Italian indoor farm tech company Planet Farms is to make what it claims is “the single biggest investment in vertical farming in the United Kingdom” – ploughing more than £25m into a new facility.
The business – which operates a vertical farm in Cirimido in Como, Italy – will begin construction on the new site later this year at an undisclosed location, with initial production planned for early 2027.
The new site – encompassing 20,000 sq m of growing area – will replicate the Cirimido farm, which supplies more than 25% of Italian grocers as well as several Swiss supermarkets, including Esselunga, Carrefour, Aspiag, Iper, Unes, Bennet and Coop Switzerland.
The company – founded in 2018 – said it would start supplying Waitrose stores in the UK this week with a range of Planet Farms branded salad SKUs, and was “looking to announce another major retail partnership in the near future”.
Planet Farms has established a joint venture with Swiss Life Asset Managers for the venture, with plans to develop multiple facilities across Europe, with another currently under development in Scandinavia.
“Reliable supply chains are mission critical to our customers and this partnership allows us to deploy the infrastructure to structurally address topical issues, including climatic volatility, a shifting global trade landscape, and sustainability,” said Luca Travaglini, chairman and CTO of Planet Farms.
Carlo Forattini, senior investment manager value-add infrastructure at Swiss Life Asset Managers, said vertical farms were becoming “the essential modality to produce essential food, becoming mission-critical for its direct and indirect customers”.
“This is validated by strong infrastructure characteristics, such as strong cash flow stability, long-term agreements, asset heaviness and increasing regulation,” he added.
Despite the promise of vertical farming, some companies in the sector have struggled to prosper.
Last month, Ocado-backed vertical farmer Jones Food Company was placed into administration, with 61 staff made redundant. One growers’ group said the collapse was “inevitable” due to fundamental challenges with the vertical farming business model making it hard for companies to make a profit.
Jones Food Company is not the only vertical farming business to face financial trouble in recent years, with Future Crops, Aerofarms, Agricool and Upward Farms among others having to cease production.
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