Guelph, Ontario-based GoodLeaf Farms has become profitable across its vertical farming operations for the first time.
The context: GoodLeaf, which was founded in 2011 in Halifax, has spent over a decade developing recipes and proprietary tech that helps the firm maximize the yield and quality of its produce by monitoring and controlling light, air, and water delivery to its plants. The company, which counts McCain Foods, Farm Credit Canada, and Power Sustainable Lios among its backers, attributes its success to “years of innovation, disciplined growth, and strategic investment.” It also comes on the back of fivefold revenue growth over the past three years, as GoodLeaf’s total sales soared from $6.4 million in 2023 to $34 million in 2025. GoodLeaf said its revenue is up another 31 percent this year, thanks to rising consumer demand and expanded retail distribution.
I’m not so sure, lettuce and leafy greens like the kind used in salads (basically all of what goodleaf makes) are usually cheaply priced in comparison to many other staples like meat, dairy, dry goods etc. and are extremely seasonal goodleaf may be twice as much as those but it’s also fully Canadian, all it’s inputs can be Canadian too, doesn’t have the same issues with contamination by natural means and methods (cough, Taylor Farms, cough) and is made year round unlike normal produce. In the middle of the winter i can have a salad that costs me 75c to $1 for a portion or with goodleaf it may be just 50c to $1 more to know I’m supporting Canadian eating healthily and am not going to get screwed over by a bad rain that washes fresh cow manure from a nearby field onto collected lettuce/spinach. From what I’ve seen when times get tough people tend to stop buying expensive meats or fancy imported goods and tend to buy more veggies/fruits/produce to stretch what they do have. for example maybe steaks are off the menu and instead they buy cheap chicken drumsticks or pork chops that cost a half to a third as much, and instead add a salad or some local veggies to their plate to stretch their dollar (fat least from what I’ve seen).