Vertical farming is not just a technology: it is a completely new industry model.
And like any new industry, its success depends much more on the business model than on the plant itself.
Over the past decade, different approaches have emerged, some sustainable, others doomed to fail from the start.
In this article we look at the most popular business models, their structural strengths and limitations-and how the arrival of automation and AI is creating new scalable opportunities.
This is the most intuitive model: build a vertical farm, produce salad and sell it.
Direct sales to large-scale retail chains and retailers
Focus on high volumes and low costs
Medium to large plants, from thousands of square meters
Total control over quality
Year-round local production
Relatively stable prices
Very high CAPEX
High OPEX (labor, energy, maintenance)
Low margins for "commodity" products
Many farms fail because they try to compete on price with traditional producers, but with a much higher cost structure.
Here the goal is not to produce lots of vegetables, but to produce the best possible vegetables.
Sales to chefs, starred restaurants, hotellerie
Focus on rare varieties, hyper-fresh, intense flavors
Small batches but very high value
Much higher margins
Customers willing to pay for quality and consistency
Solid brand positioning
Limited market
Requires strong business relationship
Complex scalability if system is not automated
Ideal model for small producers or boutique farms, but not sufficient for global scalability.
Large-scale retailers are experimenting with small in-store facilities.
The farm is installed in the supermarket
Production and sales in the same place
Complete elimination of logistics
Always fresh vegetables
Drastic cut in waste
High marketing value (transparency + sustainability)
Management complexity
Unskilled staff
Expensive facilities to maintain and upgrade
If technology is not autonomous and self-managed, it becomes unmanageable.
The farm is no longer an asset to be sold: it is a subscription service.
Installation of the farm at companies, hotels, schools, hospitals
The provider takes care of management, maintenance and consumption
The customer pays a monthly fee to have vegetables always available
Recurring revenue
High retention
Scalability of the service
Requires robust technical infrastructure
Operating costs if sufficient automation is not present
Depends on quality of software and sensors
Is one of the most promising models, but works only if highly automated.
It is the emerging model and the one with the most scalable potential, supported by technology.
Every plant (small or large) becomes a data node
AI monitors growth, microclimate, lighting and nutrients
Growth Plans are updated in real time and improve with the network effect
The business sells not just vegetables, but software, know-how, optimization, quality standards
High margins (services)
Global scalability with very low marginal costs
Natural lock-in: plant operates at maximum only with proprietary software
Collected data continuously increase the value of the ecosystem
Requires advanced technology on the hardware, firmware and cloud side
Requires a network of widespread deployments to train AI
Is a model for companies that want to grow as a platform, not just as manufacturers
It is a hybrid model that combines hardware, consumables, and software:
One of the most robust for generating recurring revenues.
Sale of the greenhouse
Recurring sale of the compostable pods
Software (free/plus/enterprise) to control and optimize growth
Closed, fully integrated ecosystem
Recurring revenues from consumables
Simplicity for the end user
Data collected every cycle
Predictable margins
Requires efficient production of pods
Requires continuous R&D for new varieties and growth plans
Is the model that maximizes both scalability and quality control.
AI-first models
Platform models (Hardware + Software + Pods)
Recurring models (Farm-as-a-Service, subscriptions)
High-value premium manufacturing
Because they create network effect, scalability, superior data and margins.
Production-only farms that compete on price
Farms without internal automation
Models that depend on a lot of labor
The future of vertical farming is hybrid: not who grows the most, but who grows the best, with less cost and more data wins.
Tomato+ combines the advantages of all previous models while eliminating their weaknesses by integrating proprietary hardware, compostable pods, automation, and AI cloud.
✔ Consistent quality
✔ Controlled microclimate
✘ Without mega-investments.
Thanks to distributed and autonomous farms, no need for giant plants.
✔ Gourmet varieties
✔ Superior flavor
✔ Global repeatability
Multispectral LED + Growth Plan AI technology ensures identical results everywhere.
✔ Zero logistics
✔ Instant freshness
✔ No operational complexity
Automation cuts labor requirements by 90%.
✔ Recurring revenue (software + waffles)
✔ Remote monitoring
✔ Natural lock-in.
Farms become nodes in a network, not isolated machines.
✔ Continuous improvement
✔ Network effect on each installation.
✔ Perpetually expanding growth database.
Each greenhouse increases the value of the entire system.
✔ Proprietary consumables
✔ Predictable margins
✔ Perfect user experience
Compostable pods ensure standard, simplicity and continuity.
Tomato+ does not choose one model: it integrates and enhances them, becoming a complete platform for smart agriculture.
Vertical farming is no longer (just) an agricultural topic: it is a technology sector based on data, AI, automation and hardware-software integration.
The most scalable business models are those that:
generate continuous value
collect data
improve automatically
create positive lock-in
increase the efficiency of the entire ecosystem
The key shift is one: from farm as a machine to farm as a platform.
Thank you for reading this article. Keep following us to discover new content on hydroponics, vertical farming, and smart agriculture.
Tomato+ Team