ZAHREN FUNDS’ Clean Feet Investors II, LP Invests $3 Million in Wilder Fields

Avon, CT, March 21, 2022

ZAHREN FUNDS’ Clean Feet Investors II, LP Invests $3 Million in Wilder Fields

Project Finance Capital raised for urban vertical farming that reclaims vacant commercial buildings

It was announced today that prominent renewable energy investor, Zahren Funds, has provided Wilder Fields, a tech-enabled food company, with $3 Million of financing through their Clean Feet Investors II, LP (“CFI II”) fund.

Wilder Fields gives new life to vacant commercial buildings by transforming them into the next generation of vertical farms. Currently, Wilder Fields is transforming a former 135,000 square foot Target facility in Calumet City, IL into one of the county’s largest indoor vertical farms. The project is expected to reduce energy consumption by using proprietary software and hardware to light and hydroponically feed close to 25 million plants annually, providing some of the freshest and tastiest specialty leafy greens found anywhere.

Situated in metro Chicago, Wilder Fields further reduces its carbon footprint, when compared with long-distance shipping practices for produce, via its innovative local supply chain model, which reduces emissions related to transportation of produce. This business model considerably reduces water requirements as well as waste from spoiled goods.    

“Helping new and innovative businesses with catalytic capital that prioritize people, the planet, and healthy profits, is what we do best” says Zahren Funds’ Manager Chris Cook. “We are eager to see Wilder Fields scale its business model in a way that reduces natural resource consumption from the produce supply chain and were happy to provide them with their first ever source of project capital.”

“We believe that Wilder Fields’ business is uniquely scalable and financeable, and attractive to investors in our Fund. As we do with all of our investments, we will continue to help the company grow by applying our knowledge as experienced operating asset managers,” says Zahren Funds’ Founder and Executive Chairman, Bernard Zahren.

“We regard Zahren Funds’ initial Clean Feet Investors I, LLC investment in Wilder Farms as an affirmation of our business model that not only produces fresh greens more responsibly but also rescues large commercial buildings from landfills,” says Wilder Fields Founder and CEO, Jake Counne. “The structure for this deal is truly innovative and reflects both our uniquely modular approach to the vertical farming industry and Zahren Funds’ ability to think outside the box as our partners. Wilder Fields now has a project finance structure that can scale with our business so we can focus on growing our crops and our enterprise.”

About Zahren Funds’ Clean Feet Investors II, LP

Clean Feet Investors II, LP (like the initial Clean Feet Investors I, LLC fund) seeks to provide significant returns from impact investments in small to medium-sized renewable energy and energy conserving projects. By employing effective investment structures for sophisticated investors, CFI II is helping to fill the current void in “non-dilutive” capital for an industry segment that is critical to combating climate change.  CFI II is currently an open fund.

About Wilder Fields

By financing, building, and managing their farms near their customers, Wilder Fields eliminates time, distance, and costs from the leafy green supply chain. Wilder Fields’ local greens are fresher, more flavorful, and better for the environment, enabling customers to change their produce supply chain in a way that improves the planet and their profits.