Veganz Group AG establishes OrbiFarm GmbH ahead of strategic investor entry

Veganz Group AG has founded a new subsidiary, OrbiFarm GmbH, in a strategic move to unlock hidden reserves within the company and accelerate its entry into the vertical indoor farming sector. The company was officially registered on 10 April 2025, and is already in advanced negotiations with six investor groups. A €10 million (approximately US$10.7 million) investment is expected to be secured in the second quarter of 2025, giving the new entity a post-money valuation of around €40 million (approximately US$42.6 million).

Following the transaction, Veganz Group AG will retain a 74.9% majority stake in OrbiFarm, while the incoming investor will hold a 25.1% blocking minority.

OrbiFarm GmbH is focused on the research, development, patenting, production, distribution, and licensing of indoor farming technologies, particularly for the large-scale cultivation of protein and medicinal plants. The targeted crop portfolio includes peas, amaranth, quinoa, hemp, and okra, along with tobacco and other plants used in pharmaceutical production, such as for insulin.

As part of the restructuring, Veganz will transfer several key assets to the new subsidiary. These include exclusive global licences for Fraunhofer Institute's OrbiLoop and OrbiPlant technologies, associated biopatents for seeds and plant strains, branding rights, and ownership of OrbiFarm LLC, the Dubai-based sales organization for the MENA region.

The launch of OrbiFarm marks a deeper strategic alignment between Veganz and the Fraunhofer Institute for Molecular Biology and Applied Ecology IME, based in Aachen. OrbiFarm will finance the construction of a prototype facility at the institute, which has agreed to provide a suitable building. Design and production responsibilities will fall to Körber Technologies GmbH, a technology group employing 13,000 people worldwide.

According to Veganz, the results of recent OrbiFarm cultivation trials at Fraunhofer were promising. Pea plants grown using the vertical indoor farming platform achieved yields up to 36 times higher than conventional methods. Further yield improvements are expected through techniques such as CO₂ fumigation. In addition to reproducibility and quality, the trials demonstrated cost-effectiveness and scalability, key criteria for commercial viability.

Once operational, the facility in Aachen will begin growing both pharmaceutical crops and alternative protein sources for OrbiFarm’s first customers. Seven active projects for the construction of OrbiFarm sites are already underway across various international locations.

The OrbiFarm business model is structured as a lean licensing operation. The company will not build or operate its own farms. Instead, Körber Technologies will manage the design, construction, and maintenance of each site. Licence fees will be calculated based on the initial sale of OrbiFarm systems and a percentage of annual revenues generated by licensees.

The move positions Veganz to participate more fully in the rapidly expanding alternative protein market. According to the company, the sector was valued at US$18.58 billion in 2024 and is forecast to grow to US$74.67 billion by 2037, with a compound annual growth rate of 11.2% over the period from 2025 to 2037.

With OrbiFarm, Veganz is expanding beyond its core plant-based food business to enter the technology-driven infrastructure space supporting food system transformation. The combination of patented vertical farming systems, proprietary seeds, and a global licensing model reflects a long-term bet on scalable, climate-resilient food production methods.

The construction of OrbiFarm’s first industrial-scale facility in Aachen will serve as a showcase for future deployments, supporting the company’s ambitions to provide indoor farming solutions across diverse climatic and geographic regions.