfolio 

Whereas many companies in the vertical farming space right now have massive indoor facilities aiming to produce millions of heads of leafy greens, Farmshelf differentiates itself by staying focused on smaller spaces like supermarkets, offices, hotels, and restaurants. Its bookcase-sized farm grows leafy greens and herbs using a combination of custom LEDs, sensors, and software that deliver water, nutrients, and the optimal amount of light needed for each crop. The system, which can simply be plugged into a wall and connected to WiFi, is already at a number of restaurants, hotels, and other spaces, including NYC chain Tender Greens, Marriott Marquis Times Square, and the Condé Nast offices. 

The Farmshelf system is currently available to businesses in parts of Texas and California, and will be available to customers “in most major markets” in 2020.

Farmshelf isn’t the only indoor farming initiative kicking off December with big news. Across the Atlantic, agtech company Liberty Produce has finally launched its vertical farming project that looks to improve both crop yield and operational costs for vertical farming through improved, more automated tech.

According to a press release sent to The Spoon, Liberty Produce has partnered with several entities for the project. While most were not disclosed, a major one is Crop Health and Protection (CHAP), a network of scientists, farmers, researchers, academics, and businesses developing new ways to use technology to improve the farming system in the UK. Work on the Liberty Produce project is being done at CHAP’s Fine Phenotyping Lab at Rothamsted Research in the UK, with experts experimenting with plants’ responses to different light intensities and studying the best LED “recipes” for crops.

“There’s lots we don’t know about growing plants in this artificial environment and we’re not giving them optimal conditions,” Liberty Produce founder Zeina Chapman told The Spoon earlier this year. “With lighting, there isn’t an option to control it in a way that maximizes plant growth. So we might be putting plants under stress.”

Liberty also wants to use more automation to make the concept of vertical farming easier for the anyone, something Farmshelf also appears to be striving for with its plug-in-and-go system.

It’s an admirable goal to strive for, especially if it can get more locally grown produce into the hands of more cafeterias, universities, local businesses, and, eventually, individual homes.

The test — and something we’ll hear more about in 2020 — will be whether the vertical farming industry can find a way to do this cost effectively. There’s plenty of hype right now around the promises of vertical farming. As to whether it can actually become an everyday reality for the everyman, the jury is still out.

Farmshelf Brings Indoor Mini-Farms to Sustainable Chain Oath Pizza

Earlier today Farmshelf CEO Andrew Shearer announced on Linkedin that the new Upper West Side location of Oath Pizza, set to open this Thursday, will feature one of their indoor growing units.

Farmshelf builds turnkey hydroponic mini-farms, about the size of a bookshelf, for use in restaurants and hotels. Their systems are equipped with sensors which can automatically manage the growing process, so all users have to do is plug in the device and harvest.

By growing produce 15 feet from the kitchen instead of, say, 1,500 miles, Farmshelf units can dramatically reduce food packaging, waste, and carbon footprint. It’s also is a pretty cool marketing gimmick for restaurants which put emphasis on local ingredients.

Oath Pizza is one such restaurant. The fast-casual pizza chain, which started in Nantucket, specializes in local and ethically sourced ingredients. So it’s a natural fit for them to install a grow unit which will let them take the leap from “farm to table” to “restaurant to table.”

According to their website, Farmshelf units can currently support over 50 leafy greens, herbs, and edible flowers. Judging from the Linkedin photo, the only thing the indoor farms will be growing at Oath Pizza is basil. However, their menu also features oregano and spinach, so maybe those will make an appearance at some point down the road.

This could be just the beginning of the Farmshelf-Oath Pizza partnership. Last month, the pizza chain partnered with Aramark to bring their ethical ‘za to new, larger venues, such as college campuses, sports arenas, and office buildings. Oath currently has locations in Boston, D.C., and New York, and this partnership opens them for some pretty massive expansion. It would be a smart idea to bring Farmshelf along with them; their mini-farms provide very visual publicity. Not to mention a great Instagram opportunity.

