CEA future still bright, says Little Leaf Farms, which expects to exceed $100M in sales in 2023
In the wake of recent indoor ag bankruptcies, including vertical farmer Kalera and greenhouse grower Lakeside Produce, the controlled environment agriculture grower Little Leaf Farms says it’s on track for a banner year in 2023 — projecting it will break $100 million in sales by the end of the calendar year.
Little Leaf Farms says the sales milestone comes as the Devens, Mass.-based company “continues to capture a significant share of the packaged lettuce segment,” according to a news release.
The brand says it recently rose to the No. 3 position in all packaged lettuce sales in the Northeast, inclusive of field-grown greens. Citing Nielsen data for the 52 weeks ending Feb. 25, 2023, Little Leaf Farms says it has maintained its leadership position in the CEA segment, with now nearly double the sales of the No. 2 CEA brand.
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"We're incredibly excited about what the future holds for Little Leaf Farms," Paul Sellew, founder and CEO of Little Leaf Farms, in the release. "We have an aggressive expansion goal of 100 acres under glass by 2026 and are well on our way to meeting that goal. We believe in the promise of CEA as a sustainable, scalable solution to the climate challenges facing field-grown crops and remain committed to our mission to bring fresh, sustainable leafy greens to all."
Little Leaf Farms says it is consistently improving on plant health, yield and production through the development of growing systems in partnership with vendors from around the world. The company points to the recent implementation of next-generation sensors and a data science system that it says allows it to quickly react to changes in the greenhouse, thus improving yields.
The company further says it has recently achieved a yield that is 30 times that of conventional farms. With just 30 acres, a Little Leaf Farms’ indoor greenhouse is achieving the yields a traditional farm would see on 900 acres, the release said.
Beyond a focus on science and tech, Little Leaf Farms also credits its people for its success.
Little Leaf Farms says it has placed a premium on not only attracting, but also retaining top talent. It has also implemented a robust training program for its employees to further career development by encouraging the adoption of new technical skills, the release said.
"Our technology is second to none," continued Sellew. "However, we have always operated from the position that we are a farming company before we're a technology company, and I think that mentality is the secret sauce that's allowed us to grow and remain profitable. As our recent sales numbers have shown, at the end of the day no one is going to buy your lettuce because you have the best tech — they're going to buy your lettuce because it tastes better than anything else out there."
