October 28, 2021

By Lynda Kiernan-Stone, Global AgInvesting Media

Soli Organic, formerly known as Shenandoah Growers, has raised $120 million through an agreement with leading developer-led investment management firm Decennial Group, and has relaunched with a new corporate name and brand. 

Founded in 1989, Soli Organic is the first leader in the produce category to transition from field production to soil-based controlled environment agriculture. Its proprietary system and use of soil, water and energy-efficient technologies, and strategic farm locations have enabled it to achieve exceptionally low per unit costs for organic produce, on par with outdoor traditional production, and much lower than rival indoor agricultural producers – even non-organic.

The company’s success over the past 30 years has gained it total funding to-date of $125 million from a growing number of strategic food, agtech, and ESG-focused investors, including newly added equity partners Cascade Investment and Alexandria Venture Investments, who joined existing investors Advantage Capital Partners, Arborview Capital, DNS Capital, Middleland Capital, S2G Ventures, Skyline Global Partners, and XPV Water Partners.

“Through our proprietary soil-based, organic, indoor production system, Soli Organic is the first company to unlock the full value of controlled environment agriculture, including considerable cost savings and environmental benefits,” said Matt Ryan, CEO, Soli Organic.

This significant investment from Decennial Group is one of the largest of its kind for a CEA company to-date, and reflects Decennial’s commitment to preserving the natural and cultural resources of the communities it serves through environmentally responsible investments.

“Working with Soli Organic aligns perfectly with the Decennial Group core mission to add value for best-in-class operating companies seeking an optimized real estate investment and development solution,” said Scott Goodman, managing partner, Decennial Group. “We could not be prouder of this arrangement with Soli Organic, which we believe will support the company’s mission-critical real estate needs in a way that is effective, efficient and highly scalable, while maximizing social impact.”

For Soli Organic, this deal with Decennial is key to its plans for the expansion of its production capacity to meet growing demand.

In addition to its current seven working farms, the company ultimately plans to build an additional eight new farms. This capital from Decennial will fund the construction of three of these new facilities – each of which will span 100,000 square feet and will have an annual production capacity of 5 million pounds.

The company recently broke ground on the first of these farms funded by Decennial in Anderson County, South Carolina, with an estimated opening in Q2 2022. 

“Support from Decennial Group and equity partners enables Soli Organic to further scale and share those benefits with more retail customers and more consumers in more geographies,” said Matt Ryan, CEO, Soli Organic. “As a result, Soli Organic is well-positioned to continue to build on our strong legacy of financial and market performance, execute against our growth plan, and deliver differentiated organic products that meet existing and future customer demand.”

In support of its growth strategy, Soli Organic has made a series of strategic additions to its executive leadership team. These appointments include Matt Ryan, former Starbucks executive, in the role of CEO; Mike Buckey, former senior vice president with Postmates, in the role of chief financial officer; Cameron Geiger, former Walmart executive, in the role of chief operating officer; and Dr. Tessa Pocock, a leading plant biology and lighting expert, in the role of chief science officer.

– Lynda Kiernan-Stone is editor with GAI Media, and is managing editor and daily contributor for Global AgInvesting’s AgInvesting Weekly News and  Agtech Intel News, as well as HighQuest Group’s Oilseed & Grain News. She can be reached at lkiernan-stone@globalaginvesting.com.