Medford greens grower raises funds to expand.

Byline: William Morris

When it comes to growing spinach, lettuce and other leafy greens, Minnesota is probably not the environment that comes to mind.

Although most of America's salad greens are grown in California and Arizona, a southern Minnesota startup is bringing production to the very different climate of the upper Midwest. Medford-based Revol Greens sold its first shipment of produce early 2018 to grocers such as Hy-Vee and Cub Foods, and less than a year later it is already raising capital to expand.

Revol Greens has sold its greenhouse at 2781 NW 50th Street, Medford, to Equilibrium Capital Sustainable Investment for $11.286 million, according to a certificate of real estate value made public Friday. The buyer, with offices in Portland, Oregon, San Francisco, and London, is providing financing for an upcoming expansion, Revol President Jay Johnson said in an email. The current operational team will remain in place.

Investing in Revol made great sense for Equilibrium, said Tom Amis, a senior principal with the company's Controlled Environment Foods fund. He believes Revol is on the cutting edge of a massive shift in the leafy greens market.

"For production reasons, for transportation reasons and food safety reasons, we think production is increasingly going to move indoors," Amis said in an interview. "No question with the latest CDC warnings on Romaine, it's just accentuating our movement toward controlled environment...

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