Little Leaf Farms Nets New Funding Wave
February 18, 2021 
Little Leaf Farms doubled its indoor leafy greens retail sales last year to $38 million from 2019, and its lettuce is now available in more than 2,500 stores on the East Coast.
Greenhouse leafy greens producer Little Leaf Farms has netted more funding that will help with the company’s future expansion plans. So far, Little Leaf has raised $90 million in debt and equity financing. Equilibrium Capital led the latest funding round, with Coppermine Capital, joining founding investor Bill Helman and Pilot House Associates. Bank of America has also committed more than $20 million to date, with an additional $20 million planned in financing to support Little Leaf Farms’ indoor leafy greens growth. This capital is earmarked to build new sites on the East Coast to satisfy growing demand for baby greens with customers, large retailers, and foodservice providers.
“After opening our third greenhouse in Massachusetts last summer amid the pandemic, we have proven that we can bring the company to scale,” says Paul Sellew, Founder and CEO of the five-year-old company. “With our partners and committed financing, Little Leaf Farms is positioned to significantly disrupt the traditional lettuce industry and meet customer demand in a year when controlled environment agriculture is expected to soar. We continue to have record sales every week, and we only see that continuing.”
The company doubled its retail sales last year to $38 million from 2019, and its lettuce is now available in more than 2,500 stores on the East Coast.
The controlled environment agriculture (CEA) industry’s rapid expansion highlights the critical need to deploy advanced farming technologies to increase quality and utilize resources more sustainably.
“Over the last five years, we’ve focused on the most efficient and advanced growing technologies,” Sellew says. “That way, we can grow the highest-quality lettuce, at a scale and affordability that will allow Little Leaf Farms to become the best-selling packaged salad on the East Coast.”
With 10 acres of greenhouses in Massachusetts, Little Leaf Farms already produces more than two million boxes of lettuce each month. Last fall, it extended delivery and sales into New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania.
“We are supportive of Little Leaf Farms’ efficient growing methods, using sunlight and captured rainwater, to grow delicious lettuce that only travels locally so it remains flavorful,” says Randy Mitchell, a Senior Vice President of Global Commercial Banking at Bank of America. “We believe in the company’s environmentally and socially responsible mission as they expand into new markets on the East Coast.”
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