US retail giant Walmart has invested in vertical farming firm Plenty with plans to stock the start-up’s leafy green vegetables in all of its Californian stores.
While Walmart did not disclose how much it had invested in the San Francisco-based company, it said that one of its executives would join Plenty’s board of directors and would stock produce grown at its Los Angeles farm in 250 of its stores throughout California.
Walmart’s investment is part of a $400m (£296m) funding round for Plenty led by One Madison Group and JS Capital, with participation from SoftBank Vision Fund.
In a joint statement, Walmart and Plenty said they “will work collaboratively to create a new, market-leading product category in vertical farming by delivering the freshness and quality that Walmart customers expect, year-round”.
Walmart said Plenty’s vertical farming technology combines “engineering, software and sustainable crop science to grow multiple crops on one platform, at unprecedented speed”. Vertical farming uses soil-less techniques growing crops in vertically-stacked layers in a controlled environment.
A new era of agriculture
The deal makes Walmart the first US grocery retailer to significantly invest in a vertical farming start-up. Plenty products are currently stocked in some Albertsons and Whole Foods stores and are delivered by grocery companies Instacart and Good Eggs.
“At Walmart, we are focused on identifying and investing in innovative food solutions to bring our customers the freshest, highest-quality foods at the best prices. We believe Plenty is a proven leader in a new era of agriculture, one that offers pesticide-free, peak-flavour produce to shoppers every day of the year,” said chief merchandising officer Charles Redfield.
“This partnership not only accelerates agricultural innovation but reinforces our commitment to sustainability, by delivering a new category of fresh that is good for people and the planet.”
“Plenty’s unique farming system unlocks industry-leading crop versatility and unit economics by enabling indoor growing year-round,” said Plenty chief executive Arama Kukutai.
“Our farms can be sited anywhere allowing us to put fresh fruits, greens and vegetables on the shelf at all times, at speed, for maximum freshness. As a long-time market leader in retail innovation, Walmart is an ideal partner to test and scale access to our quality produce for their customers. This is a game-changer for the agritech industry.”
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