ROCKINGHAM, Va., Nov. 15, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — Soli Organic Inc. BB #:187801, the nation’s only soil-based, indoor farming company delivering 100% USDA certified organic produce, today announced plans to build a high-tech, automated indoor farm and co-located packing facility in the Brooks community in San Antonio, Texas.
The Brooks farm will add 100,000 square feet of growing, including six vertical layers of production capacity and an additional 40,000 square feet of processing to Soli Organic’s nationwide footprint, further enhancing the Company’s ability to meet the needs of retailers and end consumers through high-tech farms in strategic locations around the country.
Unlike the single-layer greenhouse technology used by some controlled environment agriculture (CEA) companies, Soli Organic grows in a denser and deeper six-level tray structure, that more efficiently uses horizontal and vertical space to drive significantly higher yields.
Soli Organic selected San Antonio and the Brooks community as the site of its next farm for its strategic location; the farm will further the Company’s ability to serve 3,000 retailers and millions of customers across the fast-growing Texas Triangle and across the Southwest region with more regionally-grown products. The new facility will also provide opportunities for both management and grower talent coming out of a robust university and community college system throughout this vibrant and developing area.
The natural benefits of its soil-based growing system – combined with maximal space efficiency and the highly targeted use of technology – enable the Company to offer fresh, 100% USDA certified organic herbs and leafy greens with all the sustainability benefits of indoor-grown produce, and at a much lower price point.
The Company recently unveiled ‘Indolce’ basil priced at nearly a dollar less per ounce on average than field-grown organic produce, one of many new, affordable and fresh products the Company will roll out in the near future.
“As Soli Organic continues to grow and scale operations around the country, we couldn’t be more excited to be expanding in Texas,” said Matt Ryan, Chief Executive Officer of Soli Organic. “We began our transition to indoor farming because we recognized early on some of the coming challenges of traditional outdoor farming, along with its adverse environmental impacts. As record-breaking heat, drought, wildfires and other extreme weather events take a mounting toll across the Southwest and other parts of the country, we aim to ensure consumers throughout the region have year-round access to the best-tasting, freshest and most affordable organic produce on the market.”
“We are thrilled to continue the momentum at Brooks as we welcome Soli Organic to the thriving 1,308-acre campus. The Company exemplifies innovation, environmental care, and job creation, all of which furthers Brooks’ Mission to promote and develop a dynamic, sustainable, and inclusive community by serving as a catalyst for transformative economic development and regional prosperity,” said Leo Gomez, Brooks President & CEO.
Today’s announcement follows Soli Organic’s recent close of a nearly $125 million Series D funding round, led by global investment group CDPQ with leading European investment firm Movendo Capital, B.V. also joining the round, along with follow-on investment from existing investors. The Company will use the funding to further expand its national footprint and scale its technology and operations.
The Company previously announced new organic indoor farms in the Seattle area and in Anderson County, South Carolina and is actively seeking sites for its next farms in the Midwest and Northeast to expand its category leadership with products in more than 20,000 stores nationwide, including most top 20 retailers.
About Soli Organic Inc.
Founded in 1989 as Shenandoah Growers, Inc., Soli Organic Inc. is the leading grower and marketer of fresh organic culinary herbs in the United States, providing sustainable, USDA-certified organic, regionally grown produce to retailers coast-to-coast. The Rockingham, Virginia-based company has developed the nation’s largest commercial indoor organic, soil-based growing system and continues to redefine how to bring fresh, organic, and sustainably farmed produce to market – operating across a nationally integrated platform of farms, production, and logistics facilities. For more information, please visit www.soliorganic.com.
About Brooks
Brooks is a growing mixed-use community of more than 1,300 acres where people can live, work, learn, play, and stay. Since its inception, the community has attracted nearly 50 businesses, to include five international companies, employing more than 3,200 people including Mission Solar, OKIN Process, Nissei America, Mission Trail Baptist Hospital, DPT Laboratories, The University of the Incarnate Word School of Osteopathic Medicine, Cuisine Solutions, Bridge PTS, the City/County Emergency Operations Center, Brooks Academy of Science and Engineering Charter School, Compass Rose Academy, several market-rate apartment communities, and a variety of restaurants and retail stores. For more information, visit LiveBrooks.com.
Media Contact:
Jackie Attwood-Dupont, Soli Organic Inc.
JAttwood-Dupont@SoliOrganic.com
