Bowery Farming
Defunct US indoor vertical farming company that grew leafy greens under LED light.
On the record
Checkpoint: Completion of Locust Grove, Georgia facility equipment liquidation auction by SecondBloom
The call
Bowery Farming shut down in November 2024 and is now in creditor wind-down, with its Georgia facility's equipment sold off in late 2025.
Bowery Farming grew lettuce and leafy greens indoors in warehouse farms instead of outdoor fields. It could not compete because its vegetables cost about $16 per pound to sell, while regular grocery stores sold similar greens for $6 per pound from traditional farms, making it impossible to make money. The whole indoor farming industry collapsed at the same time 2022 through 2024 (other companies like AppHarvest and Kalera also failed), which shows the basic math of the business did not work for anyone, not just Bowery.
Why
01
AI pressure: None apparent. AI played no role in Bowery's collapse; the failure was unit economics, not automation or software competition. Could AI do the core job? Yes, likely.
02
Bigger players: Dole, Fresh Express, Whole Foods private label. Albertsons stopped ordering from Bowery in early 2024 as $16/lb indoor greens lost to $6/lb field-grown store brands. Could a giant copy it? Yes, easily.
03
What protects it. None identified; Bowery held no cost, patent, or distribution advantage that traditional field growers couldn't undercut.
What would change this call
Irving Fain announces a new venture within 6 months. Would show founder is attempting a relaunch or pivot after Bowery's collapse.
Third party acquires and relaunches the Bowery brand or its patents. Would show some residual asset value survived the liquidation.
Sherwood Partners ABC creditor wind-down concludes with disputes over KKR debt or Fidelity equity. Would show how much value creditors actually recovered from the failed company.
Third party acquires and relaunches the Bowery brand or its patents. Would show some residual asset value survived the liquidation.
Sherwood Partners ABC creditor wind-down concludes with disputes over KKR debt or Fidelity equity. Would show how much value creditors actually recovered from the failed company.
Key numbers
- Peak valuation hit $2.3B in Series C
- Value fell to $944M by final round
- Fidelity marked its stake down over 85%
Named risks
- Company is fully defunct with no going concern to evaluate or join.
- Ongoing asset liquidation and possible creditor disputes over KKR debt and Fidelity equity position.
- Sector-wide unit economics failure means any relaunch faces the same cost structure problem.
- Brand value and residual data assets may be sold to unrelated third parties creating confusion.
Rivals, as read in July 2026
| Rival | Direction | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Gotham Greens | losing to | Named closest indoor rival, priced about $2/lb cheaper than Bowery in 2024; Bowery shut down Nov 2024 |
| Whole Foods private label and Dole/Fresh Express | losing to | Store-brand greens sold at $6/lb vs Bowery's $16/lb at Whole Foods, 2024 |
| AppHarvest, Kalera, Infarm, Jungle, Future Crops | contesting | Entire vertical-farming cohort collapsed together 2022 to 2024, several filed Chapter 11 |
Questions people ask
- Is Bowery Farming still operating in 2026?
- No. Bowery Farming ceased all operations on November 4, 2024, and entered an Assignment for Benefit of Creditors wind-down managed by Sherwood Partners, according to TechCrunch's November 4, 2024 report. As of November 2025, asset liquidations were still underway, confirming there is no ongoing business.
- What happened to Bowery Farming employees after the shutdown?
- At least 187 employees across New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Maryland facilities were laid off when Bowery closed, per a WARN notice and Agriculture Dive report dated November 7, 2024. Multiple earlier layoff rounds also occurred throughout 2023 as cash burn mounted.
- Why did Bowery Farming fail?
- Bowery's spring mix retailed near $16 per pound at Whole Foods versus about $6 per pound for store-brand alternatives, per PitchBook's 2024 report. Albertsons stopped ordering in early 2024 and Whole Foods ended its partnership by late summer 2024, both cited as major shutdown drivers.
- Who owned or funded Bowery Farming?
- Backers included General Catalyst, GV, Temasek, Fidelity Management and Research, GGV Capital, and celebrity investors like Justin Timberlake and Natalie Portman. Fidelity led a $300M Series C in May 2021 valuing the company at $2.3B, per PitchBook, November 4, 2024.
- Who was Bowery Farming's biggest competitor?
- Gotham Greens was explicitly named as Bowery's closest indoor farming competitor and was reported as cheaper per pound, roughly $2 less, according to PitchBook's 2024 account of Bowery's collapse. Bowery ceased operations in November 2024; Gotham Greens continued operating.
- Could AI have saved Bowery Farming from collapse?
- No. Bowery used AI internally, including its BoweryOS crop-monitoring platform and Traptic's AI-driven robotic harvesting acquired in 2022, per industry coverage. Its failure stemmed from a May 2023 pathogen outbreak, high debt costs, and unit economics, not AI disruption or substitution.
Timeline
- 2025-11-07SecondBloom auctions $70M equipment from never-used Locust Grove GA facility
- 2024-11-07187+ workers laid off across NJ, PA, MD facilities per WARN notice
- 2024-11-04Bowery Farming ceases all operations, enters ABC wind-down with Sherwood Partners
- 2024-08Whole Foods ends partnership with Bowery
- 2024-01Albertsons stops ordering from Bowery
- 2023-11Fidelity marks down its Bowery stake by more than 85%
- 2023-10Series D closes at $94M, valuation marked down to $944M
- 2023-05Phytophthora leaf pathogen outbreak hits Bowery farms
- 2022Bowery acquires robotics startup Traptic for AI harvesting
- 2021-05Series C led by Fidelity raises $300M at $2.3B valuation
Revision history
25 July 2026
First assessed. Little protection left. The text above is fixed as of this date and is not edited afterwards.
In the same band
Sources
- Bowery Farming is ceasing operations (2024-11-04)
- Celebrity-backed indoor farming company Bowery closes, lays off workers (2024-11-07)
- Bowery, once a leading indoor farming company valued at $2.3B, shuts down (2024-11-04)
- Report: Bowery Farming Business Breakdown & Founding Story
- Wilted greens: How a leaf-eating pathogen, failed deals brought down Bowery Farming (2024)
- SecondBloom to Liquidate Bowery Farming's $70 Million Vertical Farming Facility in Locust Grove, Georgia (2025-11-07)
- Bowery Farming Ceases Operations Amid Financial Challenges (2024-11-04)
- Bowery Farming to close (2024-11-05)