Little Leaf Farms has arranged $18 million in financing from Bank of America, to be followed by another $20 million, to fund the company’s growth.
Little Leaf Farms is producing more than one million boxes of fresh greenhouse-grown baby green lettuce a month in Devens, Massachusetts, delivered to every major supermarket chain in New England within 24 hours, year-round. When the company expands from five acres to 10 acres with the opening of a new greenhouse in May 2020 at Devens, production of the sustainably-grown lettuce—which is free of pesticides, herbicides and fungicides—will double to two million boxes delivered to New York and New Jersey’s major supermarket chains.
Little Leaf Farms plans to break ground in the Eastern Pennsylvania region on a 20-acre greenhouse to supply stores locally, followed by another 20-acre greenhouse located in Western North Carolina. Each acre of greenhouse will yield 25 times that of lettuce grown on an outdoor farm.
Little Leaf Farms has pioneered a new and unique way to grow lettuce hydroponically. The company says it has incorporated many innovative features into its high-tech greenhouses, including using 100 percent captured rainwater and advanced fertilization and irrigation systems that use 90 percent less water than field-grown greens so there is no depletion of groundwater reserves.
With the world’s challenges in feeding a growing population in the era of increasing climate change, Little Leaf Farms has developed a model growing method that brings year-round sustainable farming to New England and the East Coast, lessening the reliance on West Coast-produced lettuce that is trucked thousands of miles across the country from California and Arizona.
Growing locally and shipping within 24 hours to local stores adds to the company’s efficiency. Little Leaf Farms says that no human hands ever touch the lettuce as it’s grown safely, with less risk of contamination.
“Having Bank of America so solidly behind us as we expand into several new regions is critical to our momentum,” said Paul Sellew, CEO of Little Leaf Farms, which he founded in 2015. “Customers have really responded to our lettuces, saying we have the best, most flavorful product, and we are now the number one packaged lettuce in New England. The support of the Bank of America team is going to help us move forward all the more.”
