You won’t find a more comprehensive list of businesses dealing with agricultural containers than this one! Please be aware that we have omitted the many smaller farms that have instead relied on the services of one of the included companies to provide them with a container farming system. Our attention is instead directed toward major producers and independent service providers who have developed their own infrastructure.
Some of the featured businesses here produce and sell farming systems built around shipping containers to commercial and residential customers. Some businesses have jumped into the container farming industry by creating their own farms and selling the produce they grow. What follows is a summary of the responses we received from these businesses when we inquired about their use of shipping containers and the services they provide. For those we couldn’t get in touch with directly, we’ve provided a quick overview based on information that’s already out there. Hydroponic shipping container farms will likely predominate. Enjoy!
Here are some of the leading container farming companies in the world:
- Grow Box Central was founded not too long ago and is headquartered in Tulsa, OK. They cultivate cannabis in their own containers. A skilled construction crew constructs the containers. They have farm containers available, but they can also make containers for offices, tiny homes, and temporary housing.
- Freight Farms is a US-based company that manufactures and sells hydroponic container farms. The company was founded in 2010 and has sold over 500 farms to customers in over 30 countries. Freight Farms container farms are used to grow a wide variety of crops, including leafy greens, herbs, tomatoes, and strawberries.
- Growtainer is a Canadian company that manufactures and sells hydroponic container farms. The company was founded in 2012 and has sold over 100 farms to customers in over 20 countries. Growtainer container farms are used to grow a wide variety of crops, including leafy greens, herbs, tomatoes, and cucumbers.
- FarmBox Foods is a US-based company that manufactures and sells hydroponic container farms. The company was founded in 2012 and has sold over 100 farms to customers in the US. FarmBox Foods container farms are used to grow a variety of leafy greens and herbs.
- Pure Greens is a US-based company that manufactures and sells hydroponic container farms. The company was founded in 2013 and has sold over 200 farms to customers in the US and Canada. Pure Greens container farms are used to grow a wide variety of crops, including leafy greens, herbs, tomatoes, and strawberries.
- Agrilution is a German company that manufactures and sells vertical farming systems. The company was founded in 2013 and has sold over 100 systems to customers in over 20 countries. Agrilution vertical farming systems can be used to grow a wide variety of crops, including leafy greens, herbs, and berries.
In addition to these leading companies, there are many other companies that manufacture and sell container farming systems. Container farming is a rapidly growing industry, and new companies are entering the market all the time.
Here are some of the benefits of container farming:
- Sustainability: Container farming uses less water and land than traditional agriculture. It also reduces the need for pesticides and herbicides.
- Year-round production: Container farms can be used to grow crops year-round, regardless of the climate. This makes them ideal for growing food in urban areas and other places with limited arable land.
- Freshness: Container-grown crops are typically harvested closer to the consumer than traditionally grown crops. This means that they are fresher and have a longer shelf life.
- Local production: Container farms can be located anywhere, which means that food can be grown closer to the consumer. This reduces the need for transportation and helps to support local economies.
Container farming is a promising new technology that has the potential to revolutionize the way we grow food. It is a sustainable and efficient way to produce fresh, local food year-round.
AgriCool – La Courneuve, France
Currently, strawberries are Agricool’s area of expertise, and the company is headquartered in the Paris metropolitan area. Their strawberries are sold in multiple locations across the city and can even be delivered by a third-party service. They’ve managed to raise nearly $40 million, which will be used to expand operations in Paris and Dubai and, hopefully, to include additional produce in their product line. The Agricool container farms are easily identifiable thanks to their wooden slat cladding.
Alesca Life – Beijing, China
To make food production more localized and data-driven, Alesca Life is an agritech startup that constructs indoor farms and farm management solutions. In 2013, the founders of Alesca set out to make it easier for more people to get their hands on healthy, freshly prepared meals by making farming equipment and techniques more widely available. Alesca has created large-scale, automated, cabinet farms to enable on-site food production by hotels, restaurants, and homes, and small-scale, hydroponic, climate-controlled commercial farms that use 20–25 times less water, fertilizer, and land than conventional farms while eliminating the need for chemical pesticides. In addition to their farm management IT system, which allows for production data aggregation, streamlined operational management, and full data transparency and supply chain traceability for farmers and consumers, Alesca has released a precision farming IoT device for remote monitoring and automation of farm equipment.
