GrowUp Receives £38M Investment from Generate Capital
Summary
The company intends to use the funds to expand its capacity, accelerate its leadership of the UK salad category, support the Unbeleafable and Fresh Leaf Co. brands, drive R&D of its Leaf Lab site in Cambridge, and increase its influence as a certified B Corp. This funding extends Generate Capitals 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.Founded by Kate Hofman and Tom Webster in 2013, GrowUp Farms is a vertical farming business and certified B Corp. Its farm uses technology and 100% renewable energy from the co-located bioenergy plant to create the ideal environment for their leaves, ensuring they receive the optimal balance of water, light and nutrients.GrowUp is the first vertical farm to have supplied branded, bagged salads to the countrys largest supermarket chain, Tesco, and to Iceland, SPAR, as well as other major food service customers.