The founder of vertical farm GrowUp Kate Hofman has announced she will be leaving the business.
Hofman launched GrowUp in 2013 with co-founder and current chief technology officer Tom Webster.
After 11 years in the business, Hofman said it was time to move on to her “next adventure”.
“We’ve achieved the thing everyone said wasn’t possible – vertically farmed salads on the shelves of major UK supermarkets at affordable prices,” she said.
The business started as The GrowUp Box, a shipping container with a greenhouse on top, growing salad leaves for Borough Market.
Hofman and Webster went on to build Unit 84, the UK’s first commercial-scale vertical farm, supplying salads to restaurants and retailers across the capital.
In 2020, the business was acquired by what is now GrowUp Group, and in 2022 the business raised £100m to build its vertical farm in Kent, growing salad leaves all year round.
Last summer, GrowUp became the first vertical farm to supply branded bagged salad to major supermarkets when it launched the Unbeleafable range into Tesco stores. This followed the launch of its first brand, Fresh Leaf Co, which is now available in both Iceland and Spar stores across the UK.
Read more: How GrowUp Farms is growing UK salad supply year round
“In all the roles I’ve held within the business, it has been a great honour to be the face of GrowUp, sharing our vision of a truly sustainable food system and inspiring excellent people to join us, as well as many others to follow and support us on our journey,” Hofman said.
The commercial side of the business was taken over from Hofman in January 2024 when Will Howard, formerly MD at Ella’s Kitchen, joined GrowUp as UK managing director and chief commercial officer.
“Kate has been a real force of nature, helping drive the business to where it is today: supplying salad grown in our vertical farm in Kent to the UK’s major supermarkets,” said GrowUp CEO Marcus Whately. “GrowUp’s many industry and sustainability awards are a testament to what the organisation has achieved.
“Kate has kept her passion for sustainability at the forefront of everything she has done at GrowUp. I look forward to seeing what challenges Kate takes on next.”
Hofman added: “Tom and I started GrowUp back in 2013 in response to the looming challenges in our food system, and I know that the team at GrowUp will continue this work. I am genuinely excited to see how GrowUp and the team will continue to thrive, and I’ll never get over the thrill of seeing our salads on supermarket shelves, and on people’s plates across the UK.”
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