Plenty to Shift Focus from Leafy Greens to Strawberries
Indoor vertical farming company Plenty announced in December that after growing leafy greens in Compton, California, for about a year and a half, it will now focus on growing strawberries in Richmond, Virginia.
“This is a bittersweet moment in Plenty’s journey. Compton was our first commercial farm and marked our transition from a startup to a scaling business,” Plenty said in a LinkedIn post. “But the rising cost of doing business in California, including climbing energy prices, made operating here challenging. Closing this chapter was not a decision we made lightly, but it was a necessary step as we shift our focus to strawberries.”
The company went on to say how strawberries fill a supply gap in the industry and demand a premium price. According to Plenty’s post, this will set them apart from other vertical farming companies that produce leafy greens alone.
“While most vertical farms are limited to lettuces, Plenty spent the past decade designing a modular growing system flexible enough to support a wide variety of crops,” the post states. “That advanced technology, coupled with our close partnerships, make Plenty uniquely positioned to succeed in strawberries.”
Plenty partnered with Driscoll’s, a California-based seller of berries, in September 2024 to open its 40,000-square-foot facility in Virginia. This marked the first vertical farm to grow strawberries at scale, and the first harvest is expected early this year. By closing its Compton farm, Plenty says the company can dedicate all its efforts to cultivating fresh strawberries year round, per the LinkedIn post.
“While this is the end of our time in Compton, we will be working hard in Richmond to honor the contributions of our Compton teammates and grow strawberries with peak-season flavor all year long.”