October 9, 2024

By Gerelyn Terzo, Global AgInvesting Media

In its second capital raising event, Vision Greens, a Welland, Ontario-based tech-advanced indoor-farming company, has attracted C$18 million (US$13.11 million) in debt and equity to its coffers. The fundraising, the second of its kind for the company, includes C$10 million (US$7.2 million) in equity capital and C$8 million (US$5.8 million) in debt through The Dorchester Corporation and Farm Credit Canada (FCC). Visions Greens plans to direct the proceeds of the fundraising toward expanding its operations and meeting rising demand, helping it to compete in an innovative market segment. Indoor farming benefits include the ability to grow crops year-round without having to wait on Mother Nature.

“Our investors are Canadian leaders who see our potential and value in bringing sustainably grown local lettuce that is even better than organic, to consumers across Canada,” stated Vision Greens CEO Lenny Louis, who is also an alum of tech disrupter Tesla Canada. In addition to backing Vision Greens, Farm Credit Canada has been active of late, also recently committing C$60 million (US$43.6 million) to Glengarry Farm, which extends financing to local growers in need of capital.

As part of its expansion, Vision Greens plans to grow up to an additional 1 million pounds of saleable lettuce each year. With a mission to deliver locally grown, pesticide-free packaged lettuce that’s affordable, Vision Greens distributes its products to Metro and Food Basic Stores in the Ontario region as well as through foodservice accounts including Sysco and Bondi. Vision Greens said demand for its products is at capacity, prompting its expansion efforts.

Vision Greens’ new growing operation, which will be 100 percent devoted to lettuce, is slated to be online by mid-2025, paving the way for product deliveries across Canada. The company harnesses clean energy and water for its carbon-neutral growing process, consuming 95 percent less land and water than traditional crop farms. Additionally, its process results in 36x fewer carbon emissions vs. the process of importing lettuce, the value for which was $568 million as of 2022.

According to Crunchbase data, just over a dozen (14) indoor and vertical startups — growing crops like fresh greens, berries and tomatoes — have entered into unicorn status, raising at least $100 million in venture capital. However, much of the fundraising unfolded through 2022, since which time only a handful of companies have returned to the fundraising market. In that year, Vision Greens raised C$7 million.

One of the most high-profile indoor farming companies, California-based Plenty, has raised over $940 million since inception in 2014 for a reported valuation of $1.43 billion at last check. Among its high-profile backers are Walmart and Softbank.

Earlier this year, Plenty secured a joint venture with Alpha Dhabi Holding subsidiary Mawarid to make an indoor farming push in the Middle East in the coming years, targeting the production of several millions of pounds of vertically grown strawberries annually. Last month, Plenty debuted what it described as the “world’s first farm to grow indoor, vertically farmed berries at scale” in Richmond, Virginia.

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