BrightFarms adds four regional greenhouse hubs

BrightFarms has announced expansion plans that will see the company add four regional greenhouse hubs that will supply leafy greens to more people in the Eastern and Central U.S.

Greens from the new locations will begin shipping in 2024. The company says this will allow them to reach two-thirds of the U.S. and set the company up for 10-times increased revenue by the end of the 2025.

"Today’s U.S. salad supply chain is not sustainable, with over 95% of all leafy greens grown in two centralized, water-depleted regions on the West Coast. At BrightFarms, we’ve built a better solution,” said Steve Platt, chief executive officer of BrightFarms. “We grow our greens where people consume them, 365 days per year. With our four new greenhouse hubs underway, we’re excited to deliver the freshest, cleanest and most responsibly grown produce to two-thirds of the U.S. in a way that benefits the health of our consumers and the planet, while also providing fair and equitable wages and benefits to agricultural workers who feed our country.”

“Like Cox Enterprises, BrightFarms is committed to creating a better future,” said Steve Bradley, vice president of cleantech for Cox Enterprises. “This expansion of its greenhouses is another step towards investing and innovating controlled environment agriculture for the next generation. Cox is excited to partner in efforts to push the boundaries of possibility for indoor farming and help build a multibillion-dollar business.” Cox acquired a majority stake in BrightFarms in 2021.

The first hub – located in Yorkville, Illinois; about an hour’s drive from Chicago – is currently under construction. Additionally, hubs in Macon, Georgia and Lorena, Texas will break ground in the summer, while a planned hub in the Northeast will begin later in 2023. The location for the Northeast hub has not yet been announced.

BrightFarms says the four hubs will combine to add up to 200-acres of growing space and the capacity to grow roughly 150 million pounds of greens per year. Each hub will create more than 250 jobs as well. The company is also partnering with KUBO Group and Green Automation Group to build the farms.