GrowUp Urban Farms

GrowUp Farms is a UK-based aquaponics vertical farm which is the first to be the commercial aquaponics vertical farm that grows salads and herbs and produces fish. Aquaponics combines aquaculture (fish farming) and hydroponics (growing plants in water without soil) in a recirculating system. With production of about 20,000 lbs of fresh vegetables and 4,000 lbs of fish annually in their warehouse in Beckton, London, GrowUp is considered one of the largest vertical farms in the country.

In July 2023, GrowUp Urban Farms launched its Unbeleafable, three in range ready–to-eat salads, first-ever salad range grown by a vertical farm in the UK is expected to be sold in UK supermarkets starting from July.In April 2024, Unbeleafable rocket and baby leaves salad was named the best vegan side at the Vegan Food and Living Product Awards 2024 which is the third award for the product since its launching.

In March 2024, GrowUp Urban Farms appointed Will Howards as its new UK MD and CCO. Howard expects to support the company to grow the business and sell more than one million bags of salad per week. Also, The company has been awarded the ‘Best SME of the Year’ accolade at the edie awards and this happened to be the sixth award within six months.

Key customers and partnerships

In February 2024, The company partnered with SPAR by securing a listing for its award-winning Fresh Leaf Co. bagged salad. With this partnership, Fresh Leaf Co.'s red and green baby leaf salad will initially be available in more than 400 SPAR stores across the UK. In August 2024, the company partnered with Fresh Direct to implement vertical farming solutions for Fresh Direct’s fresh herbs and leafy greens.

Funding and financials

In July 2024, The company has secured GBP 38 million (~USD 49.4 million) in venture funding led by Generate Capital, marking a significant extension of the ongoing partnership between the two companies. Previously, In February 2024, GrowUp Urban Farms received an investment of GBP 100 million (USD 136.3 million) from Generate Capital, a California-based ‘green’ investment company, to finance the construction of a new vertical farm in Kent, UK.

In November 2023, The company secured GBP 29,000 (~USD 36 300) funding from Growing Kent and Medway’s Business Sustainability Challenge’ grant to start a trial of Salinity Solutions' batch reverse osmosis technology to reduce the environmental footprint of water treatment at Pepperness, company's Kent-based vertical farm.