GrowUp, the UK’s best-selling vertical farm, has raised £38 million investment to meet growing demand for its ready-to-eat salads.
The investment from Generate Capital, a sustainable infrastructure investment and operating company, will help expand capacity at GrowUp’s Kent vertical farm.
It will also support the Unbeleafable and Fresh Leaf Co. brands, drive R&D at its Leaf Lab site in Cambridge and increase GrowUp’s influence as a certified B Corp.
This funding extends Generate Capital’s existing partnership with GrowUp, following an initial financing in 2021 that enabled GrowUp to prove its energy-efficient growing system and start converting a five-acre brownfield site into the equivalent of 1,000 acres of grade 1 farmland in Kent.
GrowUp is the first vertical farm to have supplied branded, bagged salads to the country’s largest supermarket chain Tesco as well as to Iceland, SPAR and other major food service customers.
“With Generate Capital’s support, we have proved that vertically farmed salads are sustainable, cost competitive, and commercially viable, as well as tasty, healthy and long lasting,” said Marcus Whately, CEO of GrowUp.
“Together we can unlock a new salad category and meet growing consumer demand. Consumers want UK-grown, sustainable, longer-lasting leaves – grown without pesticides.
“We’ve been growing for over 11 years now. We’ve come a long way with Generate Capital’s support, since Kate Hofman and Tom Webster set up their first vertical farm in 2013, supplying salad leaves to London markets and restaurants.”
Generate Capital CEO and co-founder Scott Jacobs added: “GrowUp is one of the UK’s most exciting and innovative vertical farming operations, experiencing nearly 800% sales increase year over year.
“Their ability to quickly earn the trust of the UK’s largest retailers shows the appeal of their product lines, the strength of their team, and their ability to meet rising consumer demand for healthy, locally grown food.”