Harvest London’s Journey in Changing Urban Agriculture

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Key Takeaways:

1. Sustainable Urban Agriculture Vision: Harvest London, founded by Chris Davies and Matt Chlebek, is pioneering in hydroponic vertical farming, aiming to create a sustainable food system and contributing to urban agriculture innovation.
2. Strategic Crop Selection and Market Focus: Initially focusing on specialty crops, Harvest London has diversified its crop selection, now including more market-driven choices like salads and herbs, with future plans to expand into the fruits and vine sectors.
3. B Corp Certification and Sustainable Practices: Harvest London’s B Corp certification has significantly influenced its operational ethos, leading to the adoption of sustainable practices like no single-use plastics, fair labor policies, and 100% renewable energy usage.
4. Collaboration with Octopus Energy: Partnering with Octopus Energy for renewable energy supply, Harvest London has developed a ‘vertical tariff’ for energy-efficient operations and contributes to grid stability through load-balancing initiatives.
5. Investment and Scalability Strategy: Harvest London focuses on long-term sustainability and profitability, engaging with infrastructure-focused investors for scaling up, which differs from traditional venture capital models.
6. Future Expansion and Risk Mitigation: The company is building one of the UK’s largest vertical farms in Beddington, emphasizing high automation, food safety standards, and risk mitigation strategies like multiple grow rooms to minimize pest infestations.
7. Redefining Urban Farming: Harvest London exemplifies the evolution of urban agriculture, combining hydroponic technology, B Corp principles, and efficient energy use, setting a benchmark for future urban farming models.

Harvest London, founded by Chris Davies and Matt Chlebek, is becoming a hub for sustainability and innovation in the food industry. Their goal is to create a sustainable food system using hydroponic vertical farming. Harvest London has successfully cultivated over 100 varieties of edible plants and has expanded its operations with a second farm in Leyton, East London. We had the privilege of sitting down with Chris Davies to discuss the significance of Controlled Environment Agriculture and its role in revolutionizing our food supply.

Davies’ partnership with a plant biologist, whom he met through mutual friends, was a key turning point. They started Harvest London on a small scale, self-funding and learning about the technology while building a customer base. The company’s growth was fueled by successive funding rounds.

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The core mission of Harvest London is to create a more sustainable food system, particularly in response to challenges like Brexit. He questioned the UK’s decision to leave the EU, noting that a significant portion of the UK’s fresh fruits and vegetables were imported, primarily from countries like Spain and Italy. Davies saw an opportunity to localize food production to offset imports rather than compete with local British farmers. He believes some industries, like food, might benefit from being less globalized, and this philosophy continues to guide Harvest London.

Harvest London’s Diverse and Strategic Crop Selection

Chris detailed the company’s unique approach to agriculture. Initially, Harvest London focused on the specialty crop market, growing edible flowers, Southeast Asian herbs, Mexican herbs, and other unique ingredients. This early phase targeted chefs, offering them access to exotic and unusual ingredients.

Harvest London, under the expertise of Chief Scientific Officer Matt Chlebek, has experimented with over 200 varieties, including herbs, leafy greens, fruiting vines like tomatoes, and even root crops like carrots and radishes. However, Chris recognized the challenges of scaling with specialty crops and shifted towards more market-driven selections like salads, mixed-leaf salads, and herbs.

Looking to the future, Davies sees potential in expanding into the fruit and vine market, including tomatoes, aubergines, cucumbers, and chilies. He also anticipates growth in pharmaceuticals, nutraceuticals, and cosmetics. Harvest London supplies to the food service industry, with clients like the London Pizza chain Pizza Pilgrims and corporate canteens of major companies like Google, HSBC, KPMG, and J.P. Morgan.

Chris explained how B Corp certification positively impacted Harvest London’s operations and ethos. The certification process pushed the small company to adopt anti-slavery and strong social policies, guiding their business model towards greater responsibility and sustainability. One example Davies cited is their no single-use plastic policy, which led them to innovate with reusable containers, streamlining kitchen processes and aligning with sustainability goals.

Davies also emphasized their commitment to fair labor practices, being a London Living Wage employer, and fostering a democratically-run organization, including plans to have an employee representative on the board. They operate on 100% renewable energy, adhering to their sustainability principles. He highlighted their partnership with Octopus Energy. Octopus provides 100% renewable energy, offering innovative services with detailed 30-minute pricing data, enabling Harvest London to optimize operations based on energy costs. Unique to their needs, Octopus developed a ‘vertical tariff’ specifically for vertical farms, offering cost-effective energy use during off-peak times. This collaboration also explores using vertical farms as a load-balancing tool for the power grid, demonstrating Harvest London’s commitment to sustainability and efficient energy use while contributing to the broader grid’s stability.

For Davies, B Corp certification provided a “North Star” guiding how Harvest London should grow and operate. He believes it’s easier for small companies to adapt and grow with these standards than larger corporations, where the weight of change can be overwhelming. The certification process allowed Harvest London to set and pursue aspirational goals, shaping their business into a sustainable and ethically responsible entity.

Harvest London’s Scalability Strategy and Investment Approach

Harvest London aims to scale up and grow in the next one to five years. They collaborate with an experienced conglomerate to streamline the process of building glass houses and vertical farms, reducing risk. Finding the right investors with patient capital is crucial for scaling up and optimizing growth in vertical farming.

Davies said that vertical farming did not always fit with the venture capital model, noting its focus on rapid growth and high returns, which may not align with the realities of building sustainable farming operations. Instead, Harvest London has engaged with private equity, particularly infrastructure-focused investors like the Foresight Group. They are known for their work in energy transition projects like solar, anaerobic digesters, and battery storage.

These infrastructure investors view vertical farms as part of the next wave of sustainable infrastructure projects. Unlike venture capital’s expectation of a 10x return quickly, with most investments failing, vertical farms can offer investors steady returns over a longer timeframe. This approach reflects a different financial model for building farms, where investors are more comfortable with significant long-term investments, viewing them as assets contributing to sustainable development. Davies’ strategy indicates a shift in how vertical farms are financed and scaled, focusing on long-term sustainability and profitability rather than rapid, unchecked growth.

Chris discussed the challenging strategic decisions related to the company’s future with Davies. They acknowledged the issue of power costs and the need to create a flexible model. Harvest London focuses on risk mitigation, for example, building multiple grow rooms to reduce risks like pest infestations. Davies talked about shifting the food production paradigm to reduce waste and benefit customers with locally grown fresh produce.

Harvest London and Foresight Group are building one of the UK’s largest vertical farms in Beddington, South London. The highly automated and profitable facility will benefit from a neighboring power plant and high food safety standards. The focus is on solving customer problems and making controlled environment agriculture sustainable in the long term.

Harvest London, led by Chris Davies and Matt Chlebek, epitomizes the evolution of urban agriculture through sustainable and innovative practices. Emphasizing hydroponic vertical farming, B Corp principles, and efficient renewable energy usage, the company has established itself in the local market while setting standards for future urban farming models. Their commitment to environmental sustainability is matched by a pragmatic approach to business, focusing on risk mitigation, demand-driven production, and strategic partnerships with infrastructure investors. With plans to build one of the UK’s largest vertical farms, Harvest London is redefining urban food production and demonstrating the commercial viability and environmental responsibility of vertical farming in urban settings.

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