80 Acres Farms Raises Funding Round Led by Barclays to Accelerate Growth in Automated Vertical Farming Technology
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HAMILTON, Ohio, November 2, 2020 (Newswire.com) - 80 Acres Farms, the sustainable solution for fresh, pesticide-free food, announced that it added Barclays as a strategic investor in the business, joining Virgo Investments, Orange Wings Capital, QuietStar Capital, and other family office investors.
80 Acres Farms is a 2019 fellow from the Unreasonable Impact Americas program and award winner recognized for their work addressing the global pandemic's effects. 80 Acres Farms addresses both sustainability and food security through growing food differently with vertical farming technology and reducing water usage by 97% on less than 1% of the land, with 300x the yield.
Mike Zelkind, CEO of 80 Acres Farms, said: "There has been an explosion in demand for fresh, locally grown, nutritious food, and this investment round enables us to continue to meet that demand at the right unit economics. We look forward to developing our relationship with Barclays and their global network through our shared passion for enhancing sustainability in this industry."
Andrew Challis, Co-Head of Principal Investments at Barclays, said: "80 Acres Farms can shorten the vulnerable, carbon-intensive supply chain and secure retailers and consumers with consistent, safe, fresh, sustainably grown food. This is an exciting investment proposition for Barclays as it supports our clients' and consumers' transition to a low-carbon economy and underpins our ambition to take a leading role in tackling climate change."
80 Acres Farms operates eight indoor farms in the U.S., including a new state-of-the-art facility in Hamilton, Ohio - built by an affiliated company, Infinite Acres - that will deliver 10 million servings in its first year. You can find 80 Acres' product of just-picked salads, tomatoes, cucumbers, herbs, and microgreens at Kroger, Whole Foods, The Fresh Market, Dorothy Lane Markets, Jungle Jim's Markets, and key National Foodservice Distributors including Sysco and US Foods.
About 80 Acres Farms
80 Acres Farms is a vertical farming leader providing customers with the freshest and most nutritious fruits and vegetables at affordable prices. Utilizing world-class technology and analytics, the Company offers customers a wide variety of pesticide-free food with a longer shelf life that exceeds the highest food safety standards.
For further information, please contact us at:
rebecca.haders@eafarms.com / +1 513-910-9089
About Barclays Sustainable Impact Capital initiative
As part of its broader commitments, Barclays will invest £175m of its own capital, led by the Principal Investments team, in fast-growing, innovative, environmentally-focused companies whose values are aligned with those of Barclays and which target the goals and timelines of the Paris Agreement. Investments will be strategic to Barclays, its clients, and the communities it serves, with clear scalable propositions that deliver both environmental benefits and economic returns.
For further information, please contact us at:
Investment Enquiries: PITeamInbox@barclays.com
Media Enquiries: emily.stead2@barclays.com / +44 (0) 7796 706166
Source: 80 Acres Farms