Exclusive: AeroFarms CEO David Rosenberg Talks About His Company And Upcoming Merger On 'SPACs Attack'

The vertical farming company, AeroFarms is set to go public via SPAC Spring Valley Acquisition Corp SV in a $1.2 billion deal.

AeroFarms co-founder and CEO David Rosenberg appeared on Benzinga's YouTube show "SPACs Attack" Friday to talk about the company and its pending merger via SPAC. 

"It's the right time for AeroFarms to go public because the company is ready to scale," Rosenberg said. 

AeroFarms is a certified B corporation, meaning it is certified by the nonprofit B Lab for meeting standards of social and environmental performance, accountability and transparency. 

In order to get the certification, the company made zero changes because the certification was already "wired in our DNA," Rosenberg told Benzinga. 

"How do we do more with less" is the company's mantra, he said, also explaining in agriculture that means, "how do we grow a plant with less water, less electricity and zero pesticides."

Being both fresh and pesticide-free helps to differentiate the company from its competition. People buy the products for superior taste and texture, but the CEO said consumers should also be buying for "human health" reasons. Organic does not mean pesticide-free, but at AeroFarms the food is truly clean, he said.

"There is no need to wash the product because the company does not use pesticides, herbicides or fungicides," he added.

AeroFarms products performed 50% better than others in the industry, and the price of AeroFarms products is in line with products people already buy, Rosenberg said. 

The name AeroFarms comes from the company's aeroponic growth technology that allows plant roots to receive the optimal amount of nutrients at the best time. The process is both faster and healthier for plant growth than its hydroponic alternative.

The company is as much a data-science company as anything else because it focuses on trying to understand "what a plant wants and how to better deliver it," Rosenberg said.

AeroFarms is breaking ground on two facilities this month. 

AeroFarms Financials: The company is targeting profitability in 2023 and $330 million in revenue by 2025.

Pending the approval of Spring Valley shareholders, the deal is expected to close in mid-July. At that time, the company will be listed on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol ARFM.

SV Price Action: Spring Valley was down 0.30% to $9.97 at last check Friday.

(Photo: AeroFarms)