Vertical Farming Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report By Structure, By Component (Hardware, Software, Services), By Growing Mechanism (Aeroponics, Hydroponics), By Crop Category, And Segment Forecasts, 2024 - 2030

Research Methodology

A three-pronged approach was followed for deducing the vertical farming market estimates and forecasts. The process has three steps: information procurement, analysis, and validation. The whole process is cyclical, and steps repeat until the estimates are validated. The three steps are explained in detail below:

Information procurement: Information procurement is one of the most extensive and important stages in our research process, and quality data is critical for accurate analysis. We followed a multi-channel data collection process for vertical farming market to gather the most reliable and current information possible.

• We buy access to paid databases such as Hoover’s and Factiva for company financials, industry information, white papers, industry journals, SME journals, and more.
• We tap into Grand View’s proprietary database of data points and insights from active and archived monitoring and reporting.
• We conduct primary research with industry experts through questionnaires and one-on-one phone interviews.
• We pull from reliable secondary sources such as white papers and government statistics, published by organizations like WHO, NGOs, World Bank, etc., Key Opinion Leaders (KoL) publications, company filings, investor documents, and more.
• We purchase and review investor analyst reports, broker reports, academic commentary, government quotes, and wealth management publications for insightful third-party perspectives.

Analysis: We mine the data collected to establish baselines for forecasting, identify trends and opportunities, gain insight into consumer demographics and drivers, and so much more. We utilized different methods of vertical farming market data depending on the type of information we’re trying to uncover in our research.

• Market Research Efforts: Bottom-up Approach for estimating and forecasting demand size and opportunity, top-down Approach for new product forecasting and penetration, and combined approach of both Bottom-up and Top-down for full coverage analysis.

• Value-Chain-Based Sizing & Forecasting: Supply-side estimates for understanding potential revenue through competitive benchmarking, forecasting, and penetration modeling.

• Demand-side estimates for identifying parent and ancillary markets, segment modeling, and heuristic forecasting.

• Qualitative Functional Deployment (QFD) Modelling for market share assessment.

Market formulation and validation: We mine the data collected to establish baselines for forecasting, identify trends and opportunities, gain insight into consumer demographics and drivers, and so much more. We utilize different methods of data analysis depending on the type of information we’re trying to uncover in our research.

• Market Formulation: This step involves the finalization of market numbers. This step on an internal level is designed to manage outputs from the Data Analysis step.

• Data Normalization: The final market estimates and forecasts are then aligned and sent to industry experts, in-panel quality control managers for validation.

• This step also entails the finalization of the report scope and data representation pattern.

• Validation: The process entails multiple levels of validation. All these steps run in parallel, and the study is forwarded for publishing only if all three levels render validated results.

Vertical Farming Market Categorization:

The vertical farming market was categorized into five segments, namely structure (Shipping Container, Building-based), components (Hardware, Software, Services), growing mechanism (Hydroponics, Aeroponics, Aquaponics), crop category (Fruits Vegetables, & Herbs, Flowers & Ornamentals), and regions (North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, South America, Middle East & Africa).

Segment Market Methodology:

The vertical farming market was segmented into structure, components, growing mechanism, crop category, and regions. The demand at a segment level was deduced using a funnel method. Concepts like the TAM, SAM, SOM, etc., were put into practice to understand the demand. We at GVR deploy three methods to deduce market estimates and determine forecasts. These methods are explained below:

Market research approaches: Bottom-up

• Demand estimation of each product across countries/regions summed up to from the total market.

• Variable analysis for demand forecast.

• Demand estimation via analyzing paid database, and company financials either via annual reports or paid database.

• Primary interviews for data revalidation and insight collection.

Market research approaches: Top-down

• Used extensively for new product forecasting or analyzing penetration levels.

• Tool used invoice product flow and penetration models Use of regression multi-variant analysis for forecasting Involves extensive use of paid and public databases.

• Primary interviews and vendor-based primary research for variable impact analysis.

Market research approaches: Combined

• This is the most common method. We apply concepts from both the top-down and bottom-up approaches to arrive at a viable conclusion.

Regional Market Methodology:

The vertical farming market was analyzed at a regional level. The global was divided into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, South America, and Middle East & Africa, keeping in focus variables like consumption patterns, export-import regulations, consumer expectations, etc. These regions were further divided into fourteen countries, namely, the U.S.; Canada; Mexico; the UK.; Germany; France; Spain; Italy; China; India; Japan; South Korea; Singapore; Brazil..

All three above-mentioned market research methodologies were applied to arrive at regional-level conclusions. The regions were then summed up to form the global market.

