Swedish vertical farming company Grönska announced today it has raised 20.5 million SEK (~$2.4 million). Investors in the round include 82an Invest, PEAS Industries, Rite Ventures, Martas Explorers, Daniel Sachs AB, and Investor Group led by Tectonic Shift.
There are two different parts of Grönska’s business. The company grows leafy greens in a fully controlled vertical farming environment, then sells the produce via retailers and restaurants, including Coop, ICA, and Urban Deli.
The company also recently launched its GrowOff cultivation system, which is a smaller, five-story controlled-environment grow system. Grönska ships pre-seeded trays to users, who can track plant growth from a corresponding smartphone app. While theoretically the system could work anywhere, its size — on par with Farm.One and Babylon Microfarms — is probably best suited to a grocery store or restaurant environment.
Europe has historically been known more for greenhouse technology than the massive vertical farms rapidly expanding across the U.S. However there is a growing number of startups in Europe now using the vertical method. Last year, Nordic Harvest struck a deal with Taiwan-based Yes Health Group to build out a massive vertical farm outside of Copenhagen, Denmark. On a smaller scale, Berlin, Germany’s InFarm has expanded its pod-like vertical farms across numerous grocery retail stores in the U.S. and Europe. Meanwhile, Finland’s iFarm licensees its grow system to other companies in Europe and the Middle East.
Grönska said in today’s press release that it is seeing high demand for GrowOff. Moving forward, the company’s focus will be on increasing sales and production in Sweden and around Europe. This week’s funding round will also allow Grönska to further develop the technology powering both its farm and its GrowOff systems.
