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Melbourne Airport will become home to one of the world’s largest vertical farms with the proponent, former internet whiz-kid Daniel Tzvetkoff’s growing agtech venture Stacked Farm, gearing up for a new $150 million facility that it says will put an end to supply chain disruptions and surging prices for fresh produce.
Stacked Farm, which was founded by Gold Coast-based Tzvetkoff as a home hydroponic experiment in 2016, has scaled the startup from supplying micro-herbs and fresh produce to local restaurant chefs to now rolling out its second major vertical farm in Australia.
Stacked Farm, which closed a $56 million capital raise backed by Australian and US investors in 2022, already operates a similar facility at Arundel on the Gold Coast. The capital raise at the time was to be put towards a new location either in Brisbane or Melbourne.
Last year the company secured development approval for the new 10,000-square-metre climate-controlled facility which is currently under construction by Melbourne Airport and expected to produce 3.4 million kilograms of fresh herbs and leafy greens annually, regardless of weather conditions.
The urban farming group specialises in growing cos and mixed leaf lettuces, spinach, rocket, basil, coriander and parsley, with the greenfield project the first large-scale indoor vertical farm in an airport precinct in the southern hemisphere, and only the second globally.
The fully automated facility will be powered entirely by green energy, operate with a zero-waste water system and use cutting-edge robotics to deliver fresh produce 365 days a year.
The company also uses as patented lighting technology which gives it an edge in a market that has proved challenging for many overseas players, including Upward Farms and AppHarvest, both of which have collapsed in part due to rising energy costs.
"Stacked Farm Melbourne isn’t just another agtech project - it’s a game-changer,” says Sam Canavan, the chief operating officer at Stacked Farm.
“Our cutting-edge design and proprietary technology are redefining farming efficiency and setting a new global benchmark. This is the future of fresh food, built by a world-class team.
"Aussies want fresh, nutrient-packed food without the markup. They crave real flavour, fewer additives, and maximum nutrition, but rising costs make healthy eating feel out of reach. That’s where we come in. Stacked Farm is quite literally growing the solution.”
Once operational, the new Melbourne facility will employ 15 staff comprising farm operators, horticulturists and technical maintenance engineers.
The Stacked Farm operation will be fully automated “from seed to bag via 25 pieces of proprietary robotics” which will further leverage the rapid growing capabilities of vertical farming which can have crops ready to harvest in just 16 to 31 days. This compares with 45 to 80 days for traditional farming practices.
Funding for the Melbourne project has been sourced via a combination of debt and equity, including backing from US-based alternative assets manager Magnetar Capital which participated in the 2022 capital raise.
Melbourne Airport will develop the purpose-built premises for Stacked Farm as part of the new 150,000sqm Tullamarine land precinct with CBRE negotiating the lease to the company.
“There’s no other business like this at Melbourne Airport – or even in the country,” says Jai McDermott, Melbourne Airport’s chief of ground transport, property and retail.
“The company is doing incredible work to revolutionise food production, creating high-quality products with low waste. We’re proud to partner with them, especially given Melbourne is Australia’s food capital.”
Construction began in January and the new Stacked Farm operation is expected to be up and running in mid-2026.
Tzvetkoff, who made his mark as founder of global transactions company Intabill almost two decades ago before the business was hit by a US government crackdown on online gambling sites, has previously indicated his ambitions to take the Stacked Farms concept to the US.
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