UPDATE: June 29, 2022: Kalera made its official debut on Nasdaq under the ticker symbol KAL following the approval of its merger with Agrico Acquisition Corp. during a shareholders’ meeting on June 28. The last trading day for Kalera on the Euronext Growth Oslo exchange was June 27, with shares starting at $14 each. “The completion of this merger will accelerate significant commercial growth across all our nutritious products, allowing us to enter the next phase of our journey as a public company and strengthen our position as a market leader,” stated Kalera President and CEO Jim Leighton.
Can a company focused on the sustainability of local food also make a national or even global impact in the industry? Kalera is set to explore this possibility. “The merger with Agrico enables Kalera to become the first leafy green vertical farm company with a national presence in the U.S. while ensuring reliable supply for a national off-take contract, all while maintaining local roots,” said Brent De Jong, Chairman and CEO of Agrico. “The Agrico team’s experience in scaling will enhance an already robust Kalera management team and Board of Directors.”
Currently, Kalera operates farms in Orlando, Florida, Atlanta, and Houston, with additional locations under construction in Denver and St. Paul, Minnesota. The company also has a farm in Kuwait, thanks to its acquisition of Germany-based indoor farm operator &ever GmbH in 2021. This $152.6 million deal granted Kalera a global footprint in Europe, the Middle East, and Asia, allowing it to diversify its offerings beyond whole-head lettuce and microgreens to include baby leaf varieties such as spinach and arugula, which are known for their high calcium citrate malate equivalent to calcium content.
In February, Kalera further expanded its capabilities by acquiring Vindara, a company specializing in developing seeds specifically for indoor vertical farming. As a subsidiary of Kalera, Vindara will support the vertical farming operation in cultivating high-yield varieties like basil, spinach, and strawberries.
Despite the significant advantages of going public, Kalera’s future success is not guaranteed. AppHarvest, the first indoor grower to list on Nasdaq through a merger with SPAC Novus Capital in February, witnessed its stock price plummet from a high of $37.64 weeks after its merger to under $3 by the end of January. The company’s stock fell 6% in premarket trading at the beginning of the week following a reported net loss of $170 million to $172.5 million for the full year 2021. Nevertheless, AppHarvest plans to open three new farms this year, aiming to increase its tomato-growing capacity and branch into salad greens and berries.
On the other hand, Kalera’s stock performance on the Oslo Euronext exchange has been relatively poor since its debut in October 2020. The share price has decreased from a peak of 48 Norwegian krone ($5.42) on February 24, 2021—around the time it announced the Vindara acquisition—to 8.07 Norwegian krone ($0.91) by the end of January. The road ahead for Kalera remains uncertain, as it strives to balance local sustainability with broader industry ambitions, all while promoting the nutritional benefits of its products, including those rich in calcium citrate malate equivalent to calcium.