The world’s first farm to grow indoor, vertically farmed berries at scale opened in September 2024 in Richmond, Virginia. Opened by a company called Plenty Unlimited Inc., partnered with Realty Income Corporation, the new facility will support its development of the world’s largest indoor vertical farms campus, with a focus on scaling sustainable agriculture technology and creating a significant impact on food supply systems. According to its press release, Plenty farms are the world’s most technologically advanced farms–removing Mother Nature’s unpredictability and making it possible to grow produce with peak-season flavor, year-round, almost anywhere in the world, without the need for sun or soil. The Plenty Richmond Farm is designed to produce more than 4 million pounds of strawberries annually in less than 40,000 square feet by growing vertically on 30-foot-tall towers. The farm will exclusively grow Driscoll’s strawberries, combining Plenty’s advanced technology with global premium berry leader Driscoll’s advanced genetics. Driscoll’s insists, by the way, that its strawberries, whether conventional or organic, are not genetically modified. The first strawberries from the farm will be available in early 2025.

To get its indoor vertical farms campus off the ground, Realty Income will acquire and fund the development of properties for Plenty’s indoor vertical farms. The properties will be leased to Plenty under long-term net leases, and the agreement includes up to $1 billion in investment opportunities. Its Richmond, Virginia campus project is expected to produce 20 million pounds of strawberries annually in collaboration with Driscoll’s, targeting the Northeast market. But plans cover the entire country. With Walmart as an investor, Plenty has also expanded its operations into the West Coast, where a New Compton farm will support this expansion. The New Compton farm can grow up to 4.5 million pounds of baby arugula, baby kale, lettuce, and curly baby spinach each year on what equals a single city block. Walmart’s partnership with Plenty granted it the right to start sourcing leafy greens for all of its California stores from Plenty’s farm and a seat on its board.

As it aims to dominate vertical indoor farming, Plenty has forged other significant partnerships and made technological advancements that are literally transforming agriculture. In 2020, Plenty partnered with Albertsons to supply fresh produce to more than 300 stores in California. Since then, its greens have become available at Bristol Farms and Whole Foods Market stores in Northern California, as well as local grocers in Compton. Additionally, as previously mentioned, Plenty’s partnership with Walmart introduced a brand of indoor-grown, pesticide-free produce in Southern California stores, reinforcing its commitment to sustainable, year-round food production.

A closer look at Plenty’s innovative 3D vertical architecture reveals that it allows for up to 350 times more yield per acre than traditional farming methods. The vertical towers, which are nearly two stories tall, maximize efficiency and significantly reduce space requirements. Furthermore, these farms are designed to save millions of gallons of water annually compared to conventional field farming, making them an environmentally sustainable solution to modern agricultural challenges. Plenty’s New Compton farm illustrates the viability of scaling vertical indoor farming with positive unit economics. Plenty believes this milestone is a step toward integrating indoor-grown produce into the global food supply.

Along with its just-opened vertical strawberry farm near Richmond and the developments already mentioned, Plenty recently finalized the design for its most recent facility that will accelerate crop deployment and expand research and development beyond produce. The new structure, dubbed the world’s largest vertical farming research center, is located in Laramie, Wyoming. Plenty is currently dedicated to cultivating food indoors. Still, Plenty believes its vertical growing platform’s versatility and clean, controlled environment opens possibilities for growing plants beyond fresh produce, including applications in food ingredients and pharmaceuticals. Plenty notes that its continued investment in R&D, combined with the increased research space in its new Laramie facility, enables the company to explore opportunities to innovate through research partnerships with governments, companies, institutions, and more. With the ultra-processed food industry destroying our health, this sounds like a win-win as long as Plenty’s products remain non-GMO, pesticide-free, and are nutritious (we are unsure if products are being tested for nutrient density), and delicious. And Bill Gates keeps his hands off. So far, so good, but time will tell.

Make no mistake, though. Plenty’s R&D platform combines advanced genetics and breeding, custom hardware and growing environments, and AI and data analytics. Plenty expresses this advanced technology enables the rapid expansion of its crop diversity, building on the success of cultivating more than 50 different crops—including berries, tomatoes, peppers, and squashes—within its vertical growing system. By leveraging its R&D platform, Plenty’s scientists can evaluate new plant varieties for flavor and quality, optimize yields, and ensure the economic viability of its farms. Speaking of its new Laramie research center, Sasha Preuss, Vice President of Plant Sciences at Plenty, remarked:

“The next generation of Plenty’s R&D platform that we’re deploying in Wyoming enables us to develop new crops at a much faster rate and expand the portfolio of plants we can grow in Plenty’s patented vertical growing system. We just announced our expansion of Plenty farms to the Middle East and the research capabilities we have here in Wyoming make it possible for us to develop additional crops that can be grown in those farms – increasing regional production and food security despite the very different climates. That’s a big advantage to having both research and commercial farm environments that are totally controlled.”