For several important reasons, including their global availability, uniform construction, and long lifespan, Alesca transforms recycled shipping containers into productive farms. The standardization and modularity of container farms allow for rapid production. Due to their portability and resilience, container farms can be set up in harsh environments, either temporarily or permanently.
Bonbio – Stockholm, Sweden
Bonbio uses a method of farming called “circular farming,” in which leftovers are composted and used as fertilizer. Biogas is produced specifically from recycled food waste. They use the organic liquid plant nutrients that are produced as a byproduct of the biogas production process in their container farms. They can produce their own plant nutrients in a way that doesn’t harm the environment, in addition to reaping the sustainability benefits of container farming. One of Bonbio’s largest customers is Ikea, who uses their container farms to grow lettuce used in the stores, Source
CropBox – Clington, North Carolina, USA
In 2014, a master’s thesis launched a business called CropBox, which today is a partnership selling and leasing shipping container farms. They make a type of container farming system that is designed to be more cost-effective for farmers on a tighter budget.
CubicFarm Systems – Langley, British Columbia, Canada
CubicFarms are industrial-scale setups designed to maximize output. They will need irrigation and germination equipment, as well as a minimum of 14 container farms. All plant units can be accessed from the main production area through the main container doors thanks to the horizontal plant growth trays that move on a serpentine chain system throughout each container. As a result, there is no need to cut a path through the middle of the container so that the entire space can be put to use cultivating plants.
FarmBox Foods – Castle Rock, Colorado, USA
FarmBox Foods is using cutting-edge technology to improve farming practices. FarmBox Foods’ fully automated, vertical hydroponic shipping container farms are more sustainable because they use significantly less water and produce less greenhouse gas emissions than conventional farms. Shipping containers, with their superior insulation and ability to conform to international shipping standards, make for the perfect mobile farm. These farms can be set up anywhere, and produce can be grown and delivered year-round, giving people in food deserts access to fresh food and providing new opportunities for farmers.
The farms can operate in virtually unlimited locations around the world, from the densest of urban centers to remote, harsh environments, without compromising food production thanks to their fully climate-controlled systems. The first gourmet mushroom farm that is entirely contained within a shipping container will be introduced in 2020 by FarmBox Foods. Oyster, shiitake, lion’s mane, and king oyster mushroom output will each exceed 300 pounds per week thanks to this cutting-edge apparatus. Mushroom container farms are helping the decentralization of food movement by giving people in local areas more say over their own food production.
FarmBox Foods is considering starting a psychedelic mushroom container farm in the near future in light of the growing body of academic research on the beneficial effects of psilocybin on mental well-being. Plants in a FarmBox are grown in movable, side-to-side trays that hang at different heights.
FarmPod – St. Croix, US Virgin Islands, USA
FarmPods are based on 20-foot shipping containers and are used for vertical aquaponic food production. They combine the fish tanks inside the container with a greenhouse for plant growth. In some regions, an off-grid lifestyle is feasible with the help of solar panels, a rainwater collection system, and solar radiant heaters. The FarmPod’s taller profile is justified by the fish protein aquaponics can provide compared to standard shipping containers.
Freight Farms – Boston, Massachusetts, USA
There are currently dozens of container farms in operation around the world, and Freight Farms is the leading manufacturer of container farming technology. Freight Farms is responsible for the vast majority of shipping container farms in existence. Formerly known as The Leafy Green Machine, their shipping container farming system is now known as The Greenery. The Greenery’s hydroponic system is designed with vertical racks that slide side to side on overhead tracks.
FreshBox Farms – Millis, Massachusetts, USA
Instead of using free-standing greenhouses, FreshBox Farms combines a number of shipping containers inside a warehouse. They are large enough to deliver fresh food to dozens of locations within a radius of 150 miles from their main warehouse.
GrowBox – Pine Island, New York, USA
GrowBox provides both 10- and 20-foot containers for its container farms. If a business or individual only needs a small amount of the harvested produce, they can start container farming for much less money. They are fully automated and come with grow shelves or towers, allowing you to cultivate plants at any time of the year.
