BrightFarms is an Irvington, N.Y.-based next-generation indoor farming company that supplies U.S. grocery retailers with locally grown packaged salad greens. It operates hydroponic greenhouse farms in the communities it serves and is led by CEO Steve Platt. The company currently has operations in Illinois, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Virginia, and has three new farms under development in North Carolina, Massachusetts and Texas. BrightFarms distributes its products to more than 2,000 stores and expects to expand distribution to more than 15,000 stores by 2025. The company plans to use the new funding to invest in its current farms and retail programs and to expand its network of regional indoor farms across the U.S. BrightFarms is the No.1 brand in locally grown packaged salads and builds and operates greenhouse farms near major metropolitan areas to provide supermarkets with locally grown produce. Its core product is locally grown packaged salads and other produce sold to leading national retailers including Kroger, Ahold, Albertsons and Walmart. The company partners with supermarkets, cities, capital sources and vendors to finance, build and operate local greenhouse farms that deliver a one-week freshness advantage, innovative varieties and a more reliable, safer supply chain. BrightFarms’ growing methods use 80 percent less water, 90 percent less land and 95 percent less shipping fuel than long-distance, centralized and field-grown suppliers; all produce is pesticide-free and non-GMO. The company currently operates facilities in Pennsylvania, Virginia and Illinois, with a new farm in Ohio opening this summer and a Texas facility planned for early 2019 to support rapid national expansion. The recent $55 million Series D equity financing led by Cox Enterprises will fund continued growth of BrightFarms’ network of local and sustainable farms. BrightFarms operates controlled‑environment greenhouses that produce salad greens and other fresh vegetables for local grocers, aiming to replace long‑distance and imported produce. The company offers grocers long‑term, fixed‑rate produce purchasing agreements that help underwrite new greenhouse builds. After locking a purchasing agreement, BrightFarms raises capital from economic development programs, banks, and equity firms to finance construction, meaning much of its cost of goods is committed revenue before a site opens. The firm emphasizes using natural sunlight in greenhouses to be more energy‑ and water‑efficient than indoor, container, or traditional farms. BrightFarms currently operates three greenhouses (each employing 25 full‑time workers) in the greater Philadelphia, Washington D.C., and Chicago metro areas. It plans to build additional greenhouses and expand into new crops such as peppers and strawberries, and may consider markets like California in the future. BrightFarms develops and operates local greenhouse farms that supply pesticide-free produce to supermarket clients. Its greenhouses are designed to use less water, land, shipping fuel and energy than conventional produce sources. The company partners with supermarkets, cities, capital sources, and vendors to finance, build and run facilities. It has three commercial-scale greenhouse facilities in operation or development across the Midwest and East Coast. BrightFarms has $100M in contracted commitments from supermarket clients and has raised more than $40M in capital to date. The company plans to use the new funds to build additional commercial-scale greenhouses and further invest in its capacity to provide high levels of customer service; it is led by CEO Paul Lightfoot and based in New York City. BrightFarms finances, builds and operates local greenhouse farms and signs long-term purchase agreements with supermarkets featuring fixed prices and minimum volume commitments. The company focuses on growing local produce nationwide by partnering with cities, capital sources and vendors to develop markets and projects. Led by CEO Paul Lightfoot, BrightFarms operates a vertically integrated model that ties farm development to offtake agreements. In conjunction with its recent financing, Gregory S. Oberholtzer of WP Global joined BrightFarms' board. The company raised an additional $2.4M in Series B financing, bringing that round to $7.4M. To date BrightFarms has raised close to $20M in capital.

Total raised

$210M

Funding rounds

8

Latest round

Series E

Latest activity

Oct 2020