The latest news, trends, analysis, interviews and podcasts from the global food and beverage industry

Local Bounti, a controlled environment agriculture (CEA) company, has announced plans to construct and operate a new state-of-the-art indoor facility in Mount Pleasant, Texas. The company will begin constructing a six-acre facility to leverage its stack & flow technology and grow and sell its indoor-grown line of leafy greens. Varieties include spring mix, butter lettuce, romaine crisp, green leaf and additional blends. Nathan Tafoya, executive director of the Mount Pleasant Economic Development Corporation, said: "Mount Pleasant is thrilled to welcome Local Bounti to the region. With its innovative and proprietary controlled-environment agriculture approach, Local Bounti adds a much-desired agri-tech ingredient to Mount Pleasant's rich history in food production.” He added: “We've already begun integrating workforce training and partnership conversations with our college's Ag program. As Local Bounti's chosen Texas location for a multimillion-dollar investment, and multiple planned phases, Mount Pleasant looks forward to growing with Local Bounti for many years to come." The new CEA facility is expected to support Local Bounti's distribution in markets across Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Mississippi, Arkansas, Kansas and Missouri. It is also designed to provide additional capacity to meet existing demand from the company’s direct relationships with blue-chip retailers and distributors throughout the region. Craig Hurlbert, co-founder and co-CEO of Local Bounti, said: "Local Bounti is excited to call Mount Pleasant home to our latest facility in a rapidly expanding national footprint. Future local operations will help us answer existing customer demand within the Lone Star State and adjacent markets." He continued: "Today's announcement comes at a time when demand is surging across the country for our sustainable produce, and we are excited to establish a new regional base of operations where we can continue to reduce food miles." The construction phase will begin immediately and is expected to generate 50 direct jobs in the area. Once the facility is operational, Local Bounti expects to generate approximately 200 jobs throughout Titus County. The facility is expected to begin operating in the fourth quarter of 2023.