Growcer – Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Growcer’s mission is to give people the tools they need to easily grow their own food. Communities around the world can grow up to 12,000 lb. of produce annually in temperatures as low as -56 degrees Celsius with the help of modern modular food production systems. Each system is also highly efficient, requiring 95% less water and 97% less land compared to conventional farming techniques.
Existing farmers, remote and Indigenous communities, retailers, and food service providers can all benefit from these systems’ design, as they make it possible for them to grow local food at a competitive commercial scale. In just over three years of operation, The Growcer’s ready-to-use systems have already been successful across Canada, and more than 20 systems have been deployed, providing an opportunity for economic development for communities across Canada. The slanted design of Growcer’s trays ensures that water rich in nutrients is constantly circulating beneath the plants.
Growcer manufactures a variety of container farm systems, such as the Arctic Growing System (AGS) which functions between -52 degrees Celsius and twenty-two degrees Celsius, the Urban Growing System (UGS) which functions between thirty and three-five degrees Celsius, and the Desert Growing System (DGS) that functions between ten and forty-five degrees Celsius. Hydroponic systems nourish plants with water through slanted trays. Growcer plans to expand internationally in the coming year, and its customers include Compass Group (the largest food service provider in the world), Walmart, and Loblaw Companies Ltd. (PC Children’s Charity).
Grow Pod Solutions – Colton, California, USA
Grow Pod offers 20-foot and 40-foot shipping container farms that are ready for either soil or hydroponic growing. Most Grow Pods have a walking path in the middle and horizontal shelves (up to five stacked vertically) on the outside.
Growtainers – Dallas, Texas, USA
Growtainers® are cutting-edge vertical farms that can be housed in standard 20-foot, 40-foot, or 45-foot shipping containers. Our nearly half-century in the business has given us the expertise to design and supply crop- or project-specific units for customers all over the world. We are well aware that no two crops or projects are alike, and that therefore, there is no “one size fits all” solution.
Our patented Growrack® system, advanced irrigation with real-time water monitoring and dosing, climate and environment control, and LED lighting tailored to each individual crop are all integral components of a Growtainer®. Growers, food manufacturers, pharmaceutical manufacturers, academic institutions, food retailers, and research institutions are the only types of customers we accept. We just finished making 53-foot containers that meet all US food safety regulations for a chain supermarket. With the help of these innovative containers, greens can be grown in the parking lots of grocery stores and sold as soon as they are harvested.
Our parent company, CEA Advisors LLC, not only designs and constructs Growtainers®, but also provides advice on the creation of high-quality vertical farming projects for customers all over the world. We are currently serving as the senior advisor for the Farminova Plant Factory project in Turkey, consulting on a 20,000-square-foot automated vertical farm project that will produce leafy greens, micro-greens, and edible flowers, and developing plant nutrition for hydroponic growers around the world with a major manufacturer of Bio-Stimulants in Spain.
La boîte Maraîchère – Leval, Quebec, Canada
La Boîte Maraîchère is able to grow many different types of leafy vegetables and herbs in their containers and is based in Quebec, a province in Canada with a French-speaking population. They purposefully use recycled metal containers in their construction.
LettUs Grow – Bristol, England, United Kingdom
The aeroponic vertical growing systems made by LettUs Grow combine a catchy brand name with innovative technology. Their primary offerings are fully-functioning aeroponic farms that are housed in modified shipping containers, though they do provide design and build services to retrofit existing structures. Drop & Grow offers two sizes of container farms: 24 and 48 square feet. The figures represent the available square meters for vertical farming. While both models are housed in standard 40-foot shipping containers, the Drop & Grow 24 additionally features a dedicated prep space.
LettUs Grow uses aeroponics and has developed proprietary management software called Ostara. This apparatus regulates the system’s LIFE (lighting, irrigation, fertilization, and environment) to create ideal growing conditions for plants. Several distinct growing environments can be maintained within a single container. Salad crops like pea shoots, watercress, micro greens, and herbs are grown in a LettusGrow container at the Spark:York Container Park and sold to nearby restaurants and the general public.
