Upward Farms

Upward Farms (formerly known as SEED & ROE) produces both microgreens and fish using the aquaponics growing system, and sells its products to nearby grocery stores. Its hybrid striped bass, which is a combination of two fish categories (striped bass and white bass), is raised sustainably and in a controlled environment at its Brooklyn Farm, without incorporating hormones, antibiotics, or mercury. The company has stated that its aquaponics system has helped to reduce crop disease to 1% for every harvest and boost crop yield to more than 2x higher than the hydroponics system. In May 2021 , Upward Farms—which planned to open its new headquarters in Brooklyn, New York, by late 2020—announced the launch of this new headquarters which would also be the only certified organic vertical farm in the Northeast US. The headquarters would house both commercial production and research and development facilities and is expected to increase production by 20x compared to its original capacity. Supporting the plan to increase production, Upward Farms announced in January 2022 that it was building a 250,000 sq ft vertical farm in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania. The farm was expected to open in 2023, where it would supply vertically grown fresh microgreens and hybrid striped bass to 100 million Americans in the Northeast US and beyond in a single day of distribution.

Upward Farms’ ready-to-eat microgreen mixes can be found in Whole Foods outlets across Brooklyn and were expected to be available in all outlets in New York City by the end of 2021. The company said that it expected to expand facilities further to meet the growing demand in the Northeast US and beyond. 

Key customers and partnerships

In December 2021 , Upward Farms collaborated with GreenPoint Fish and Lobster (a seafood restaurant and market in Brooklyn) to offer its sustainably raised fish type “hybrid striped bass” to New York consumers for the first time.The company also revealed plans to expand its footprint in 2022, targeting consumers on the East Coast in December 2021. Upwards Farms also partnered with leading packaging line solutions provider Harpak-ULMA in June 2022 to launch fully automated, scalable packaging operations at the company’s vertical farming facilities, starting with the upcoming Pennsylvania facility. 

Funding and financials

In June 2021, the company raised USD 121.7 million in Series B funding (investors undisclosed).