Vertical Farming Startup, Vision Greens, Raises $7M to Deliver on its Mission to Improve Canada's Food System by Disrupting the Multi-Billion Dollar Lettuce Import Market

Jun 21, 2022

TORONTO, - Vision Greens, a Welland, Ontario-based vertical farm using proprietary growing technology to bring clean, better tasting greens to consumers, announces today it has raised $7M. Investors are purpose-driven business leaders, including members of the Canadian grocery segment focused on changing Canada's food system by bringing affordable, sustainably grown, fresh, local produce to market.

"Vision Greens has an edge in this emerging space because it has the technology and the methodology to scale quickly and provide millions of Canadians with an affordable, and sustainable way to eat," said Grant Froese, Vision Greens board member, grocery industry veteran and former COO, Loblaw Companies Limited.

With the investment, Vision Greens will expand its operations to grow 700k pounds of saleable produce annually and scale distribution to leading grocers and meal kit companies that currently include Metro, Pusateri's, and Goodfood.

The new funding also enables the fast-growing startup to deliver on its mission to positively impact the way Canadians eat by disrupting Canada's multi-billion dollar lettuce import market. It also puts Vision Greens another step closer to achieving its plan to be the number one consumer choice for lettuce, with the largest market share for locally grown greens in Canada.

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Video: Why Invest in Canada’s Seed Future? | On The Brink: Episode 3

Darcy Unger just invested millions to build a brand-new seed plant on his farm in Stonewall, Manitoba so when it’s time for his sons to take over, they have the tools they need to succeed.

Right now, 95% of the genetics they’ll be growing come from Canadian plant breeders.

That number matters.

When fusarium hit Western Canada in the late 90s, it was Canadian breeders who responded, because they understood Canadian conditions. That ability to react quickly to what’s happening on Canadian farms is exactly what’s at risk when breeding programs lose funding.

For farmers like Darcy, who have made generational investments based on the assumption that better genetics will keep coming, the stakes are direct and personal.

We’re on the brink of decisions that will shape our agricultural future for not only our generation, but also the ones to come.

What direction will we choose?

On The Brink is a year-long video series traveling across Canada to meet the researchers, breeders, farmers, seed companies, and policymakers shaping the future of Canadian plant breeding. Each week, a new story. Each story, a piece of the bigger picture.

Episode 3 is above. Follow Seed World Canada to catch every episode, and tell us: Do you think the next generation will have the tools they need to success when they takeover? How is the future going to look?