The Upper West Side outpost will join Farmshelf’s current location lineup, which includes several restaurants in Washington, D.C., as well as The Great Northern Food Hall in New York’s Grand Central Station. Maybe soon college students and baseball fans will be able to see their basil growing right next to their Crazy Caprese pizza — and then Instagram it.

Thai Real Estate Developer Sansiri Invests In Vertical Farming Startup Farmshelf

Farmshelf, the New York City startup that brings vertical grow systems into restaurants and food retail spaces, has received an investment from one of Thailand’s biggest real estate development companies, Sansiri.

The investment by Sansiri comes a part of a broader $80 million investment across six companies that include lifestyle magazine Monocle, home sharing app Hostmaker, and Farmshelf. According to the Financial Times, Sansiri invested $300 thousand in Farmshelf, a relatively small amount compared to the other investments disclosed as part of the announcement such as the $58 million stake in US boutique hotel brand Standard International.

According to Crunchbase, Farmshelf received a $150 thousand seed round investment from startup accelerators Urban-X and SOSV in September 2016. The $300 thousand investment from Sansiri marks the second overall funding round for the company.

As detailed in the announcement, Sansiri’s investment plan for Farmshelf includes integrating the vertical farming startups products into select residential properties, as well as possibly scaling the business across Asia.

It’s an interesting investment for a company that has up to this point focused on installations in New York City restaurants and food retail. I visited the company’s installation at Grand Central’s Great Northern Food Hall in June and liked how it fit into the upscale food court. Residential properties seems like a bit of a departure for the company, so I am intrigued to see how these might be rolled out within the Asia market.

Long term, these types of developer deals make a whole lot of sense for a company like Farmshelf. Access to both retail and residential developments is not only a heavy business development lift for a resource constrained startup, but the long term success of these types of installations will require a strong commitment from the property holder and business operator.

Meet Farmlab.One, The Latest Indoor Farming Experiment From Germany’s Largest Retailer

While we haven’t arrived at a future where every corner grocery has an in-store farming system with rows and rows of produce, it isn’t for lack of trying.

This is especially true for METRO Group, Germany’s largest retailer, who has been experimenting with in-store farming since early 2016.

That’s when the retailer launched Kräuter Garten (herb garden), the first retail in-store farming installation in Europe. The technology for METRO’s first foray into vertical farming was provided by INFARM, a vertical farming startup based in Germany. Since the launch of  Kräuter Garten in Berlin, other retailers such as EDEKA (Germany’s largest grocery store chain) have since taken an interest in in-store growing.

Now METRO is at it again, launching another vertical farming experiment with Farmlab.one, a joint project between the retail giant and Schmiede.ONE, a German innovation lab focused on future business models that intermingle agriculture and cutting edge technologies such as artificial intelligence.

The project will be managed by James Lindsay of Schmiede.ONE in an indoor lab in Düsseldorf. METRO has provided resources in the form of indoor farming racks from TowerGarden, the indoor farming division of Juice+. The project is starting with three crops to start, which you can watch here via Periscope.

While the project is a modest one, it’s a sign of continued interest in vertical, in-building farming by a large food retailer. In the US, we’ve seen growing interest in solutions from companies like Farmshelf, and just last month we saw one of the biggest investments ever in a vertical farming startup when Jeff Bezos, among others, invested $200 million in stealthy startup Plenty.

A comparison of yields and resource consumption of indoor vs. soil-based farming. Source: Schmiede One

While it’s unlikely that in-store vertical farms could produce at the scale to meet the total demand for fresh produce purchased at a high-volume urban retail storefront, it’s clear that soilless vertical farms produce at a much high rate of productivity compared to soil based farming, which means much less overall space is needed to produce the same amount of produce. With such high yields, one can envision a future where a mix of in-store grown produce combined with other warehouse grown urban farmed food could be enough to meet a large percentage of overall demand for fresh produce.