Australian scale-up Stacked Farm has closed on an investor-led raise of $56million AUD, which will primarily be used for the continued expansion of the indoor automated vertical farming project. With construction plans for the next 7,000sqm facility underway (location still to be announced), Stacked Farm has announced their excitement to deliver “the largest output of leafy green produce per square metre of any indoor vertical farm in the world.”
CEO Conrad Smith speaks on behalf of the rapidly growing scale-up. “We are extremely please with the calibre of parties that have chosen to invest in our company, along with a number of supply chain partners, highlighting the strength of our technology and confidence in our team. Stacked Farm will continue to invest in research and development to extend our commercial capabilities beyond leafy greens and herbs, to include the likes of fruits and flowers.”
Founded in 2017, Stacked Farm works to “provide access to safe, quality, healthy food all year round, with our highly automated indoor vertical farming technology,” and to “produce only the best quality, healthy food that gets the tick of approval from consumers for taste, nutrition, and price-point, outperforming traditional farming in each one of these attributes”.
Dubbed the ‘future of farming’, indoor vertical farming offers a range of benefits to Australia’s food production sector:
- Products have improved consistency and longer shelf life
- Products are 100% traceable from farm to table
- 95% reduction in water use when compared to traditional production methods
- No pesticides or agrochemicals, thanks to controlled growing environment
- External weather conditions have no effect on produce, leading to consistent product quality across all seasons
- System supports the domestic Australian food chain, reduces carbon emissions, and expands potential for growing locations almost indefinitely
The Gold Coast facility is the first of its kind in Australia, and under continued construction, will include a fully automated operating farm, research and development lab, manufacturing division, and head office for Australian operations. Stacked Farm plans to construct additional 5,000-7,000sqm facilities in Brisbane (Queensland) and Melbourne (Victoria) in 2023.
Visit https://stackedfarm.com/ for more information.
