Colorado residents will soon be able to shop local for lettuce and microgreens from Kalera, one of the world’s leading hydroponic indoor vertical farming companies, thanks to the opening of the company’s new Denver farm. Kalera is headquartered right here in Orlando, Florida.
The new farm is a nearly 90,000-square-foot facility, located at 18000 E 40th Avenue, in Aurora, Colorado. It is the company’s fifth domestic farm, joining a U.S. footprint that includes farms in Atlanta and Houston as well as two in Orlando. Globally, Kalera operates farms in Munich and Kuwait with a farm set to open in Singapore later this year. With today’s announcement, Kalera has officially started operations at the new Denver facility where the first harvest is scheduled for May.
“Increasing our national and global footprint has been a priority for our team as we seek to serve our major retail and food service customers,” said Curtis McWilliams, Kalera’s interim chief executive officer. “Opening this facility is an exciting step towards this goal, and we’re proud to serve urban communities like Denver with clean, nutrition-dense leafy greens that are accessible to local consumers.”
Kalera greens are pesticide-free and non-GMO, offering consumers fresh, clean, great-tasting lettuce. The climate-controlled environments at Kalera facilities allow for sustainable farming methods, such as water recycling and optimization of plant nutrient formulas that maximize production.
Currently, Orlando, Houston, and Atlanta, all Kalera’s large-scale farms in the US, are operating above the company’s 80% throughput yield target. Additionally, Atlanta and Houston (Kalera’s newest facilities prior to Denver) have achieved this performance significantly ahead of schedule.
Beyond achieving high yields, all Kalera farms are also making improvements in production capacity and corresponding revenues as demand for Kalera products continues to increase.
“Innovation is our focus, it’s what Kalera was founded on,” said McWilliams. “We are thrilled with these results, but not surprised, and are eager to bring this same efficient performance to our Denver farm.”
The Denver opening follows the news of Kalera’s recent merger with special purpose acquisition company, Agrico Acquisition Corp. The partnership will result in Kalera becoming the first vertical farming company to go public on the NASDAQ market, which the company plans later this year.
“Our partnership with Agrico will enable Kalera to fund the development of more farms worldwide,” said McWilliams. “We anticipate continued rapid growth in 2022 and are looking forward to providing food security to more urban communities.”