LGR Farms – Edmund, Oklahoma, USA
LGR Farms, located in Edmund, is a hydroponic farm created in 2015 by NBA player Ekpe Udoh out of a repurposed storage container. Over fifty different types of greens, herbs, and fruits are grown and sold to nearby neighborhoods, institutions of higher learning, and eateries.
Pure Greens – Phoenix, Arizona, USA
Damon and Taisiya Jacobson started Pure Greens in 2015. Through prayer, we were given the idea to cultivate crops inside ocean shipping containers. Unpredictable weather has made it difficult for many farmers to grow their crops. After realizing how limited people’s access was to locally grown and fresh food, we set out to change that by founding Pure Greens Container Farms.
Growers can use our container farms year-round, regardless of whether they live in a region with extreme heat, like Arizona, or extreme cold, like Alaska. Pure Greens Container Farms are temperature and humidity-controlled, making them superior to greenhouses and open-air farms. The farmer can use an app on their smartphone or computer to keep tabs on the conditions on the farm.
The Farms are compact, flexible, and environmentally friendly, allowing for year-round crop production in any climate. Leafy greens, herbs, and microgreens are ideal crops for the Pure Greens Container Farms. Our ability to custom-make the entire Farm in-house, thanks to our twenty years of experience with modifying and designing shipping containers, sets us apart from the competition. Our in-house team of engineers, welders, and electricians helps us meet tight deadlines without sacrificing quality. We provide a variety of standard plans as well as the ability to tailor designs to meet unique needs.
Growers, entrepreneurs, chefs in the kitchen, educational institutions, and anyone else who wants to grow crops but lacks the space or climate for an outdoor farm will benefit greatly from our Container Farms.
Rocky Mountain Micro Ranch – Denver, Colorado, USA
In 2015, the state of Colorado welcomed its first edible insect farm, Rocky Mountain Micro Ranch. The “micro ranch” we call home is actually a refurbished 40-foot high-cube shipping container. The edible insects we sell to restaurants, food manufacturers, and connoisseurs of healthy, ethical eating are grown in-house. Most of the items we sell are made from roasted insects in their entirety, though we also produce chocolate-covered insects and pasta made from cricket powder. Before switching our attention to mealworms, we were raising crickets. The food is made in a commercial kitchen, and the shipping container is used solely for farming insects.
Insects are ectothermic, or “cold-blooded,” so it’s important to maintain a constant temperature and humidity with insulation, environmental controls, and air circulation when growing them in a shipping container. We also piped a solution of glycol and water through the baseboards and hooked up a solar thermal water heater on the roof. The micro ranch maintains an ideal temperature and humidity for the insects, even if it’s below freezing outside.
The high cost of land in Denver’s burgeoning metro area meant that our self-funded startup farm had to start small and be designed to be easily relocated. Although we have no plans to stop farming in the container, larger micro-ranches may eventually be housed in buildings so that we can expand in an upward direction. When compared to other companies that manufacture shipping container farms, we believe these insect farms have just as much potential for use in urban settings.
Ship Shape Urban Farms – Mobile, Alabama, USA
Shipshape Urban Farms (SUF) is a hydroponic farming company that sells its patented hydroponic container gardens to customers all along the Gulf Coast and aspires to break into additional markets. To facilitate the rapid production of a large crop, ShipShape’s container farms employ horizontal growing shelves. Hydroponic “Container Gardens” from Shipshape are designed and laid out differently than conventional farms, allowing for the production of more and healthier plants in a smaller area. Researchers in agriculture, design, and computer science are behind this innovation, constantly testing out new crop varieties and farming techniques.
The Container Gardens are enclosed greenhouses that can produce as much as a 3.4-acre farm (148,104 sq ft) on their 320 square feet of up-cycled, high-cube shipping container space. Because of this setup, SUF can cultivate uniform, high-quality fruit and vegetables all year round, with a shorter grow cycle and no regard for the seasons or the weather.
