McCain Foods has become the largest shareholder in TruLeaf Sustainable Agriculture and its wholly owned subsidiary GoodLeaf Farms, which the French fry giant describes as “Canada’s largest commercial vertical farming operation”.

Three years on from McCain’s first investment in Truleaf, the frozen-food group has moved again to back the business and has now ploughed more than CAD65m (US$51.9m) into the firm, which runs a 45,000 square foot facility in Guelph, Ontario.

Peter Dawe, McCain’s chief growth and strategy officer, said the company wanted to help “scale up of this Canadian start up that lives at the intersection of food, agriculture and technology”. He added: “GoodLeaf’s vertical farm technology creates spring and summer growing conditions in Canada year-round, growing local, fresh, healthy and tasty leafy greens instead of being trucked long distances into Canada.”

The vertical farmer grows five microgreens and three baby greens for the domestic market. It is planning to set up to more farms by the end of the year to serve retail and foodservice customers in the east and west of Canada. Current retail customers include Loblaws and Whole Foods Market.

Barry Murchie, Goodleaf’s CEO, said: “”We want to be a global leader in vertical farming. Our first step to accomplishing that is ensuring we have a strong footprint in Canada, giving Canadians access to top quality, nutrient-dense, sustainably grown and pesticide-free leafy greens 365 days a year.”

How well do you really know your competitors?

Access the most comprehensive Company Profiles on the market, powered by GlobalData. Save hours of research. Gain competitive edge.

Company Profile – free sample

Thank you!

Your download email will arrive shortly

Not ready to buy yet? Download a free sample

We are confident about the unique quality of our Company Profiles. However, we want you to make the most beneficial decision for your business, so we offer a free sample that you can download by submitting the below form

By GlobalData
Visit our Privacy Policy for more information about our services, how we may use, process and share your personal data, including information of your rights in respect of your personal data and how you can unsubscribe from future marketing communications. Our services are intended for corporate subscribers and you warrant that the email address submitted is your corporate email address.

just-food analysis, December 2020: What are the prospects for vertical farming in Europe?