Sep 29, 2016

BrightFarms Completes $30.1M Series C Financing

BrightFarms, Inc. has announced a $30.1 million Series C equity financing, led by growth equity firm Catalyst Investors and joined by existing investors WP Global Partners and NGEN Partners.

With this financing, the largest equity investment to date in the controlled environment local produce industry, BrightFarms furthers its leadership position in transforming America’s food system to include more commercial-scale fresh, healthy, local and sustainable produce.

BrightFarms is now offering consumers baby greens and tomatoes at retailers such as Mariano’s (Kroger), Giant Food (Ahold USA), Wegmans and ShopRite, from local greenhouses near Chicago, Washington, D.C., and Philadelphia.

BrightFarms Chief Executive Officer Paul Lightfoot stated, “Having the backing of Catalyst Investors further validates BrightFarms’ innovative solution for providing consumers with fresh, local, sustainable produce at a commercial scale. This investment will enable us to dramatically expand our markets and provide more Americans with fresh, delicious, locally grown produce on a year-round basis.”

BrightFarms is pioneering the future of local, low-impact farming by building greenhouse farms that create permanent green collar jobs, significantly reduce food miles, and improve the environmental impact of the food supply chain, according to the company.  BrightFarms’ greenhouses use 80 percent less water, 90 percent less land and 95 percent less shipping fuel than traditional suppliers, according to BrightFarms. BrightFarms produce is grown with significantly less overall energy than the products it replaces on supermarket shelves. All BrightFarms produce is pesticide-free and non-GMO.

“Catalyst was attracted to BrightFarms because we believe they are the best in the industry, and because we like their unique business model of signing long-term, fixed-price contracts to guarantee a steady, year-round supply of fresh, local, pesticide-free and GMO-free produce to major metro markets,” said Tyler Newton, partner and research director at Catalyst Investors. “Produce grown in controlled environments will be a key part of the sustainable food chain of the future, requiring less land, water, energy and time for transportation than traditional agriculture. We look forward to helping BrightFarms lead the way.”

BTIG, LLC acted as Sole Placement Agent on the transaction.