Kalera

Florida-based Kalera is a hydroponic vertical farming operator. It designs and develops its proprietary technology (HyCUBE technology) using IoT, big data, clean room, and AI-based process automation. The company grows leafy greens (lettuces and microgreens) and sells them to restaurants, grocery stores, resorts, and the cruise industry. Aside from supplying leafy greens, the company develops vertical farms for other companies using its patent-pending technology. In February 2022, Kalera announced that it would delist from the Euronext Growth Oslo stock exchange and was going public on the NASDAQ stock exchange by merging with Agrico Acquisition Corp.

To strengthen its technology, Kalera had completed two acquisitions as of August 2021: Vindara (for seeding technology, aimed at reducing cost and increasing yield) and  &ever GmbH (access to international markets, expand production capacity, and expand product offering). In October 2022, the company announced the divestment of Vindara and all assets of its international business, including &ever GmbH, to achieve the company’s goal of becoming cash-flow positive at its farms and a capital-light holding company. In January 2023, Kalera PLC’s International business was acquired by Netherlands-based indoor farming company Growy Holdings BV during the court supervised process in Germany over Kalera GmbH. In October 2023, the US assets of Kalera were acquired by Lactuca Holdings, LLC. for an undisclosed sum, with financial backing from private equity investment manager Sandton Capital Partners.

As of May 2022, Kalera operated five  hydroponic vertical farming facilities in the following locations: 1) Orlando: built in 2018 at the HyCube growing center; 2) Florida: a 33,000-square-foot facility built in March 2020; 3) Atlanta-Georgia: a modular-based facility considered the biggest in the Southeastern United States, with an area of 77,000 sq ft and a capacity to produce 11 million heads of lettuce every year; 4) Houston: expected to be Texas’ largest vertical farm, with plans to have begun harvesting by the end of September 2021; and 5) Colorado: a 90,000 sq ft facility opened in April 2022, with first harvest in May 2022. The Colorado facility has a capacity to produce 15 million pounds of greens per year and would provide its produce via 200 King Soopers stores across the city of Denver.

The company also reported that it planned to build more vertical farming facilities in Seattle, Columbus, Minnesota, and Hawaii, and it expected operations to begin by the end of 2021. In March 2022, Kalera announced that it had completed phase one construction of its Singapore facility at the Changi Logistics Center. The company expected first harvest by Q3 2022 and a capacity of 1,100,000 pounds of greens per year. 

Key customers and partnerships

Kalera has partnered with leading retail chains such as Kroger (400 stores), Publix (440 locations), H-E-B (340 stores), and Trader Joe’s (40 stores) to supply its vertically produced leafy greens and herbs. Kalera expected its retail store count to grow by 40% by the end of 2022. In May 2022, the company expanded its reach by partnering with US-based foodservice distributor US Foods, marking the largest vertical farming partnership for the latter. 

Funding and Financials

Kalera completed a private placement in July 2022, raising USD 10 million via the issuance of 2.5 million shares and warrants at USD 4 per share. Previously, in October 2020, Kalera completed a private placement in Oslo, raising around NOK 930 million.

Owing to its expansion plans, Kalera also secured two credit facilities early in 2022 to support capital expenditure and working capital needs: 1) a convertible bridge financing facility for up to USD 20 million. (March 2022) and 2) a 10-year USD 30 million senior secured note facility (April 2022)

The company reported strong top-line performance in FY2021, generating USD 2.9 million, up 221% YoY. However, Kalera’s operating losses increased 289% YoY, amounting to USD 35.2 million for the year.