Vertical Farms Rush to Improve Kale Salad on a Path to Profitability

Kale might be a fixture on restaurant menus and with nutritionists, but vertical farmers aren’t convinced of its infallibility. Among their descriptions are that it’s “bitter,” “difficult to work with,” and “tastes like leather.”

That hasn’t stopped them from trying to tame it. Investors are plowing money into vertical farms, betting they can produce more palatable greens and attract a wider audience. In 2020, there were 99 deals in “novel farming systems,” the broader category of controlled environmental agriculture that also includes high-tech greenhouses and aquaponics, worth $1.3 billion according to AgFunder Inc., an agricultural venture capital firm. Startups in the space raised $26.1 billion in 2020, a 15.5% increase from the previous year. The market value of vertical farms is predicted to reach $15.7 billion in 2025. That lower forecast might give investors pause, but vertical farm operators think what they need is time.