August 26, 2019

By Lynda Kiernan

Florida-based vertical farming company Eco Convergence Group announced it has rebranded under the name Kalera, and has broken ground on what will be the largest indoor vertical farming operation in the southeastern region of the U.S.

The company has begun construction in Orlando on a new state-of-the-art indoor farm that will have the capacity to grow five million heads of lettuce per year for the hospitality, grocery, and foodservice industries.

Founded in 2010, the company opened the first of many planned hydroponic HyCube growing centers last year, with the completion of a facility located at the Orlando World Center Marriott grounds. Located adjacent to the Marriott’s main kitchen, Kalera supplies greens for the hotel’s nine restaurants – something that reduced the resort’s carbon footprint by eliminating the need to ship in produce. Now, Kalera is scaling its business to include a new growing facility which when completed, will be the largest of its kind in the region.

“Kalera produce is like none other—it’s not just delicious, it’s also clean and beautiful,” said Eric Martinez, executive chef, Orlando World Center Marriott Resort & Convention Center. “Having access to Kalera’s exceptional produce year-round opens up limitless possibilities to expand our menu and create new dishes that delight patrons. Many restaurants pride themselves on sourcing ingredients from farms 50 to 100 miles away. We are thrilled to say that we are sourcing our greens from 50 feet away.”

Science and technology are key to Kalera’s success. Years of plant and data science have enabled the company to harness IoT and data analytics to form an AI-driven growing process that maximizes nutrient mixes, light recipes, and environmental controls to give their plants exactly what they need to thrive.

Using only non-GMO seeds, each plant is growth with filtered water and air in precisely controlled hydroponic facilities. Temperature, and humidity are exactly monitored, and pesticides, insecticides, and hormones are never used, resulting in consistent, high-quality crops year-round. 

Furthermore, by using a closed loop irrigation system, Kalera’s crops are grown using 95 percent less water than traditional farming; and by using cleanroom technology, there are no chemicals or pathogens present.

“Our goal at Kalera is to harness plant and data science to deliver new economies of scale in agriculture, making it possible for more people to have access to high-quality, non-GMO, clean, nutritious food, locally grown without the use of pesticides—no matter the season,” said Cristian Toma, CEO, Kalera. “We have proven the technology and refined our production methods to a point where we are ready to scale up.”

Currently, the company is focused on the southeast region of the U.S., however Toma tells The Spoon that if this facility is a success, there is the potential for several more – both in the region and even in some Nordic countries, and for fully automated growing methods with robots assuming the tasks of planting, monitoring, and harvesting. 

Granted, although there is great potential in the $2.51 billion vertical farming market, Toma states that there is an imperative for the industry to achieve scale and gain greater traction.

“There’s been a lot of hype around the industry lately,” Toma told The Spoon. “That’s great because it’s part of this new revolution in agriculture. But at one point, we do need to show good returns. Capital is impatient. It [will] fly to ‘the next big thing’ if you don’t show a good return on investment.”