News Release

Contact:Spread Co., Ltd.

Brand Marketing Department
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

E-mail:August 2, 2022

URL:

info@spread.co.jp
www.spread.co.jp/en

Largest FoodTech Deal in Japan:
Vertical Farming Startup Spread Raises $30 Million
to Accelerate its Business-More on Lettuce, Strawberries and Alternative MeatSpread Co., Ltd. (HQ: Kyoto, Japan; CEO: Shinji Inada, hereinafter “Spread”) has secured approx. $30
million (4 billion yen) in Series A round from multiple business companies and angel investors in thelargest-ever single fundraising in Japanese foodtech scene.
Starting from developing new technologies for the world’s largest automated vertical farm Techno
Farm Fukuroi *1, Spread will also invest in marketing of its sustainable vegetable brand Vegetus, R&D
in the new fields of strawberry and alternative meat, and global business development.

About Spread
Spread is a vertical farming startup from Kyoto, Japan. Spread accumulated unparalleled know-how ofplant cultivation through 15 years of lettuce production, started at Kameoka Plant in 2007, and thencontinued at Techno Farm Keihanna, the next generation automated vertical farm. Now, the know-how isbeing applied to product development of high-quality, pesticide-free strawberry, and research on thealternative meat. By combining the latest tech with cultivation skills originating from the high quality
consciousness of traditional Kyoto farming, Spread strives to create a sustainable society where future
generations can attain peace of mind through its “Global Food Infrastructure” concept.

Spread’s CEO Shinji Inada
Born in 1960. He has been engaged in the fruit and vegetable distribution
industry for over 30 years, and has a wealth of experience and expertise.
Established Trade Co., Ltd. in 2001 for the purpose of structural reform offruit and vegetable distribution in Japan. Established Spread Co., Ltd. in 2006 withthe aim of realizing sustainable agriculture.

Achievement of profitability at the vertical farm basis

Spread’s first farm Kameoka Plant started operating in 2007, and was first in the world to achieve
profitability and an operating rate of 97% after 6 years. Spread strived for even more efficient andsustainable system and developed Techno Farm Keihanna (start of operations: 2018), which utilized
automated cultivation, precise environmental control technology, IoT-based cultivation management
system Techno Farm Cloud and other revolutionary technologies. The farm achieved an operating rate of
99% *2 within two years since the start of operations.

Delivering high quality food products to more areas
In order to deliver its delicious, Kyoto-originated products freshly picked to more people, Spread works
with its partners on building new farms in proximity to the consumption area. More automation allows formore stable supply, while utilizing renewables helps to make the business even more sustainable.

Kyoto-born sustainable vegetable Vegetus
Under the concept of “Sustainable Vegetable”,

Vegetus strives to be healthy for both Earth and itspeople. The cultivation requires only 1% of waterused in conventional farming, while production loss
rate is approx. 10% (compare with 40% on average forconventional farming). Also, the edible part of lettuce
itself is 90% *2 which means that less food is wasted
both during production and at home. The sustainable
benefits of Vegetus are valued by the customers, andit is currently being sold at 4,500 stores across Japan.
Overall, Spread has sold a total of 90 million packs.

Coming soon. Delicious pesticide-free strawberries

Spread has developed the technology for mass production of pesticide-free, high quality strawberries in a
vertical farm using artificial lighting in 2021. By introducing the bees necessary for pollination of strawberries
and creating an environment where they can thrive, we have achieved stable pollination indoors under LED
lighting, which is said to be difficult to achieve. Next step is to bring application of automation technologies
and large-scale cultivation know-how to spread safe and delicious berries in Japan and around the world.

Road to the future
Since its establishment, Spread has always strived tocreate a sustainable society where future generations
can attain peace of mind. Currently Spread works
towards its 2030 goal of 100 tons of lettuce daily
production domestically. To answer world’s growing
needs of food supply, Spread is widening its productrange by working on fruits and alternative meat, andis looking to expand globally in the future. The
ultimate goal is a “Global Food Infrastructure”, where
all people are free from the food anxiety.
*1 Largest by production volume. According to Spread’s research.
*2 Based on the number of harvested lettuce heads, compared to maximum capacity of the farm.
*3 According to Spread’s research.

■ Overview of Spread
Company Name

: Spread Co., Ltd.

Chief Executive Officer: Shinji InadaLocation: Kyoto Research Park #8, 90 Chudojiawata-cho, Shimogyo-ku, Kyoto, Japan

Established: January, 2006

Company Website: www.spread.co.jp/en