US-based Hippo Harvest, an indoor farming start-up, has secured $21m in funding to expand its greenhouse operations and product offerings into new categories of leafy greens.
The funding round, known as Series B, was led by Standard Investments, with additional investment from Congruent Ventures, Amazon’s Climate Pledge Fund, Hawthorne Food Ventures, and Energy Impact Partners.
Hippo Harvest CEO Eitan Marder-Eppstein expressed excitement about the company’s ability to scale production and reach more consumers with high-quality, sustainable produce.
Logan Ashcraft, principal at Standard Investments, who joins the food producer’s board of directors, commented: “Since inception, Hippo has delivered superior produce while maintaining cost efficiencies. Standard invests in companies disrupting traditional industries and we are thrilled to partner with Hippo on its journey to scale.”
Founded in 2019 and headquartered in San Francisco, Hippo Harvest develops sustainably-grown produce, with a portfolio that includes leafy greens and salad mixes under the Hippo brand name. The company’s products are available through Amazon Fresh and US-based local grocery chains.
The business utilizes “closed-loop, direct-to-root fertilizer systems, machine learning, and robots to grow fresh produce in repurposed greenhouses.” It suggests its greenhouse model “enables produce to be grown closer to consumers using fewer inputs (such as water, fertilizer, and energy).”
However, the indoor farming industry has faced challenges in recent times. Soaring energy prices in Europe have exposed cracks in business plans, leaving start-ups vulnerable. London-headquartered Infarm and New York-based Upward Farms are among the companies that have had to shift their operations due to industry complexity and external pressures.