Square Roots – Brooklyn, New York, USA
The mission of Square Roots, an urban farming company, is to enable the next generation of urban farming leaders to provide healthy, sustainably grown food to people living in cities around the world. Kimbal Musk, Elon’s brother, is one of the dozens of people who make up their team. Greens and herbs are grown indoors, vertically, in the heart of cities by Square Roots farmers. Farmers can now grow their own non-GMO, pesticide-free produce all year long using modular hydroponic growing systems.
From their Brooklyn outpost, they supply goods to shops all over the five boroughs of New York City. They also have a growing partnership with Gordon Food Service warehouses, which will allow them to ship fruit and vegetables all over North America, beginning in Grand Rapids. Their Next-Gen Farmer Training Program is at the heart of what they do—providing an accessible pathway to the forefront of urban agriculture for more young farmers.
Thrive Containers – St. Petersburg, Florida, USA
The goal of the Thrive Containers system, which combines shipping containers, hydroponic farming, automation software, and user-friendliness, is to maximize return on investment. Options for cold storage and packing rooms will be included in future models in addition to container farms designed for specific types of plant life. Brick Street Farms, which supplies supermarkets and customers shopping online with fresh greens, spawned a new company called Thrive.
Tiger Corner Farms – Charleston, South Carolina, USA
When compared to other container farm businesses, Tiger Corner Farms stands out due to its use of aeroponic rather than hydroponic technology. They also have their own custom software running the show. Tiger Corner Farms pools together groups of 24 to 37 of their farm pods, all of which are constructed from shipping containers. This allows for the mass production of a wide variety of fresh fruits and vegetables.
Urban Crop Solutions – Waregem, Belgium
A leader in the emerging field of “indoor vertical farming,” Urban Crop Solutions is based in Belgium. Turnkey, automated, and adaptable to preexisting manufacturing or food processing infrastructure is what they offer. Standard growing products such as FarmFlex and FarmPro from Urban Crop Solutions are also available. Both of these products are fabricated within a 40-foot-high cube freight container. Commercial vegetable, herb, and microgreen farms run by them supply grocery stores, restaurants, and manufacturers with fresh produce across Europe and North America.
To round out their offerings, they provide clients with little knowledge of (indoor) farming with seeds, substrates, and nutrients. More than 220 crop varieties that can be grown in a closed environment on vertical farms have had their plant-growing recipes developed by the company. The plant scientists at Urban Crop Solutions create custom recipes for their customers, some of which include leafy greens, vegetables, medicinal plants, and flowers.
Urban Farm – Saint-Jacques-de-la-Lande, France
French manufacturer Urban Farm developed the Farmbox, a greenhouse constructed from shipping containers. Stores can get fresh produce by having Farmboxes placed on their premises, with the company taking care of operations and maintenance in exchange for access to electricity and water.
Vertical Green – Madrid, Spain
In order to decrease the amount of water needed for vertical aeroponics farming, Vertical Green has developed RHPA technology (Rotative High-Pressure Aeroponic System). Their current focus is on growing strawberries with RHPA in containers. One of their container farms yields 13.5 metric tons of strawberries annually. In addition to general agritech research and development, they also take on bespoke client projects. Containers can be used for a variety of purposes, such as growing saffron indoors or providing fresh feed for livestock.
Vertical Harvest Hydroponics – Anchorage, Alaska, USA
VH Hydroponics produces more than just container farms, they are the company’s most exciting product. Their Containerized Growing System (CGS) is available for purchase or lease and has everything a farmer needs to grow seasonal, locally sourced produce. Their setup is able to function in Arctic conditions, giving residents of remote Northern communities access to locally grown food at a lower cost than importing. As part of their partnership with Arctic Greens, VH Hydroponics is sending a container farm to a remote Arctic community.
Conclusion
The use of shipping containers for agriculture is a brilliant innovation. These pioneers are making a huge impact by making locally grown, nutritious food available in areas where it wasn’t before. If you’re already excited about all the creative uses for shipping containers, the possibility of using them for farming is just the icing on the cake. If you’re concerned about the environment and want to get food to places where it can’t be grown in the ground, growing it in containers is a great option. Finally, purchasing vegetables and herbs from a local container farm is a great way to increase freshness, nutrition, and taste if you’re trying to be a healthy consumer.