IRVINGTON, NY - An exciting expansion is set to get underway thanks to BrightFarms. In partnership with KUBO Group and Green Automation Group, the indoor farming company is expanding its growing space with four new regional greenhouse hubs, offering sustainably grown leafy greens to more people across the Eastern and Central United States.
“Today’s U.S. salad supply chain is not sustainable, with over 95 percent of all leafy greens grown in two centralized, water-depleted regions on the West Coast. At BrightFarms, we’ve built a better solution,” said Steve Platt, Chief Executive Officer of BrightFarms. “We grow our greens where people consume them, 365 days per year. With our four new greenhouse hubs underway, we’re excited to deliver the freshest, cleanest, and most responsibly grown produce to two-thirds of the U.S. in a way that benefits the health of our consumers and the planet, while also providing fair and equitable wages and benefits to agricultural workers who feed our country.”
These new locations will begin shipping to retailers in 2024 to help fulfill the increasing demand. According to the company’s release, this expansion and commitment to innovation are expected to set BrightFarms up for 10x revenue growth.
Construction is already underway on the first regional hub in Yorkville, Illinois. BrightFarms will break ground on similar facilities in Macon, Georgia, and Lorena, Texas, this summer. The fourth hub will be built in the Northeast later this year. Each location is strategically positioned near a major metropolitan area and has a combined up to 200-acre footprint with the ability to produce approximately 150 million pounds of leafy greens per year once complete. Each regional hub will also create more than 250 jobs in the agricultural sector—more than 1,000 total—at full scale.
Cox Enterprises acquired BrightFarms in 2021. This acquisition marked one of the first purchases of an indoor agriculture technology company by a blue-chip investor, signaling a significant shift in the growth of the CEA industry.
“Like Cox Enterprises, BrightFarms is committed to creating a better future,” said Steve Bradley, Vice President Of Cleantech for Cox Enterprises. “This expansion of its greenhouses is another step towards investing and innovating controlled environment agriculture for the next generation. Cox is excited to partner in efforts to push the boundaries of possibility for indoor farming and help build a multibillion-dollar business.”
To learn more about this expansion, click here.
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