Bowery Farming to close

New York City-based Bowery Farming, a leafy greens, herbs and strawberries vertical grower, is reportedly ceasing operations, according to PitchBook, which referenced a document seen by it and company employees.

Bowery Farming, founded in 2015, utilized refurbished warehouses close to the communities it served in Kearny, N.J.; Nottingham, Md.; and Bethlehem, Pa.

The company opened its Farm X, an innovation hub for plant science in Kearny, N.J., next to Bowery’s original R&D Center of Excellence and first commercial farm in 2021. Bowery Farming said at the opening that Farm X would increase the company's research and development capacity by 300%.

PitchBook reported Bowery Farming conducted several rounds of layoffs in 2023 as the company struggled with its valuation plummeting. Last year the company also paused its previously announced plans to open facilities in Arlington, Texas, and Locust Grove, Ga., amid its valuation struggles.

PitchBook estimates the company at its peak was valued at $2.3 billion and raised more than $700 million in venture capital from investors such as Fidelity Management & Research Co., GV (formerly Google Ventures), General Catalyst, GGV Capital, Temasek, Groupe Artémis, as well as new participation from Amplo and Gaingels.

The company said it increased its retail footprint by more than 15 times between 2020 and 2023 and supplied almost 1,900 grocery stores and major e-commerce platforms, including Whole Foods, Ahold Delhaize, Amazon, Safeway/Albertsons and Walmart. The company also supplied its salad kits to Citizens Bank Park and Sweetgreen locations in the New York Tri-state area, which featured the Bowery Bowl.