July 14, 2022

Little Leaf Farms Hires New Senior VP of Sales to Lead US Expansion

Little Leaf Farms, suppliers of packaged lettuce sustainably grown through controlled environment agriculture (CEA), has hired Chris Hill as its new Senior Vice President of Sales. Hill joined Little Leaf Farms in April 2022 and comes to the company with more than 20 years of experience within the produce and packaged salad industries, having previously led sales efforts for Fresh Express and Dole. In his new role, Hill is leading Little Leaf Farms’ expansion efforts as they invest in new greenhouse operations up and down the East Coast and across the United States. Hill joins a growing sales team at Little Leaf Farms, which has grown its retail sales by more than 50 percent in the past year.

“Chris is a great addition to the team and his years of experience and customer relationship expertise will lead us forward as Little Leaf Farms continues on its mission to bring fresh, delicious and sustainably grown lettuce to consumers,” said Tim Cunniff Co-Founder and EVP of Sales.

“I’m very excited to join the talented team at Little Leaf Farms to share my years of experience within the packaged salad space. CEA is a highly sought-after, emerging segment of the industry and I’m looking forward to building on Little Leaf Farms’ leadership in the space through continued expansion,” said Hill.

Earlier this year, Little Leaf Farms raised $300 million in new capital, with equity financing led by The Rise Fund, TPG’s multi-sector global impact investing strategy and additional committed debt funding from Bank of America. The capital will support aggressive growth and expansion of farms and distribution, making Little Leaf Farms’ local lettuces accessible to more than half of the country’s population by 2026. Immediate expansion and a doubling of acreage comes with the opening of a new greenhouse in McAdoo, PA this summer.

Little Leaf Farms’ new state-of-the-art hydroponic greenhouse will open in July on 180 acres in McAdoo, PA. This is the fourth greenhouse for Little Leaf Farms and will expand the brand’s distribution of delicious, fresh lettuce – all free of harmful pesticides, herbicides and fungicides – throughout the Northeast. The farm will increase the brand’s retail presence by 50 percent, with products available in more than 3,500 grocery stores.

The new greenhouse will integrate Little Leaf Farms’ best-in-class technology, including energy efficiencies across heating, cooling, lighting, advanced data analytics and hands-free automated grow systems. Little Leaf Farms employs hydroponic production for its lettuce that is grown under glass and uses captured rainwater, natural sunlight, up to 90 percent less water than field-grown greens and solar panels to generate electricity.

The brand plans to open several more greenhouses in both Pennsylvania and North Carolina to serve its growing customer base.

 

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