NEW YORK, NY — Bowery Farming, the largest U.S. vertical farming company, announces further expansion of its leadership team on the heels of a new $300M Series C fundraise with new Senior Vice President (SVP) of sales, CPG and food industry vet, Shannon Corbett. Reporting to Katie Seawell, Bowery’s Chief Commercial Officer, Corbett will be integral to Bowery’s national expansion goals, scaling its commercial footprint across the US, unlocking new business development opportunities and building out a world-class sales organization.
In this new role, Corbett will harness the full potential of Bowery’s growing network of farms to deliver against record demand, align revenue goals consistent with financial targets and continue to accelerate the company’s mission to expand access to wildly flavorful Protected Produce that is local, safer, and more sustainable.
“I’ve spent my career advocating for purpose-driven companies that are focused on key sustainability goals, and I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to join such a purpose-driven company like Bowery Farming and its like-minded team who are also advocates of protecting the earth,” says Corbett. “It’s an honor to be a part of the solution to our current fresh food supply chain challenges, leading the U.S. sales team at Bowery on the heels of their exponential growth, to support the current and future needs of the business, as we continue to experience record demand for Bowery’s indoor grown, Protected Produce.”
Since 2015, Bowery has built the world’s most efficient smart indoor farming systems from the ground up, creating more resilient local and regional food systems using a fraction of the water and land as traditional agriculture. Each farm in the network is powered by the company’s proprietary BoweryOS, which integrates software, hardware, sensors, computer vision systems, machine learning models, and robotics to orchestrate and automate the entirety of its operations. With Bowery’s newest, largest, most technologically advanced and most sustainable farm yet opening in Bethlehem, PA, in early 2022, the company will expand its distribution throughout the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions, with a continued focus on democratizing access to fresh produce.
Corbett is the most recent among a series of strategic hires for Bowery, which also includes Injong Rhee, Chief Technology Officer (former Samsung Mobile and Google executive), Colin Nelson, Chief Supply Chain Officer (former supply chain executive at Walgreens Boots Alliance, Unilever, and GlaxoSmithKline), and Katie Seawell, Chief Marketing Officer (formerly SVP of Product and Marketing for Starbucks).
“It’s been an extraordinary 20+ months of growth for Bowery as we’ve expanded our commercial partners across the Tri-state and Mid-Atlantic regions from under 100 stores to over 850 brick and mortar retail locations, accelerated our business in e-commerce channels and worked with a breadth of retailers to democratize access to our Protected Produce that is more flavorful, sustainable, traceable and pesticide free,” says Katie Seawell, Bowery’s Chief Commercial Officer. “As we look to expand the footprint of our networked farms across the country, Shannon will play a pivotal role in growing our existing retail partnerships, forging new business development opportunities and scaling a world-class sales organization. The time is now to fortify and strengthen our local and regional food systems across the country, and Bowery is uniquely positioned to be a part of the solution.”
Corbett brings 30 years of experience to her new role. Prior to joining Bowery, Corbett served as Vice President, U.S. Sales at Nature’s Path Foods, where she focused on the development of compelling consumer-led sales strategies as well as key sales initiatives. At Nature’s Path, she also served on the Advisory Board and Executive Leadership Team. Corbett’s extensive experience also includes managing a team at the Kellogg Company and leading partnerships at Mars Chocolate North America. She has worked in analytics, category management, shopper marketing, and sales, including the opportunity to lead National Account Teams with WalMart, Target, Costco, Sam’s, and Kroger. She holds a Certificate of Special Studies in Business Management from Harvard University, and an undergraduate degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
This appointment comes at a pivotal time in the company’s growth. Bowery, now the largest U.S. vertical farming company, had 750% sales growth since January 2020 with brick and mortar grocery retailers and it has more than quadrupled sales with e-commerce platforms, including Amazon. Bowery continues to be an industry leader with the release of an innovative, rotating line of next generation greens under its new Farmer’s Selection category, offering the thrill of the Farmers Market experience at the retail aisle via limited-edition, wildly flavorful greens like Mustard Frills and Green Sorrel.
Bowery’s third commercial farm currently under construction in Bethlehem, PA, will help to meet unprecedented consumer demand for its produce. This achievement will further automate the growing process from seed to store as Bowery leads the way through its growing network of farms to reimagine the fresh produce supply chain and expands its reach through future farms.
###
About Bowery
Founded in 2015, Bowery Farming is on a mission to democratize access to high-quality, local, safe and sustainable produce. Bowery builds smart indoor farms near cities, growing fresher, pesticide-free Protected Produce with bold flavor in precisely controlled environments, 365 days a year. At the heart of each farm is the proprietary BoweryOS, which integrates software, hardware, sensors, AI, computer vision systems, machine learning models and robotics to orchestrate and automate the entirety of its operations. As a result, each farm creates far less waste and uses a fraction of the water and land compared to traditional agriculture.
Based in New York City, Bowery is the largest vertical farming company in the United States, serving major e-commerce platforms and more than 850 grocery stores in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions, including Albertsons Companies (Safeway and Acme), Amazon Fresh, Giant Food, Walmart, Weis, Whole Foods Market, and specialty grocers, with produce that’s harvested year-round at peak freshness, delivered within days of harvest.
Bowery has raised $472 million from leading investors, including Fidelity Management & Research Company LLC, Temasek, GV (formerly Google Ventures), General Catalyst, GGV Capital, First Round Capital, and individuals including Henry Kravis, Jeff Wilke, as well as some of the foremost thought leaders in food, including Tom Colicchio, José Andrés and David Barber of Blue Hill.
