Leading Indoor Spinach Grower BrightFarms Enters Exclusive Licensing Deal With Partner Element Farms

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Sep 19, 2023, 09:00 ET

Agreement To Satisfy Growing Need For Locally, Indoor-Grown Spinach Throughout The Northeast

IRVINGTON, N.Y., Sept. 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- In a landmark move for sustainable agriculture, BrightFarms is teaming up with Element Farms to set a new standard for indoor-grown produce in the Northeast. Both trailblazers in sustainable, controlled environment agriculture (CEA), this mutually beneficial partnership allows BrightFarms to distribute Element Farms' indoor-grown spinach throughout the Northeast under the BrightFarms brand, further satisfying the strong consumer demand for high-quality, locally grown spinach.

"This partnership with Element Farms is an important step forward for BrightFarms. We will continue to be leaders in CEA salads, delivering the assortment our retail partners and consumers demand," said Steve Campione, CFO and EVP of strategy at BrightFarms. "BrightFarms has been the leader in indoor spinach production since we launched the product in retail stores in 2016. Partnering with Element Farms gives us greater supply leveraging two models for successful spinach production."

"We are thrilled to be partnering up with BrightFarms, a company we've admired for a long time, on this deal that will expand the reach of our indoor-grown spinach impressively," said Serdar Mizrakci, CEO of Element Farms. "BrightFarms' mission is similar to ours and they are just as passionate about sustainability and indoor-grown innovation, which is what is truly going to make this relationship successful long-term."

In a testament to a shared vision for sustainability, key retailer partner The Giant Company will be the first to introduce the product across all 190 stores. The decision to partner with Giant is driven by the shared focus on sustainability by all three companies. Matt Novosel, Category Manager at The Giant Company, adds: "We are excited to bring more locally grown spinach to our consumers year-round. Spinach is an important part of our salad assortment and the freshness we can deliver with this program is exactly what our consumers want."

This is only the latest in a series of strategic growth moves for BrightFarms. Earlier this year, BrightFarms announced the development of four massive new regional greenhouse hubs in response to surging consumer demand, which are expected to set BrightFarms up for 10x revenue growth by 2025. Construction of three of these hydroponic farms, each with a 40-acre footprint and the ability to produce nearly 30 million pounds of leafy greens per year and 250 local jobs, is already underway to truly create a new, indoor-grown salad supply chain on the East Coast and Central U.S. and meet the growing demand for locally-grown, fresh produce.

In 2022, BrightFarms was the first indoor salad grower to launch Crunch Kit™ Salads, with two varieties: Chickpea Caesar and Sunny Bacon. This October, BrightFarms will also begin to ship two new varieties of these kits, in on-trend flavors Southwest Chipotle and Mediterranean, further solidifying its position as the #1 indoor brand of salad kits.¹

To stay updated on this exciting partnership and BrightFrams' journey towards sustainable agriculture, visit www.brightfarms.com.

¹ Source: SPINS, in both units and dollars sold over the last 52 weeks, ending 7/16/23.

About BrightFarms
BrightFarms is a national leader in the booming indoor farming industry, transforming how produce is grown and delivered with its expanding network of high-tech, sustainable hydroponic farms. Acquired by Cox Enterprises in 2021, BrightFarms operates hydroponic greenhouse farms in the communities it serves, enabling it to eliminate time, distance and costs from the food supply chain. The BrightFarms' growing method is a model for the future of scalable, sustainable local farming. BrightFarms currently operates six high-tech greenhouse farms in New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Virginia, North Carolina, Ohio and Illinois, with four new regional salad greenhouse hubs breaking ground to begin opening in 2024. BrightFarms' fresh lettuce options, from classic greens to crunchy mixes and salad kits, are available in more than 3,700 retail stores across the East Coast and Midwest. To learn more about BrightFarms and find a store near you, visit www.brightfarms.com.

About Element Farms
Element Farms is a sustainable farm based in Lafayette, N.J. The company grows its greens hydroponically and without pesticides in a controlled-agriculture environment, which means it can manage the light, carbon dioxide, water and nutrients given to its crops. Element Farms also never uses pesticides, herbicides or fungicides. To learn more about Element Farms, visit www.element-farms.com.

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SOURCE BrightFarms