Vertical Future and Crate to Plate expand their partnership

Vertical Future and Crate to Plate have extended their partnership.

Technology and research company, Vertical Future will provide finance, build, and commissioning services to Crate to Plate to support them in expansion across the Southeast. The expansion will include a 3000 sq ft footprint glass-fronted vertical farm, attached to a plant-based restaurant in Stratford, East London, and a 12000 sq ft footprint farm in Orpington, Kent.

Jamie Burrows, CEO of Vertical Future says: “We are delighted to be doing more to support the Crate to Plate team. They’re a fantastic and rapidly growing group of enthusiastic people who are really bringing a new level of quality and taste to London cuisine. With our container solutions continuing to support them for their ultra-urban points of sale, it’s also great to now be supporting them with larger design and build projects, in recognition of the rising demand they have for their produce in the London market.”

Sebastien Sainsbury, CEO of Crate to Plate says: “Working with Jamie and his team at Vertical Future is like working with an extended family. We have been a customer of Vertical Future for a few years now and are so excited to be dropping our second phase of Vertical Future-built farms in Stratford. Now also having their financial investment and financing support only further establishes the close partnership between our two companies. As part of the growing UK CEA sector, Crate to Plate and Vertical Future are really making a difference. We are growing nutrient-rich, fresh, and delicious crops close to urban hubs, avoiding pesticides, using less water with little reliance on supply chains. If you wondered what the future of food looked like, well, this is it.”

Sebastian Sainsbury says, “the farms made by Vertical Future not only offer us more space to grow and work, as well as a far more sophisticated system; they also offer us better food security. All three of the container-based farm units join seamlessly together, meaning there is only one access door. The food is therefore incredibly secure from any insects or disease entering the facility.”

The financial investment and financing support from Vertical Future will mean that Crate to Plate can look to expand from their existing farms in Stratford, Canary Wharf, Kentish Town and Elephant Park to larger, non-container based ‘feeder’ facilities. The company also currently sells direct to the general public and wholesale to some of the UK’s top restaurants and royal households including Fortnum & Mason, England Rugby Union, Beaumont Hotel, and Buckingham Palace.