Vertical farming market companies & financials:

The vertical farming market was analyzed via companies operating in the sector. Analyzing these companies and cross-referencing them to the demand equation helped us validate our assumptions and conclusions. Key market players analyzed include:

• AmHydro, AmHydro (American Hydroponics) is a U.S.-based organization that manufactures commercial food-grade growing systems for large and small commercial systems. The company also provides clean and local growing solutions. It develops nutrient formulations and additives and works with customers to create customized solutions for their needs. In addition, it offers various hydroponic systems, such as Nutrient Film Technique (NFT), Propagation Systems, Vine Crop Systems, Custom Systems, Medical Crop Systems, and Services & Consulting. The systems manufactured by the company are distributed in over 100 countries. Moreover, the company has partnered with prominent environmental control providers, greenhouse companies, and other industry experts.

• AeroFarms, AeroFarms, a U.S.-based company, builds and operates environmentally responsible indoor vertical farming systems. The company announced that it secured B Corp certification, which signifies that the company has successfully met the rigorous standards set by B Lab and has been verified as a socially and environmentally responsible organization. It uses the aeroponic growing system to grow plants and herbs without sunlight or soil. In addition, it uses various smart technologies, such as Smart Aeroponics to use 95% less water than field farming and zero pesticides; Smart Lights to control the shape, size, color, and texture of plants; Smart Data to review, test, and improve the constantly growing system; and Smart Substrate, a reusable cloth medium, to plant seeds, germinate, grow, and harvest different herbs and plants.

• BrightFarms, BrightFarms finances, designs, and builds indoor greenhouse farms at or near supermarkets to improve the supply chain by reducing time, cost, and distance. Moreover, the company focuses on improving the environmental effect of the food supply chain and increasing the relative consumption of fresh foods. The major aim of building greenhouses at or near supermarkets is to prioritize farmers, food quality, health, and the environment. The company’s farms produce fruits, vegetables, and herbs such as spinach, arugula, kale, basil, and tomatoes. It sells its products through retail stores in the U.S. and has formed retail partnerships with Giant Food Stores LLC (U.S.), Mariano's (U.S.), and McCaffrey's Food Markets (U.S.).

• EVERLIGHT ELECTRONICS CO., LTD., EVERLIGHT ELECTRONICS CO., LTD. is a leading manufacturer and supplier of high-power LEDs and infrared components. The company offers products such as high-power LEDs, Surface-Mount Device (SMD) LEDs, lamps, LED lighting modules, lighting components, optocouplers, digital displays, and infrared components for several applications, including agriculture, appliances, automotive, consumer products, and industrial. Within the agriculture industry, the company provides different color LEDs for horticulture and aquaculture sub-applications. These LEDs are expected to provide additional colors that are required to be added to the spectrum to achieve high quality and efficiency. The company provides all types of colors needed for replicating sunlight. The color LEDs offered by the company find applications in hydroponic farming. The company has marked its presence in countries such as China, India, Germany, U.S., Canada, Japan, Hong Kong, and South Korea.

• Freight Farms, Inc., Freight Farms, Inc. provides digital and physical solutions to create a local produce ecosystem. The company manufactures a flagship product called The Leafy Green Machine, a total hydroponic growing system that produces various herbs and vegetables. It also offers solutions to customers across North America and serves small businesses & entrepreneurs, hotels & restaurants, corporations, and educational institutions. In addition, it focuses on changing the food landscape by providing digital and physical solutions for forming a home-grown ecosystem on a global scale. The company decentralizes the food supply chain to focus on the reduction of impact on the environment caused by traditional agricultural practices. The company operates through 600+ farms in 41 countries, including 50 U.S. states and 3 territories.

• GrowUp Group Limited, GrowUp Group Limited is a B Corp-certified company that builds sustainable commercial indoor urban farms. The firm is a small-scale agricultural production unit that focuses on aquaponics & vertical farming. It uses aquaponics technology and vertical farming to harvest vegetables, herbs, and fresh fish yearly. It has introduced GrowUp Box, an aquaponics urban farm that produces around 435 kg of salads and herbs and around 150 kg of fish yearly. It also has an aquaculture unit called Unit 84, which has about 4,800 fish in a re-circulating system.

• Green Sense Farms Holdings, Inc., Green Sense Farms Holdings, Inc. is a U.S.-based company that builds commercial indoor vertical farms. The company uses effective indoor growing technologies to grow vegetables and herbs in grow rooms where all inputs are monitored and controlled. These grow rooms provide an ideal environment for plant growth and continuously monitor the humidity, temperature, lighting, and air circulation. The company has partnered with the top providers of growing equipment & greenhouse technology and integrated these technologies into its growing system.

