Dream Harvest Farming Company, a Houston-based vertical farming pioneer founded in 2015, announced it has secured a $50 million capital raise from Orion Energy Partners. The funds will be used to scale production and meet significant demand with the construction of a new 100,000-square foot indoor growing facility, enabling it to serve additional retailers and scale its current operations.
“Our fundamental mission is to sustainably produce farmed foods that are consumed – not wasted – through centralized production, local distribution and a creative approach that resonates with today’s health-conscious consumers,” said Zain Shauk, co-founder and CEO of Dream Harvest. “Demand for our produce has far out-paced supply, an encouraging validation of our approach as well as positive news for our planet, which is facing the rising problem of food and resource waste. While we have the yields today to support our business, we are pleased to partner with Orion on this financing, which will enable us to greatly expand our production and increase access to our produce for many more consumers.”
With a presence in a number of grocery stores and restaurants in the South, including in every Whole Foods store across four states, as well as the restaurant chain Sweetgreen, Dream Harvest has long-standing relationships with its customers and is a well-recognized brand, having been on the market for nearly five years. Dream Harvest specializes in a variety of herbs, baby greens, kale and other lettuce varieties, all sold under its Dream Harvest Farming Company brand. Dream Harvest is a “science first” farming company with a successful business model and attractive unit economics supported by its multi-year record of impressive and consistent growing yields. It is currently pursuing ongoing experimentation with roughly 20 additional produce varieties and expects to expand distribution to more than 250 retail locations in 2022.
“We are very excited for our capital partnership with Dream Harvest to fund the next phase of their infrastructure buildout in support of the company’s well-established and innovative approach to vertical farming,” said Nazar Massouh, CEO and Co-Managing Partner of Orion. “Orion’s focus on sustainable infrastructure and deep experience in building large industrial facilities will be complementary to Dream Harvest’s impressive track record of being a reliable supplier to high caliber customers by achieving consistent yields, food safety and operational efficiencies over the last five years. On behalf of the entire Orion team, I would like to thank Zain and his colleagues for selecting Orion to be their capital partner.”
For more information:
Dream Harvest
www.dreamharvestfarms.com