Planet Farms Closes €17.5 Million Financing Round

SACE and UniCredit support Planet Farms’ investment and growth plans. The company, which has been operating since 2018 in the vertical farming sector, has obtained a €17.5 million loan, granted by UniCredit and assisted by SACE’s Green Guarantee, to build a plant in Cirimido, in the province of Como, for the indoor hydroponic cultivation of vegetables, starting with baby leaf salads and basil, through vertical farming technology.

Planet Farms’ production method is characterized by fully automated processes, a controlled environment isolated from the outside to exclude contact with pathogens and consequently the use of pesticides and pesticides, as well as significantly reduced water consumption (-95 percent) compared to traditional farming. Planet Farms was born in Milan from the combination of food tradition and technological excellence, with the mission to push the evolution of the agricultural sector towards a new sustainable and efficient frontier, always respecting the pillars of the Made in Italy agricultural tradition.

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The Rise of Vertical Farms

By 2050, more than 80 percent of the world’s population will live in ever-larger urban centers, and one of the answers to the need to feed 9 billion individuals without consuming land are Vertical Farms, energy self-sufficient buildings designed to house the cultivation of plant species for food, through entirely organic indoor agricultural production systems.

The goal is to improve efficiency in the use of natural resources and soil by making food production independent of climate and land conditions using specially dedicated building structures in or near large urban centers. An efficient and high-yielding type of cultivation that enables the protection of ecosystems. Planet Farms is already operational with its first vertical farm, the largest in Europe, in Cavenago, in the province of Milan. Planet Farms products are aimed at the fresh packaged and ready-to-eat market and are mainly intended for the large-scale retail trade (GDO).

The statements

“We are very satisfied with the outcome of the transaction conducted with SACE and UniCredit,” said Daniele Benatoff, co-founder and co-CEO of Planet Farms Group, “which allows us today to start the construction of the new farm in Cirimido, which will be much larger than the more than ten thousand square meters of Cavenago, allowing Planet Farms to considerably expand its production capacity and explore new potentialities of vertical farming, as well as increasingly efficient production techniques, including from the energy point of view.”

“This operation,” stressed Enrica Delgrosso, Mid Corporate Northwest Manager of SACE, “strengthens our support for the growth plans of Planet Farms, a reality in which technology, innovation, sustainability, and vision are combined with Italian know-how. This intervention confirms SACE’s commitment to supporting the agri-food sector and its supply chain by promoting technologies aimed at the ecological transition, in line with the objectives of our new industrial plan Insieme2025.”

“UniCredit has made a concrete commitment to the transition to a green and sustainable economy. Marco Bortoletti, Regional Manager Lombardy at UniCredit, affirms. With this new transaction, we are pleased to continue to support Planet Farms’ ambitious business development plan and the related expansion of production capacity.”

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(Featured image by BrightAgrotech via Pixabay)

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