• Vertical Farm Systems, Vertical Farm Systems is a private company that builds and installs multi-level growing systems. The firm develops controlled environment agriculture systems to produce food irrespective of climate conditions and geographic location. It promotes an intelligent and integrated system that focuses on bioponics growing technologies (soilless farming technique), energy use, and water use. The XA Series Automated Vertical Farming System offers automated technology that solves traditional farmers' problems, such as reduced water availability and climate change. The technology has a strong return on investment that makes farming competitive and profitable. Advantages of this system include reliable harvest, minimum overhead, maximum crop yield, a wide range of crops, and integrated technologies.

• Argus Control Systems Limited, Argus Control Systems Limited provides automated control systems for aquaculture, horticulture, and other related biotechnology industries worldwide, with the highest number of customers in North America. The company provides automation and specialty monitoring control applications to its customers. It also provides services related to integrated control for its customers’ facilities, such as remote assistance, on-site training & commissioning support, and routine & emergency support. The company serves its client in New Zealand, U.S., Canada, UK, Antarctica, and Australia.

• LOGIQS B.V., LOGIQS B.V. is engaged in producing and designing vertical farm systems. In addition, the company designs and produces the automatic plant benching mechanism for greenhouse horticulture. It operates through three business segments, namely vertical farming, greenhouse automation, and warehouse automation. It has marked its regional presence across North America, South America, South Korea, Europe, and Asia Pacific.

Value chain-based sizing & forecasting

Supply Side Estimates

• Company revenue estimation via referring to annual reports, investor presentations, and Hoover’s.

• Segment revenue determination via variable analysis and penetration modeling.

• Competitive benchmarking to identify market leaders and their collective revenue shares.

• Forecasting via analyzing commercialization rates, pipelines, market initiatives, distribution networks, etc.

Demand side estimates

• Identifying parent markets and ancillary markets

• Segment penetration analysis to obtain pertinent

• revenue/volume

• Heuristic forecasting with the help of subject matter experts

• Forecasting via variable analysis

Vertical Farming Market Report Objectives:

• Understanding market dynamics (in terms of drivers, restraints, & opportunities) in the countries.

• Understanding trends & variables in the individual countries & their impact on growth and using analytical tools to provide high-level insights into the market dynamics and the associated growth pattern.

• Understanding market estimates and forecasts (with the base year as 2023, historic information from 2017 to 2023, and forecast from 2023 to 2030). Regional estimates & forecasts for each category are available and are summed up to form the global market estimates.

Vertical Farming Market Report Assumptions:

• The report provides market value for the base year 2023 and a yearly forecast till 2030 in terms of revenue/volume or both. The market for each of the segment outlooks has been provided on region & country basis for the above-mentioned forecast period.

• The key industry dynamics, major technological trends, and application markets are evaluated to understand their impact on the demand for the forecast period. The growth rates were estimated using correlation, regression, and time-series analysis.

• We have used the bottom-up approach for market sizing, analyzing key regional markets, dynamics, & trends for various products and end-users. The total market has been estimated by integrating the country markets.

• All market estimates and forecasts have been validated through primary interviews with the key industry participants.

• Inflation has not been accounted for to estimate and forecast the market.

• Numbers may not add up due to rounding off.

• Europe consists of EU-8, Central & Eastern Europe, along with the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).

• Asia Pacific includes South Asia, East Asia, Southeast Asia, and Oceania (Australia & New Zealand).

• Latin America includes Central American countries and the South American continent

• Middle East includes Western Asia (as assigned by the UN Statistics Division) and the African continent.

Primary Research

GVR strives to procure the latest and unique information for reports directly from industry experts, which gives it a competitive edge. Quality is of utmost importance to us, therefore every year we focus on increasing our experts’ panel. Primary interviews are one of the critical steps in identifying recent market trends and scenarios. This process enables us to justify and validate our market estimates and forecasts to our clients. With more than 8,000 reports in our database, we have connected with some key opinion leaders across various domains, including healthcare, technology, consumer goods, and the chemical sector. Our process starts with identifying the right platform for a particular type of report, i.e., emails, LinkedIn, seminars, or telephonic conversation, as every report is unique and requires a differentiated approach.

We send out questionnaires to different experts from various regions/ countries, which is dependent on the following factors:

• Report/Market scope: If the market study is global, we send questionnaires to industry experts across various regions, including North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and MEA.

• Market Penetration: If the market is driven by technological advancements, population density, disease prevalence, or other factors, we identify experts and send out questionnaires based on region or country dominance.

The time to start receiving responses from industry experts varies based on how niche or well-penetrated the market is. Our reports include a detailed chapter on the KoL opinion section, which helps our clients understand the perspective of experts already in the market space.